Planning to build a WordPress website and wondering about the cost? This post should answer most of your questions.
Are you planning to build a WordPress website in 2024? If so, you’re probably wondering: “How much is this going to cost?” Well, the answer isn’t straightforward.
The cost of developing a WordPress website varies depending on several factors, including expenses for domain registration, hosting, theme and plugin costs, as well as potential charges for professional developers’ services. Before you start your project, it’s crucial to consider these aspects and to budget accordingly.
In this post, we’ll dig deeper into the key factors that influence the final price of a WordPress development project and share some strategies your business can use to reduce the WordPress development costs. You’ll also learn about the main alternatives to WordPress with their pros and cons, helping you make an informed decision if you’re considering other platforms.
Finally, we’ll discuss why choosing a professional WordPress development company like GetDevDone could be the wisest investment for your business.
Stay tuned as we demystify the costs involved in building a WordPress website in 2024!
The process of developing a WordPress website involves various stages, each with its own associated costs. To understand the overall cost of WordPress development, it’s essential to break down these expenses into key categories.
Each category represents a crucial aspect of the development process, contributing to the final product that becomes your online presence. Let’s delve deeper into each of these cost ingredients to gain a better understanding of what goes into the financial investment of creating a WordPress website.
The type of website you’re looking to build plays a crucial role in determining the cost. A simple blog or small business website, which primarily serves as an online portfolio presenting your offerings, will be less expensive compared to an e-commerce site or a large enterprise-level website.
A typical ecommerce website require more complex functionalities such as product catalogs, shopping carts, and secure payment gateways, which drive up the cost. Enterprise websites often require advanced features like custom plugins, multi-language support, and integration with other enterprise systems, making them more expensive to develop.
The size of your website, in terms of the number of pages, impacts the final cost, too. More pages mean more design work, more content, and potentially more functionality. Each page needs to be carefully designed to ensure consistency in design and user experience, which increases the development time and cost.
Costs associated with building a WordPress website can be divided into one-time/upfront costs and ongoing/annual costs. One-time costs include the initial design and development of the website, purchasing a domain name, and acquiring any premium themes or plugins.
Ongoing costs include domain and hosting renewal fees, maintenance costs, content updates, and marketing expenses.
Every website needs a domain name and hosting. The cost of a domain name typically ranges from $10 to $50 per year, while hosting can range anywhere from $3.95 per month for shared hosting to over $100 per month for dedicated hosting. Premium hosting services are recommended for larger websites with high traffic volumes, as they provide better performance and support.
Security is a critical aspect of any website. The cost of an SSL certificate, which encrypt data between your user’s browser and your WordPress website, can range between $10 and $200 per year, although many hosting providers offer them for free. Additionally, you might need to invest in security plugins or services to protect your website from hackers, which can add to the overall cost.
While WordPress offers an array of free themes and plugins, premium themes and plugins come at a cost. Premium themes can range from $25 to $250, and they often offer more customization options and customer support. Similarly, while many essential plugins are available for free, premium plugins that offer advanced features can cost anywhere from $15 to $200.
The design aspect of a website can significantly influence the overall cost. If you opt for a simple, template-based design, the cost will be relatively low.
However, if you’re looking for a unique, custom-designed website that stands out from the competition, it will require more work from experienced designers, thus increasing the cost.
This could involve creating custom graphics, intricate designs, animations, and ensuring the design is responsive and user-friendly across all devices.
The actual development involves coding the functionality of your website, integrating third-party solutions, setting up CMS, and configuring the server where your website lives on the Internet. Depending on the complexity of these tasks, the cost can vary significantly.
Custom features and functionality can significantly drive up the price. This can include features like custom forms, membership portals, e-commerce capabilities, and more. Each custom feature requires additional development time and expertise, adding to the overall cost.
Engaging, SEO-friendly content is crucial to attract and retain users. If you create the content yourself, this cost may be minimal. However, if you hire professional writers, photographers, or videographers, these costs can add up. Professional copywriting services can range from 10 cents to $1 per word, while professional photography or videography can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Websites require regular maintenance to ensure they continue to function correctly and stay updated. This includes updating WordPress, themes, and plugins, checking and fixing any broken links, monitoring website performance, and backing up the website.
Marketing and promotion are also ongoing costs that can include SEO, paid advertising, social media marketing, and content marketing. These costs can vary widely, depending on the strategies you employ.
Let’s discuss those cost categories in more detail next.
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The cost of the WordPress infrastructure and tools can vary widely depending on your specific needs and choices. This can be influenced by a range of factors, such as the complexity of your design, the level of functionality you require, and the scale of your web traffic.
Before we delve into each element in detail, here’s a brief summary of what you might expect to invest into them, and how often these expenditures will occur.
| Infrastructure Element / Tool | Price Range | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | From $0 for WordPress.org up to $45 per month for WordPress.com | Per month or per year |
| Hosting | From $3.95 per month for shared hosting to over $100 per month for dedicated hosting | Per month or per year |
| Domain Name | $10 to $50 | Per year |
| Plugins | $15 to $200 | One-off, per month, or per year |
| Theme | $25 to $250 | One-off or per year |
| SSL Certificate | $10 to $200 | Per year |
| Maintenance | $25 to $10,000 | Per hour or per month |
The first crucial decision you need to make is whether to use WordPress.org or WordPress.com to build your website. While they may sound similar, there are significant differences between the two that can greatly affect your website’s functionality and control.
