What is the Real Cost of Building a WordPress Website?
How much does it cost to build a WordPress website? This is one of the most common questions people ask when considering the option of creating a WordPress website. Even though the core software of WordPress is free, there are costs you will have to incur when building a website. This post looks at the real cost of building a website on WordPress.
What you need
WordPress is open source which means it is free for anyone to download and use. However, it will cost you money to build a WordPress website because you will need hosting, domain name, design, plugins and extensions. Hosting and domain name is not free. Professional WordPress templates and plugins are also not free. The cost to build a WordPress website will depend on the services you select. Hosting services and domain names don’t all cost the same.
Depending on your needs, the cost to build a WordPress website ranges from $100 all the way up to $30,000. The cost will depend on the type of website you are building and the team you are working with.
Cost of a low budget WordPress website
It is possible to build a fully functional WordPress website for just $100. To do this, you need to get a domain name which will cost you $14.99 per year and a hosting plan that costs $7.99 per month. Thereafter you need to install WordPress and select a free theme/template. There are thousands of free design templates to choose from. To add features like photo gallery and contact form, you should use the free plugins. WordPress has more than 40,000 free plugins. There are plugins for virtually anything from website security to website optimization and more. This kind of website will cost you between $46 and $100 per year.
Cost of a custom WordPress site
With this type of website, it means you will not rely on the free design templates. You have to hire a developer to help create a unique design and build the specific features that you want. This often means working with established large to medium-sized design companies. You may also need to select managed WordPress hosting for custom support.
It is more expensive to build a custom WordPress website. In addition to paying for hosting and domain name, you will pay the web developer that will be creating your website. A standard custom WordPress theme will cost about $5,000. Themes with specific custom features can go up to $15,000 or even more.
Conclusion
To avoid overpaying for a WordPress website, it is always good to start small and scale as you go. You may not need premium features until your online presence is established months or even years from now. Don’t be afraid to start with a budget website using the free templates and plugins.