WordPress is free to use because it’s an open-source software. However, premium themes and plugins, domain names and hosting require business owners to shell out money from their pockets. You can create a free WordPress website but a paid subscription will enrich your website and help it gain better visibility to acquire potential customers that will convert into sales. This blog will interpret the real WordPress website cost.
Read on to find out more!
To launch your business online, you need a brilliant-looking WordPress website that nicely displays your product and services and creates a strong brand image in the minds of your audience. Let’s start!
Step #1: Select a name for your website.
Step #2: Buy a domain name and web hosting service from popular providers like GoDaddy or Bluehost.
Step #3: Acquaint with the WordPress UI (user interface).
Step #4: Select a WordPress design or theme for your website. Install and customize it according to your objectives.
Step #5: To improve the website’s functionality research and analyze the plugins you want to use. You can research independently or get assistance from a WordPress plugin developer.
Step #6: Build basic web pages such as About Us, Contact Us, Careers, Privacy Policy, FAQs, and Blog.
Step #7: Adjust navigation on the website as per content and design.
The cost of a WordPress website greatly varies according to the unique design and development needs of a business.
Developing a simple one/two-page website will cost $100 while a heavy-duty website with several products/services/industries can cost $100,000. Further, the ongoing maintenance cost ranges between $50 and $10,000 annually.
The cost of a WordPress website depends on several factors, such as the quantity of WordPress plugins used, number of web pages to design, design style, website capabilities, website traffic, frequency of redesigning the site, and resource utilization (in-house or agency).
Here’s an estimated cost involved in WordPress development based on the business type:
| Business Type | Average Upfront WordPress Cost | Average Ongoing WordPress Cost |
| Small Business Website | $75 – $2500 / one-time | $300 – $700 / yearly |
| Mid-sized Business | $7500 – $35,000 / one-time | $2000 – $5000 / yearly |
| Enterprise Business | $10,000 – $115,000 / one-time | $5000 – $15,000 / yearly |
| E-commerce | $5000 – $55,000 / one-time | $1000 – $3000 / yearly |
WordPress.org and WordPress.com both are open-source versions of WordPress to build your website. However, the latter version offers lesser customization capabilities as compared to WordPress.org.
A comparative analysis:
| Factors | WordPress.org | WordPress.com |
| Domain Name Annual cost | Annual cost | Free for the first year, then a yearly cost. |
| Open-Source | Yes | No |
| Plugins | Can use any plugins | Only available with certain plans |
| Custom theme | Yes | Only available with certain plans |
| Scalability | Yes | No |
| Commission fee | None | 0%-10%, depending upon the plan |
| Storage capacity | Varies based on hosting company | 1 GB to 50 GB |
| Support | Community forums | Chat support (with certain plans), community forums |
Before starting a WordPress development, you need to obtain a domain name for your website. The cost of your domain name is based on the type of business you operate and the shop where you purchased it. Consequently, some domain names have a higher price tag than others.
Purchasing domain names from popular providers like GoDaddy or BlueHost varies significantly based on their monthly, quarterly, or annual plans.
For example, GoDaddy offers a discount for the first three years before you pay the regular price as per your purchased plan. Hence, if you purchased a plan worth $20/annually, for the first three years you need to pay $5/year, and later the regular price of $20.
Next is purchasing web hosting services for your website domain. You can select from two available options – dedicated and shared. Shared web hosting costs less because you share hosting servers and services with other businesses, however, the server may perform poorly, which may lead to more downtime on your website and losing out potential customers to your competitors.
On the contrary, a dedicated server will render personalized resources and services exclusively to your website, and keep it running smoothly without downtime, but is expensive.
To personalize your online presence, you can select from multiple WordPress themes. You can opt for free themes from WordPress and third-party providers. To add greater functionality and make your site appear more professional, you need to install plugins and widgets from premium themes, which costs money.
Depending on the style of the selected theme, the cost varies between $20 and $100.
To improve the functionality of your WordPress website, plugins play an important role. Some plugins are free while others charge a yearly fee. With 50,000 plugins, you can use multiple plugins to improve the performance, optimization, user engagement, and security of your website. The cost will depend on the number of paid plugins you employ on your website.
A secured website builds trust amongst users when they browse or shop. Displaying security certificates encourages your users to transact with your website fearlessly. To obtain the standard security technology certificate of SSL, you can pay a one-time fee or opt for a monthly plan.
A basic security plan will cost $50/ annually, but a highly advanced security technology will cost thousands of dollars per year.
Your WordPress website requires continuous maintenance and updates to deliver a unique and superior user experience. Plugins are regularly updated for fixing bugs and improving performance and hence require investment.
If you have an in-house team that manages your WordPress website and plugins, then the cost is adjusted in your monthly/annual budget. However, if you need to hire a vendor, the cost depends on the scope of work and size of your website. A freelancer charges an hourly rate while an agency will charge a monthly fee.
The biggest challenge with WordPress is the cost. Since WordPress website cost varies greatly due to the factors discussed above, estimating and allocating a budget for it becomes tedious.
Although this open-source website-building platform is fully customizable, it may not meet your objectives. For instance, you require low-end customization but an enhanced user experience. To meet such unique needs, there are WordPress alternatives for use.
A few popular alternatives include:
Here’s a comparative analysis of these website builders.
| Factors | WORDPRESS | SHOPIFY | WIX | SQUARESPACE | WEB.COM |
| Average monthly cost | $7-$1200 | $39-$400 | $16 to $159 | $16-$49 | $15-$45 |
| Custom domain option | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Depends on the host provider | Yes, with plugins | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Storage space | 2 GB to unlimited, depending on the plan | Unlimited | 2 GB to unlimited, depending on plan | Unlimited | 10-40 GB |
| Website security | Yes, with plugins | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Marketing tools | Yes, with plugins | Yes | No | Yes | Yes, with certain plans |
| Custom reporting | No | Yes, with Advanced plan | Yes, with Business Elite plan | No | No |
| Customer service team | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The journey to creating your online presence with WordPress is thrilling but it may overwhelm you. With this article focusing on factors impacting the budget, we hope that now you can sail smoothly. If you are still feel the struggle to make a decision, get in touch with us, our WordPress experts will be happy to assist!
A Technical Architect, proficient in WordPress, Drupal, Laravel, and DevOps tasks, crafts robust IT solutions with a blend of expertise and versatility in web development and infrastructure management.
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