WordPress.org, often referred to as “self-hosted WordPress,” is a free, open-source content management system. This means you download the software and install it on your own host. The major benefits of using WordPress.org to create a website include:
On the other hand, WordPress.com is a hosting service created by the co-founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg. This flavor of WordPress is an excellent choice for bloggers who want to build a WordPress website on a low budget but don’t want to deal with the technical aspects of hosting and configuring it. Key features and benefits of WordPress.com include:
Both platforms are user-friendly, but in different ways. WordPress.com is easier for beginners because it takes care of all the technical aspects for you. However, this convenience comes at the cost of flexibility and control.
WordPress.org, while requiring a bit more technical know-how initially (such as purchasing hosting and setting up the site), offers far more control and flexibility, which can be beneficial as your site grows and changes.
WordPress.org offers unlimited customization options. You’re free to modify and customize your site to meet your exact needs, including access to thousands of free plugins.
Conversely, WordPress.com is much more limited. Free plan users can only access a limited number of themes, and you must upgrade to a premium plan for advanced design customization. Even then, you don’t have access to the full range of plugins that WordPress.org users do.
With WordPress.org, you own your website and all its data. This ownership gives you the freedom and flexibility to grow your website as you see fit.
With WordPress.com, however, you don’t own your website. If you violate their terms of service, WordPress.com can suspend your site, potentially causing you to lose your data.
The cost of using WordPress.org can vary widely, depending on your hosting provider, theme, and plugin choices. You’ll need to pay for your domain name (around $10 to $50 per year), hosting (roughly $3.95-$100 per month), and any premium themes or plugins you choose.
WordPress.com is free for a basic blog, but costs can add up if you start adding premium features. Their paid plans range from $4 per month, billed yearly for the Personal plan (best for personal use), to $45 per month, billed yearly for the e-commerce plan (best for online stores).
| Feature | WordPress.com | WordPress.org |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Offers free plans, but also has premium plans for added features and functionality. The popular .com, .org, and .net domain extensions start at a certain price per year | Free to use, but requires separate costs for hosting and domain name |
| Storage Capacity | Depends on the plan chosen, the higher the plan, the more storage space | Unlimited, as it depends on your hosting provider |
| Customization | Limited customization options unless you opt for a higher-priced plan | Full control of customization, you are free to do anything you want with your website |
| User-friendliness | Easy to use for both complete beginners and experienced professionals | Requires some technical knowledge to set up and manage |
| Monetization | You can only monetize your site with their advertising program called WordAds if you have high traffic or a business plan | You can monetize your website however you want, and you can add any number of ads and keep 100% of the revenue |
| Plugins | Limited to the plugins available on the platform, unless you have a Business or eCommerce plan | Access to over 59,000 free plugins in the WordPress.org repository and thousands of premium plugins |
| Themes | Limited selection of themes unless you have a premium plan | Access to thousands of free and premium themes |
| E-Commerce | Only available for Business and eCommerce plans | Can use any e-commerce plugin like WooCommerce freely |
| SEO | Limited SEO settings unless you have a Business or eCommerce plan | Complete control over SEO settings with plugins like Yoast SEO, All in One SEO, etc. |
| Maintenance | WordPress.com handles all updates and backups | You are responsible for updates and backups, but plugins can automate this process. |
The domain name is the home address of your website. It’s an integral part of your online presence, serving as the digital equivalent of your business’s physical address. A well-chosen domain name can enhance your brand’s visibility and credibility.
Domain name extensions, also known as top-level domains (TLDs), are suffixes like .com, .org, .net, etc., appended at the end of web addresses. The .com extension is the most popular and widely recognized, but others may be suitable depending on your website type. For instance, .org is often associated with non-profit organizations, while .net is commonly used by tech companies.
Before you start building your site, you need to select a fitting domain name, particularly if you own an e-commerce website. Here are some key considerations:
Learn more on selecting the perfect name for your website.
There are numerous domain registrars where you can purchase a domain name for your WordPress website. Some popular options include GoDaddy, Bluehost, and Namecheap. These registrars often offer discounts and promotions, so it’s worth shopping around to find the best deal.
The cost of a domain name can vary greatly depending on factors such as its extension, popularity, and whether it’s a premium domain. On average, a new domain name costs around $10-50 per year, but premium domain names can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Choosing the right host for your website is crucial for its success. It impacts your site’s speed, security, reliability, and ability to grow over time. By understanding your needs and budget, you can choose a hosting provider that offers the best value and features for your WordPress website cost.
There are several types of hosting available, each suited to different needs and budgets:
When selecting a host for your WordPress site, consider the following factors:
Here are the key guidelines on choosing a perfect host for your WordPress website.
The cost of a WordPress website with different hosting types can vary widely. Shared hosting is often the most affordable, starting as low as $3.95 per month, while dedicated hosting can cost hundreds of dollars per month. Managed hosting prices depend on the service level and additional features, ranging from $10 to over $100 per month.
