When it comes to starting a commercial or a non-commercial website, the issue of picking the best web design platform becomes a priority. The choice basically depends upon your web development skills, expertise, type of project you are going to launch and available budget. WordPress will be the most suitable option for all user categories, although, the use of the software still implies at least baseline programming proficiency.
WordPress is currently regarded as the most popular and feature-rich Content Management System in the world. Recent estimates reveal the fact that it powers over 28,183,568 web projects, which is definitely an impressive number. The platform allows setting up all types of websites, offering high end design customization tools and integration options. These are only some of the features that speak in favor of using the system for your website development. The question is: how much does it cost to launch a website with WordPress and what aspects affect the final price? Let’s figure that out right away.
Factors That Make Up WordPress Website Cost
The process of starting a website with WordPress is quite challenging and time-taking, especially for non-techies. It implies the need to take care of several crucial factors, each of each will affect the final cost of your WordPress project. Let’s take a look at several must-have points right away.
- Domain Name. Any website needs a quality and remarkable domain name to make your business stand out from the crowd. WordPress websites are not an exception. If you don’t have a website domain already, you will have to buy it from a third-party provider.
- Web Hosting. Along with a domain name, your website requires reliable hosting. As a CMS, WordPress does not provide the one by default, which triggers the need to get it from a hosting provider of your choice. You may have to choose between shared and dedicated hosting packages with regard to your project specialization and requirements.
- Themes. WordPress offers quite a limited collection of built-in templates available in its library. You may need a more extensive selection of themes to cater to your business specialization, budget and personal requirements. Fortunately, there are multiple free and paid templates specially developed for WordPress by third-party experts. Mind that free designs are not altogether safe as many of them come with malicious codes. This may eventually trigger security problems, posing the entire website security/performance at risk.
- Plugins. WordPress is known for its powerful integration options. The choice of plugins and extensions that may affect your project performance is really impressive on the web. You can choose from free and paid options, which can make your website more feature-rich and professional. Whatever website aspect requires improvement, you will surely find a plugin to comply with these needs.
- Safety Tools. Website safety is one of the most crucial aspects you have to consider to ensure reliable and smooth project performance. This especially matters a lot, when it comes to starting eCommerce and business projects that use confidential user info. To add security to your newly-created WordPress website, you will have to connect an SSL Certificate.
Listed above are the must-have constituent parts of any WordPress website. Additionally, you may need to invest into further website maintenance and support, especially if your web design/coding skills do not let you manage this issue on your own. Read on to figure out how much it takes to pay for each of the aspects mentioned above.
How Much It Takes To Start a Website with WordPress: Detailed Estimations
The cost of your WordPress website may vary with regard to multiple factors. Anyway, every project is unique, requiring personalized design approach, functionality and degree of customization. As to the must-have website elements, their cost will approximately be as follows:
Domain Name
Domain names differ in multiple parameters, such as their type, extension and registrar you go for. The price will also depend on the resource, where you buy the one. You may even get a domain name for free as a bonus offer from a hosting provider, when upgrading to one of the premium packages it grants. The average cost, however, ranges between $9 and $15 per year.
Web Hosting
Along with a domain name, your WordPress website news quality and reliable web hosting. Here you may go for one of two popular options – either shared or dedicated hosting. Shared hosting is less expensive as it implies the situation, when you share server space with other businesses, who get the same subscription. The more businesses share the same server, the more subjected it is to poor performance.
As to dedicated servers, the situation is quite the opposite. It is you, who hosts your website with a personal server. Obviously, this option is more expensive. There are multiple hosting providers out there, offering different types of packages to come up to various users’ needs. When it comes to WordPress, though, the most reasonable solution is Bluehost. The service is officially recommended by the CMS as the best hosting for its projects. The cost of hosting a website with Bluehost will range between $35.4/year for the cheapest shared hosting plan (Basic) and up to $960 for dedicated hosting.
Themes
The web abounds in themes specially tailored for WordPress. There are lots of free designs out there, but it is strongly recommended to opt for a premium template to be on the safe side. The range of paid themes is truly remarkable – just browse the web to pick the one to comply with your website specialization. The price range of premium WordPress designs is quite extensive and depends upon the quality, professional look and functionality of each theme. Actually, you can find a template to come up to any needs here. Thus, the average cost of a quality WordPress template constitutes around $150.
Plugins
Plugins make up a crucial part of WordPress website development. You won’t go without their integration, if you really aim at professional project creation. Plugins add functionality to your site and there are hundreds of them to match your needs and website specialization. The cost of plugins differs as well – some of them charge one-time fees, while others require an annual payment. Make sure to figure that out in advance. The average cost of a plugin however, ranges between $45 and $200, although, some professional plugins may cost up to $1000.
Safety Tools
Website security is a priority, if you are concerned with the pleasant browsing experience of your visitors. This aspect matters a lot for business and eCommerce websites, which frequently require confidential users’ info. To ensure safe, smooth and hassle-free performance of your website and to encourage visitors to return to your online resource over and over again, it makes sense to connect an SSL Certificate, which contributes to users’ online security. SSL Certificate may require a one-time fee, but there are also services that charge monthly fees for the same functionality. The cost ranges between $50 and up to $500 for an annual service.
An average website price also depends on a number of external factors, such as:
- Specialization/niche (business and eCommerce projects are generally more complicated and feature-laden as compared to simple websites like blogs or portfolios, thus requiring more advanced integrations and enhanced security);
- Number of web pages a project contains;
- Number of integrable plugins;
- Way of website creation (either DIY or hiring an agency);
- Further website maintenance.
Get ready to pay more, if you hire a freelancer or a web design agency to set up a WordPress website for you. The approximate cost of hiring a freelance web developer will cost you around $500 and $5000 depending upon the professionalism and web design expertise. As to the cooperation with a web agency, the prices also vary. The cost starts from $3000 to reach thousands of dollars per project.
The same is about further website maintenance. You will pay around $0-$300 per year, when managing your project independently. Freelancers generally charge hourly fees for their services. These range between $50-$100 per hour. Web design agencies, in their turn, require $100-$500 per month for ongoing website maintenance.
Bottom Line
WordPress is technically a free CMS. You can download, install and use baseline functionality at no cost. This is enough to practice and improve your skills, but that’s insufficient for professional project development.
There are multiple nuances to consider, when calculating the approximate cost of your WordPress website. Every project is unique, which also affects its price. The expenses will mostly include web hosting, domain name, plugin integration, template choice, security and further project maintenance. Do not forget to add the cost of website development itself, especially if you plan to hire a third-party expert to handle the job for you. Have a look at the chart with the average cost of a typical WordPress project.
| Expenses | Cost (annual) |
| Domain Name | $9-$15 |
| Website Hosting | $35.4-$960 |
| Theme | $150 (one-time) |
| Plugins | $45-$200 |
| Safety Tools | $50-$500 |
| Website Development (extra): | |
| Freelancer | $500-$5000 |
| Web Agency | From $3000 |
| Ongoing Project Maintenance (extra): | |
| Freelancer | $500-$100/hour |
| Web Agency | $1200-$6000 |
| Total | $290-$1825 (plus extra expenses, if any) |
To sum it up, an average WordPress-powered website will cost you from $290 and up to $1825 or more per year. Additionally, you may have to invest into website design and maintenance. The prices will differ here with regard to the expert you will hire. Freelancers frequently charge hourly fees for their services, while web agencies set monthly/annual rates.