Some of the best WordPress hosting platforms include Bluehost, SiteGround, and WP Engine. These hosts offer a range of plans at different price points, with robust features and excellent customer support.
Here’s a comparison of their main features:
| Criteria | Bluehost | SiteGround | WP Engine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uptime | 99.98% guarantee | 99.99% uptime guarantee | 99.95% uptime guarantee |
| Speed | Offers SSD storage for faster website performance | Uses Google Cloud platform for high speed | Proprietary EverCache technology for fast loading times |
| Customer Support | 24/7 support via live chat, email, and phone | 24/7 support via live chat, ticket, and phone | 24/7 support via live chat and ticket, phone support for higher plans |
| Security | Free SSL certificate, malware scanning for higher plans | Free SSL certificate, daily backups, smart plugin manager | Offers shared, VPS, Cloud, and dedicated hosting plans for growth |
| Scalability | Offers shared, VPS, Cloud, and dedicated hosting plans for growth | Offers shared, cloud, and enterprise hosting for scalability | Different tiers of managed hosting for scalability |
| Pricing for WordPress Hosting | Starts at $2.45 per month | Starts at 2.99 € per month | Starts at $20 per month |
A WordPress theme is a critical component that shapes the appearance and functionality of your WordPress website. It’s like the skin of your website, determining its layout, color schemes, style elements, and even some aspects of its functionality.
When you decide to create a WordPress website, you’ll encounter three main types of themes:
The decision between choosing a ready-made website theme and investing in a custom design largely depends on your needs and budget. Ready-made themes, both free and premium, are cost-effective and quick to set up. However, they might not offer the unique design or specific functionality that your brand needs.
On the other hand, a custom design allows you to build a website that stands out from the crowd, tailored to your brand’s aesthetic and functional requirements. But remember, this comes at a higher cost.
There are numerous WordPress theme providers in the market, each offering a diverse range of themes. Some of the popular ones include ThemeForest, MysteryThemes, and InkThemes. These providers have a reputation for reliability and quality, offering themes that cater to various sectors and website types. Let’s take a brief look at them.
ThemeForest is a leading marketplace for premium WordPress themes and website templates. It offers thousands of high-quality, multipurpose, and responsive designs catering to various niches and categories.
ThemeForest’s extensive collection allows users to find the ideal template that suits their specific needs, whether for business, blogging, e-commerce, or personal use.
You can purchase a WordPress theme at ThemeForest for as low as $13 to as high as $10,600.
MysteryThemes is a distinguished provider of beautifully crafted, eye-catching, and user-friendly WordPress themes. Their portfolio ranges from news portal layouts to stylish magazine designs, with each theme being highly customizable, SEO-optimized, and compatible with popular page builders like Gutenberg and Elementor.
MysteryThemes offers two plans: Single Theme and All Theme:
InkThemes is a well-known provider of premium WordPress themes, templates, and plugins. It offers an extensive collection of themes that are fast, responsive, SEO-optimized, and easily customizable.
Their themes cater to a wide array of niches, from pet shops to service businesses. You can buy a premium theme at InkThemes, starting at $59.
Several factors should guide your choice of a WordPress theme:
Plugins are essential tools that enhance your WordPress website’s functionality. They allow you to add features and customize your site beyond the capabilities of your WordPress theme. Whether you want to add a contact form, improve SEO, or create an e-commerce store on your WordPress site, there’s likely a plugin that can help.
There are three main types of plugins to enhance the functionality of WordPress websites:
There are numerous reputable companies that specialize in the development and provision of WordPress plugins:
Which WordPress plugins to add to your website depends on its purpose and your budget. Here are some of the most popular and effective plugins you may want to explore:
| Plugin Name | Category | Description | Price |
| Wordfence Security | Security | A comprehensive security plugin offering firewall protection, malware scan, and login security. | From $119/year |
| Sucuri Security | Offers website security features like security activity auditing, file integrity monitoring, and malware scanning | Custom pricing | |
| Wordfence Security | Provides multiple ways to secure and protect your WordPress site. | From $99/year | |
| Yoast SEO | SEO | Helps you with your website optimization, providing real-time page analysis to improve your SEO rankings. | From €99/year |
All in One SEO Pack | A powerful plugin to optimize your WordPress site for SEO, supporting XML sitemaps, image SEO, and more. | From $49.60/year | |
| Rank Math | An SEO plugin that offers keyword ranking, analysis, and suggestions for improving your content’s SEO. | From $84/year | |
| WP Rocket | Performance | A caching plugin that speeds up loading times for your website by creating static HTML files from dynamic WordPress content. | From $47.20/year |
| W3 Total Cache | Improves site performance and user experience via caching: browser, page, object, database, minify and content delivery network support. | From $99/year | |
| LiteSpeed Cache | An all-in-one site acceleration plugin, featuring an exclusive server-level cache and a collection of optimization features. | Free | |
UpdraftPlus | Backup | Simplifies backups and restoration. It is the world’s highest-ranking and most popular scheduled backup plugin. | From $70/year |
| SolidBackups | Not just a simple backup plugin, it allows you to easily restore your site & also completely move it to another domain. | From $99/year | |
| BlogVault | From $99/year | From $149/year | |
| Beaver Builder | Page Builder | A flexible drag and drop page builder that works on the front end of your WordPress website. | From $99/year |
| Divi | This plugin is both a theme and a visual page builder that gives you complete design control over your website. | From $89/year | |
| Elementor | A drag-and-drop page builder that allows you to create beautiful pages using a visual editor. | From $59/year |
When choosing a WordPress plugin, several factors should guide your decision:
Using pre-built themes and plugins can often seem like an appealing, cost-effective way to build your WordPress website. While this approach does offer some advantages, it’s not without its pitfalls. These pre-made solutions can sometimes lead to unexpected complications, such as compatibility issues, limited customization options, and even decreased site performance, all of which can negatively impact your website’s traffic and user experience.
But there’s another way: the custom design and development of your WordPress website. This approach involves hiring a professional WordPress designer and developer to craft a website that’s uniquely tailored to your needs and goals. A bespoke solution like that can eliminate many of the issues associated with pre-built themes and plugins, offering you more control over your site’s functionality, appearance, and overall performance.
Let’s talk about this next.
Custom development comes with its own set of considerations, primarily cost. So, let’s delve into the specifics of what custom design and development entails and explore the potential investment you might be looking at if you decide to choose this route.
A custom WordPress theme is specifically tailored to your business needs and goals, allowing you to create a unique and impactful online presence. Unlike pre-built themes, a custom theme offers unlimited customization options, ensuring your WordPress website stands out from the crowd and aligns perfectly with your brand identity.
Here are the key reasons to consider the custom route:
Read this detailed explanation why a custom WordPress theme is beneficial for any business that wants to make a mark online.
Designing a custom WordPress theme and incorporating the necessary functionality requires a unique blend of skills, creativity, and experience in various areas of web development. This complexity is what sets custom WordPress themes apart from their pre-built counterparts, but it also means they carry a higher price tag.
Building a custom WordPress theme involves several steps:
Given the time, expertise, and resources required to complete these steps, it’s clear why a custom WordPress theme tends to be more expensive than using or customizing a ready-made theme.
The cost to develop a WordPress website with a custom theme can vary widely, depending on the availability of the design and its complexity, as well as the number and intricacy of the features. On average, a custom WordPress website cost could range from $1,500 to $15,000 or more.
Note that getting a unique design for your WordPress site doesn’t only mean you have to create a custom theme. Custom themes are great for making your site stand out and fit your brand perfectly, but they can be expensive and take a long time to develop.
A good alternative is to use page builders like Elementor. These tools are less costly than making a theme from scratch and can still give your site a unique look. If you’re working with a tight budget, it’s a smart move to pick the right page builder for your project before you start designing. This way, you make sure your site looks distinctive and works well with the tools you’ve chosen.
If you’re not sure which page builder is best for your needs, feel free to ask us for advice. Our team has a lot of experience with different page builders, so we can create beautiful custom designs and convert them into functional WordPress sites.
Whether you need the wide range of features offered by Elementor, the simplicity of Beaver Builder, or the advanced options of Divi, we’re here to help. We’ll consider what’s easiest for you to use, what gives you the flexibility you need, and the specific features you want to make your vision come to life.
When you’re planning to develop a WordPress site, you may find that the basic features of the platform don’t quite cover everything you need. This is where third-party solutions come into play. These are additional tools and services, developed by other companies, that can be integrated into your WordPress site to make it more functional and user-friendly.
Third-party solutions are often necessary for WordPress websites because they provide specific capabilities that the platform doesn’t include. For example, if you’re setting up an e-commerce website, you’ll need a payment gateway like Stripe or PayPal to process transactions. If you want to manage customer relationships effectively, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool such as HubSpot or Salesforce can prove invaluable.
In addition to payment gateways and CRMs, there are numerous other third-party solutions that you can integrate into your WordPress site. Email marketing tools like Mailchimp allow you to stay in touch with your customers, while analytics tools like Google Analytics give you insights into your website traffic and user behavior.
All these applications serve to enhance your website design and functionality, making it more appealing and useful to your visitors.
Integrating these third-party solutions into your WordPress website isn’t always straightforward. WordPress offers a wide array of plugins that enable the addition of nearly any functionality to your website. This includes the ability to integrate third-party services through either free or premium plugins, streamlining and easing the development process.
For instance, integrating an analytics plugin only requires basic knowledge of WordPress and understanding of analytics, making it a more or less simple task. On the other hand, many plugins, such as the performance optimization plugin WP Rocket, require a comprehensive understanding of WordPress and core principles of web development.
You’ll need basic knowledge of coding languages like PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Depending on the solution, you might also need to know how to work with APIs – the ‘glue’ that allows different software applications to communicate with each other.
Without such expertise, hiring a professional WordPress developer is highly recommended.
The expense associated with integrating third-party solutions into a WordPress website can vary significantly. If you use ready-made plugins, it might only cost you a few hundred dollars.
However, if custom coding is required to do something unique, like showing live data from your own database and letting visitors filter and sort this data, the price can go up considerably, sometimes to several thousand dollars.
Building a visually attractive and functional WordPress website is only the first step in your online journey. Once your site is up and running, it’s important to remember that the work isn’t over. In fact, it’s just beginning.
A successful website is far more than just its design and initial setup. It’s about creating engaging content, incorporating captivating media, ensuring top-notch security measures are in place, and keeping everything up-to-date with the latest WordPress updates and trends.
Beyond that, you must also take proactive steps to ensure your target audience not only knows about your website but also visits it regularly. All these factors are critical in maintaining your website’s relevance and success.
However, the crucial maintenance and support aspects come with their own associated costs. In this section, we will delve into these additional expenses, providing you with a comprehensive understanding of what to expect.
But before we dive deeper into each aspect, let’s review the general price ranges you can anticipate for maintaining and supporting your WordPress website in 2024.
| Security | Maintenance & Support | Content | Marketing & Promotion |
| $55-$650 per year | $30-$10,000 per hour or per month | $3-$1,200 for a piece of written content | $55-$650 per year |
When you decide to build a WordPress website, one crucial aspect of your website design to consider is the cost of security. Especially if you’re creating an online store on your WordPress site, an SSL certificate becomes essential.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates are digital certificates that authenticate the identity of a website and encrypt information sent to the server using SSL technology. This is particularly important for e-commerce websites where sensitive information like credit card details are exchanged.
There are several types of SSL certificates available today, each with its own unique features and costs. The three main types are:
Apart from the type of SSL certificate, other factors impact the cost of SSL certificates. For example, some SSL certificates come with additional features like warranty coverage, which protects the website owner from financial loss if the SSL certificate fails to secure the site correctly.
Several popular SSL service providers are trusted by WordPress users worldwide. These include GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Sectigo, GlobalSign, and DigiCert. When choosing a provider, consider their reputation, the types of certificates they offer, and the additional features included in the price.
The cost of an SSL certificate can range from free (some hosting providers offer basic SSL certificates as part of their hosting package) to several hundred dollars per year for an EV SSL certificate with warranty coverage.
Remember, building a secure WordPress website may seem to be expensive initially, but the long-term benefits far outweigh the initial WordPress cost. So, consider your SSL certificate as a crucial investment in your WordPress website’s future.
Content is the lifeblood of any WordPress site. It’s what keeps your audience engaged, drives traffic, and converts visitors into customers. Whether you’re building a simple, single-page site or a complex e-commerce platform, your website will require some form of content.
Content can take various forms – from blog posts, videos, and animations to case studies, infographics, and white papers. The cost of producing this content can vary greatly. For instance, if you’re capable of creating the content yourself, you may not incur any direct costs. However, if you need to hire specialists or outsource your content creation, this could significantly increase your WordPress website price.
The cost of content creation often surpasses the initial cost to develop a WordPress website. This is particularly true if your goals include spreading the word about your business, driving sales, or generating leads. To support these goals and a robust SEO strategy, you’ll need a regular flow of engaging and unique content.
So, how much does content cost? The price can range from as low as $3 for a short product description to around $1,200 for a 2,000-word blog post. The cost depends on the type of content, the quality required, and whether you’re creating it internally or outsourcing it.
In addition to written content, your WordPress site may also require various media elements. These could include images, videos, audio files, animations, and more. The cost of these assets would depend on whether you create them in-house, purchase them from stock libraries, or hire professionals to produce them.
Another option that’s getting more popular is using AI plugins, with ChatGPT plugins leading the way. These tools can write articles or create content for your website automatically.
However, relying on AI for all your text might hurt your website’s performance on search engines such as Google. Google may lower your ranking or even penalize your site if it detects too much AI-written content.
On the other hand, making images with AI is okay as long as you’re happy with their quality, which can oftentimes be subpar.
Once your WordPress website is up and running, it’s crucial to attract visitors and drive traffic. This is where marketing and promotion come into play.
Marketing is often overlooked. However, while it’s true that promotion isn’t required to build a WordPress site, if you want it to reach a target audience, then some form of web marketing is inevitable.
So, if marketing is at the core of achieving your goals, then you might want to consider investing in SEO. WordPress is extremely SEO-friendly and can provide great returns on investment for your campaign.
SEO and web design costs are closely connected. Search engine optimization helps improve your site’s infrastructure, ensuring top-notch SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) and easy crawling by search engines. Some technical SEO aspects to consider during the development process include:
The data structure and sitemap are dependent on the architectural structure of your WordPress website. Meanwhile, the site’s speed depends on the design, the number of animations, and the overall speed of the website.
Once these technical aspects are properly ensured in the site’s development process, the SEO manager then performs continuous tasks to bring consistent inbound links. The ongoing actions primarily involve content creation and link building.
Content creation, as it relates to SEO, involves creating keyword-rich articles with alt-texts, captivating images, and on-page SEO. This strategy works because Google crawlers target good, SEO-rich, and well-designed sites, ranking them higher.
Link building is another effective SEO strategy that entails linking articles and blogs to your site. Sites with multiple links leading to their pages regularly rank better than others.
The cost of marketing and promotion for a WordPress website can vary greatly based on your individual needs and strategy. However, in general, prepare to invest between $2,000 – $12,500 into promoting your site every year.
When calculating how much it costs to build a WordPress website, the maintenance and support costs must be considered as well. A WordPress website isn’t a one-time investment — it demands constant attention and updating to ensure an optimal user experience.
This is especially true as plugins providers continually release updates to fix bugs and enhance performance. If you’re using plugins, regular updates are a must to keep your WordPress site running smoothly.
Now, let’s talk numbers. WordPress costs for website maintenance depend greatly on who performs the maintenance. If you choose to handle the maintenance of your WordPress website in-house, make sure the person doing it has the relevant skills and technical background. If they don’t, your website might experience unexpected problems or even crash when there’s an update to one of the plugins.
If you’re outsourcing this task, the rates can vary significantly. Freelancers typically charge an hourly rate, between $50 to $100. On the other hand, agencies offer monthly packages, which can range from $120 to $500.
These packages often go beyond simply updating plugins and themes or conducting security and performance audits. They may also cover minor website updates, such as replacing outdated content or adding a few new pages to your site. This can be particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses.
Remember that investing in maintenance and support is essential for the longevity of your WordPress website. Regular updates, bug fixes, and performance enhancements can prevent larger issues down the line, saving you time and money in the long run.
As we’ve mentioned, the cost of developing a WordPress website also varies based on the type and size of your business. In this section, we’ll delve further into this aspect.
Different types of websites – from personal blogs to large-scale e-commerce sites – have different development needs, and these needs directly impact the overall cost. But before we get into the specifics, here’s a broad summary of the costs associated with the most common types of websites:
| Personal Blog | Small to Medium-Sized Business Website | E-commerce Website | Enterprise Website |
| $50-$1,500 | $1,000-$5,000 | $1,500-$10,000 | $5,000-$100,000 |
If you need a simple website to promote your ideas on the Internet without breaking the bank, a personal blog perfectly fits the bill. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need to start this type of website and an estimate of the costs associated with each element:
In total, to build a personal blog on WordPress can range from as low as $50 to $200 for a basic setup using free or low-cost options, and up to $1,000 or more if opting for premium themes, plugins, and professional content creation.
Building a WordPress website for small to medium businesses is a step up in complexity and cost from a personal blog. The price of building a WordPress site like that often reflects the additional functionality needed to cater to your customers’ needs. Let’s break down the different components of this type of WordPress website cost.
So, how much does it cost to develop an SMB WordPress website? The price tag can vary greatly depending on your specific needs, but a rough estimate would be between $1,500 and $5,000.
Building an e-commerce website with WordPress involves a higher level of complexity and, correspondingly, a higher cost. One of the most popular ways to build an e-commerce site on WordPress is by using WooCommerce, a powerful plugin that provides a range of e-commerce features. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need:
Overall, building an e-commerce website on WordPress with WooCommerce can cost from around $1,500 to $10,000 or more, depending on the complexity of the site and the number of products you’re selling.
Enterprise websites are large, complex, and often require advanced functionality to support a wide range of business operations. Building an enterprise WordPress website involves a higher level of complexity and therefore, an even higher cost. Here’s what goes into building an enterprise website:
Given the scale and complexity of enterprise websites, they can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 or more.
When it comes to seeking professional assistance for developing a website or enhancing your online presence, there are essentially three primary routes you can take: Digital agencies, WordPress development companies, and freelancers.
Each of these options serves different needs, budgets, and levels of involvement in the project. First, here’s a quick summary of average rates typically charged by WordPress development pros we’ve just mentioned:
| Agencies | Freelancers | WordPress Development Companies | |
| From $150 per hour upwards, with a standard WordPress website costing from $5,000 | $10-$155 per hour | Offshore (Asia and Eastern Europe): $20-$36 per hour | Onshore and Nearshore (The USA and Americas): $60-$200 per hour |
By agencies, we typically mean digital marketing agencies that offer the development of websites as part of their services. This option is particularly viable for businesses that have a general idea of their future website but lack specific details like design or functionality.
Agencies are adept at taking your initial concept, conducting relevant market analysis, developing a promotion campaign, and creating a WordPress website to establish or enhance your online presence.
These organizations usually start their pricing at $150 per hour, making it the most expensive solution available. On average, creating a WordPress website through an agency can cost $5,000 or more.
The comprehensive service package and expertise in digital strategy make agencies an attractive option for businesses looking for a full-service approach.
Opting for a WordPress development company is a sound choice when you have a clear vision of the final result, including designs, desired website blocks, and understanding of your target audience. The development process in such companies is well-structured. It usually takes less than one business day to estimate your WordPress website cost and timeline, and you’ll have a dedicated project manager to oversee the entire cycle and serve as your constant point of contact.
WordPress development companies house all the required expertise under one roof, from UI/UX designers and developers to quality assurance engineers. This integrated approach saves you the time and effort of searching for individual professionals to handle specific aspects of building your website.
That being said, there’s a popular misconception that development companies, with their extensive resources and teams of experts, are more expensive than hiring freelancers. This isn’t always true. In fact, some highly specialized freelancers may charge rates that surpass those of certain companies.
While it’s not common for companies to showcase pricing on their websites, many do share average rates for their services on platforms like Clutch. However, these are just ballpark figures and may not reflect the exact cost for specific projects.
To provide a more accurate understanding of costs for a specific project, we conducted an in-depth study involving 25 WordPress development companies from various regions. We stepped into a client’s shoes, reaching out to these companies for a quote and timeline for a hypothetical project.
We didn’t pick these companies randomly. Our selection was based on the following key criteria:
The hypothetical project we asked the companies to evaluate was a 3-page website that featured the following:
For confidentiality reasons, we can’t reveal the exact quotes given by the companies on our list. However, we can share median estimates across key regions. Please note that we categorized companies based on where the majority of their employees are situated, not their legal address.
Here are the results:
| Region | Timeline in business days | Hours | Median price | Actual rate per hour |
| Asia | 15 | 110 | $2,400 | $20 |
| Eastern Europe | 18.5 | 112.5 | $2,922 | $36 |
The responses we received from the Asian companies offered a wide range of pricing, from the lowest quote at $750 to the highest at $4,500, as well as timelines, with the shortest being 40 business hours to the longest 300.
While some Asian companies offer very competitive rates, this, as practice shows, could often mean inferior quality due to a lack of experience or low skill level of the developers.
A significant hurdle with Asian-based outsourcing companies is also the substantial time zone difference with America. For instance, India Standard Time (IST) and Eastern Standard Time (EST) have a 10.5-hour gap. This can seriously affect communication and development speed.
Imagine this: you’ve had a long, grueling day filled with endless meetings, and all you want is to unwind and prepare for the day ahead. But there’s one more task on your agenda: a late-night meeting with your Indian developer. Now ask yourself, is it really worth it?
We received a variety of quotes from the Eastern European companies we reached out to, with prices ranging from as low as $1,750 to as high as $7,000. The timelines provided were also diverse, spanning from a minimum of 52 business hours to a maximum of 150.
However, in comparison with companies from Asia, European providers offer one key advantage: smaller time zone differences.
The 6-hour time difference between Warsaw and New York, compared to the 10.5-hour gap with India, makes scheduling easier for Eastern European companies working with American clients. For example, 10:00 AM in New York is 4:00 PM in Warsaw – ideal for live discussions. This helps in smoother communication and quicker development cycles.
Or take our own approach to mitigating time zone differences. The standard working hours for our development teams, which include both developers and project managers, are from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM GMT (3:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST or 0:00 AM to 9:00 AM PST). That means there are plenty of time overlaps during the business day.
Our development consultants are available for assistance from Monday to Friday, providing round-the-clock service, except for a brief pause between 11:00 PM – 5:00 AM GMT or 6:00 PM – 12:00 AM EST. You can reach out to them through online chat, phone calls, or our help desk. They are equipped to provide general development advice and can also help in emergency situations.
In addition to far-off regions, we also turned our attention to companies within the USA and across the Americas that provide WordPress development services.
We found that the timelines offered by those companies usually stretch between 25 to 40 days, with costs ranging from $8,000 to $25,000. This is significantly pricier and lengthier than what overseas teams from Europe and Asia can deliver.
Freelancers are individuals who typically provide specialized services such as web design or development. Hiring freelancers to develop your WordPress website makes sense when the following is true:
Speaking of freelancers’ price tag, two key factors significantly influence it: the freelancer’s experience and their geographical location.
The distinction in experience levels and associated costs becomes increasingly apparent when we delve into various freelance marketplaces. For instance, platforms like Fiverr.com and Upwork.com welcome developers of all experience levels, right from newbies to seasoned professionals. As a result, you will often come across very low rates offered by these less experienced developers.
In contrast, platforms like Codeable.io or Codementor.io take a different approach by carefully vetting developers before they are allowed to accept orders from clients. This ensures that the marketplace is populated with more experienced professionals who are capable of handling complex projects. Consequently, the rates on such platforms tend to be higher, reflecting the advanced skills and extensive experience of the developers.
Here’s a comparative table to illustrate the difference:
| Freelance Marketplace | Freelance WordPress Developer Average Hourly Rate in the USA | Freelance WordPress Developer Average Hourly Rate Outside the USA |
| Fiverr | $40-$80 | $10-$28 |
| Upwork | $50-$155 | $15-$30 |
| Codeable | $70-$120 | $50-$85 |
| Codementor | $81-$100 | $61-$80 |
The freelancer’s geographical location is another significant factor that influences the pricing. The cost of living in a developer’s region often directly correlates with their rates. The table above clearly illustrates those regional price variations, with US freelancers generally requesting higher fees for their services.
Developers residing in countries with lower living costs, such as those in Asia or Eastern Europe, often offer more competitive rates. On the other hand, time zone differences with freelancers from these regions can disrupt real-time communication, slowing decision-making, feedback, and problem-solving, thereby affecting project timelines and efficiency.
In addition, freelancers can sometimes be unpredictable. They might quit suddenly for personal reasons or better job opportunities, leaving you in a pinch to find a replacement.
Read about some other drawbacks of hiring freelancers for your WordPress development project.
In conclusion, while both freelancers and companies offer unique benefits, companies often provide efficiency, reliability, and broader expertise. Although companies may charge more, the value they deliver often matches the rates of top-notch freelancers. Those prices can vary significantly, largely based on the company’s location, but no matter your budget, there’s likely a company that fits your needs.
However, finding the right one requires diligent research. Review portfolios, schedule meetings for detailed discussions, request and compare quotes, and only then select the best match. Remember, it’s about getting the most value for your money.
Read about the key benefits of hiring a dedicated development team.
If the quote you’ve received from a WordPress development company seems a bit too high, don’t worry. The cost of creating a WordPress website doesn’t have to drain your bank account. By adopting the right strategies and making smart decisions from the start, you can effectively manage your budget while still achieving a highly functional and visually appealing website.
Let’s delve into some practical and effective measures you can implement to keep your WordPress website costs under control.
One of the most cost-effective ways to start is by creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). This is a simplified version of your WordPress website that includes only the essential features necessary to serve your target audience and validate your business idea.
An MVP enables you to test the waters without investing too much upfront. This approach not only saves initial costs but also ensures that you’re on the right track before committing more resources to develop the full-fledged website.
As your business grows and customer needs evolve, you can progressively expand your WordPress site. This gradual expansion allows you to manage costs effectively while ensuring your site remains relevant and useful to your audience.
For instance, you might start with a basic e-commerce functionality and then add more complex features like custom order forms, customer reviews, or advanced search options as your sales increase. This approach helps distribute the WordPress website cost over time, making it more manageable.
Custom website design and development can significantly increase the price tag of a WordPress website. However, you can reduce this cost by using ready-made WordPress themes and plugins.
These tools offer pre-designed templates and functionalities that can meet most of your website needs. For example, you could use a free WordPress theme for your website design and then enhance it with plugins to add specific features. Opting for this route can considerably cut down the WordPress website cost, particularly for small businesses or startups.
While WordPress is a popular choice for creating websites, it might not always be the most cost-effective option. Depending on your specific needs, you might find that other platforms provide a better return on investment. Let’s explore some of the most popular WordPress alternatives next.
Wix is a user-friendly website builder that allows you to create a custom website without needing to code. With its flexible pricing plans, you might find that building a website with Wix is cheaper than a WordPress site. However, while Wix offers robust customization and e-commerce tools, it doesn’t provide the same level of flexibility as WordPress when it comes to themes and plugins.
Pros: User-friendly, lower cost for simple sites, robust customization
Cons: Less flexible than WordPress, professional features come at an additional cost
Squarespace is known for its design-focused templates, making it a good option for creatives. The cost of building a Squarespace site can be similar to a basic WordPress website, but it lacks the expansive e-commerce capabilities of WordPress.
Pros: Aesthetically pleasing designs, user-friendly
Cons: Limited e-commerce capabilities, less customization compared to WordPress
Weebly is another platform offering a range of pricing plans, providing flexibility for businesses of all sizes. Despite its user-friendly interface, Weebly doesn’t offer as much flexibility as WordPress when it comes to design and functionality.
Pros: User-friendly, flexible pricing plans
Cons: Limited design and functionality options
If you’re looking to build an e-commerce website, Shopify could be an excellent alternative. While the cost to build a Shopify store may be higher than a WordPress site, it offers robust e-commerce features that are easy to use.
Pros: Robust e-commerce features, user-friendly
Cons: Higher cost compared to WordPress, less suitable for non-e-commerce sites
Drupal is a powerful platform ideal for complex, high-traffic sites. The cost of building a Drupal site can be higher due to the need for skilled developers, but it’s a strong contender for large businesses requiring advanced functionality.
Pros: Highly flexible, powerful for high-traffic sites
Cons: Requires skilled developers, higher cost
Read about the key distinctions between Drupal and WordPress.
Webflow is a newer platform that combines a visual interface with the ability to edit raw HTML and CSS, providing a middle ground between user-friendly builders like Wix and robust platforms like WordPress. Depending on the complexity of your design, the cost to build a Webflow site can be similar or higher than a basic WordPress website.
Pros: Combines user-friendly interface with coding capabilities
Cons: Can be costly depending on design complexity
Check out this detailed comparison between the WordPress and Webflow platforms.
Finishing our look at WordPress alternatives, it’s key to remember that while these platforms seem easy to use, creating a site that looks good and works well still needs some skills and knowledge.
A popular belief is that these tools make building a website completely straightforward. That’s not quite true. You’ll actually need to put in a lot of work and time to make a site that really stands out. So, no matter which one you choose, aiming for the highest quality might mean you have to seek professional assistance.
As we wrap up our discussion, there’s one important thing to keep in mind: compromising on the quality of your website can lead to a host of negative consequences. Here are some of the main repercussions of a low-quality website:
Want to sidestep those frightful repercussions? Your smartest strategy is to collaborate with a professional WordPress development company! Here are just a few reasons to choose this route:
Besides, a professional company offers peace of mind. You can rest assured knowing your website is in good hands, freeing you up to focus on core business activities. So, when it comes to building a website that can drive your business’ success, it pays to go the professional route.
Looking for a reliable and experienced WordPress development company to provide real value for your money? Look no further. The GetDevDone team has all the skills and expertise needed to create visually stunning, unique, fast, and feature-rich WordPress websites that will give you a competitive edge. We offer a comprehensive suite of WordPress development services, including:
Facing another development challenge? Feel free to contact us anytime. We’re always ready and willing to help.
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