WordPress Pricing- How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website?

WordPress stands out as a popular platform for websites, blogs, and online stores. The expense of creating a WordPress site in 2023 fluctuates due to multiple factors. This article covers key aspects impacting WordPress Price. However, our primary focus will be on delving deep into the pricing dynamics of WordPress.org instead of WordPress.com.

Key Takeaways

• Users delve into the intricacies of WordPress website pricing, encompassing domain names, hosting, themes, plugins, and security. A clear understanding of these elements empowers informed budgeting for a successful online presence.
• Navigate various hosting options, from shared to managed WordPress, cloud, and VPS. Tailor your hosting choice to your site’s requirements, optimizing expenses while ensuring optimal performance and growth.

Pricing Breakdown for WordPress.org and WordPress.com

WordPress has two different platforms: WordPress.org and WordPress.com. The main difference between these two platforms is how their hosting works. 

While WordPress.org is a “self-hosted” product, where you download the WordPress installer, WordPress.com is a pre-installed hosting provider with WordPress blogging software. WordPress is pre-installed to support users in writing subscription packages from free to premium for blogging.

WordPress.org 

WordPress.org offers the advantage of being a free platform for building websites; however, this doesn’t mean it’s entirely cost-free. To begin creating a website with WordPress.org, you’ll first need to select a web hosting company to host your site.

The pricing of hosting plans varies, ranging from under $3 per month to $100 or more, depending on factors such as security, uptime, bandwidth, storage, and customer support.

Two notable web hosting services, Dreamhost and HostGator, are official WordPress.org recommended options. Tailored for WordPress.org, they provide seamless one-click installations and unique in-house speed and security solutions. While some hosting plans offer complimentary domain names, others require a separate purchase from domain name registrars, costing around $12 to $15 annually.

Additional expenses in WordPress.org website creation contain custom themes, templates, and plugins. Basic hosting plans include free customizable themes, but for robust customization, advanced themes may be preferred, priced from $20 to potentially thousands, depending on complexity.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com provides five pricing plans designed to cater to various requirements.

How Much Does WordPress Cost?

After you have a good understanding of WordPress.com and WordPress.org, here is a quick rundown of 6 WordPress pricing elements you need to budget when using WordPress.org:

The Main Expenses for a WordPress Site

Now, let’s delve deeper into WordPress’s additional costs, including domain name charges, hosting fees, themes, and plugins. 

Domain Name

Before you focus on Google ranking or creating a WordPress theme, you have to choose your website’s name – your online identity, for example, “mywordpresssite.com”. 

To create a more outstanding online store, opting for a .com domain is recommended. Selecting a memorable domain name that helps users remember your business name. 

Here is a comparison table to show the popular domain type along with price per year: 

Among various TLDs, “.com” stands out as a pricier but highly recommended choice. Here’s why:

• Credibility: This extension is a hallmark of trust and professionalism, instilling confidence in your customers.
• SEO Ranking: .com domains enjoy a favorable stance with search engines like Google… When users search, search engines are more likely to prioritize “.com” websites, increasing your online visibility.
• Popularity: The “.com” extension is universally recognized and ingrained in online behavior. By choosing a .com domain, you capitalize on this familiarity, making it more straightforward for customers to locate and remember your website.

Web Hosting 

Next, if you’ve selected your domain name, the subsequent phase of establishing your online store or website involves arranging hosting. Without hosting, a website remains nonexistent.

Managed WordPress Hosting

WordPress hosting simplifies site creation through effortless setup and includes pre-installed plugins for enhanced speed.

Hostinger’s managed WordPress hosting plans are priced at $2.95–$9.99/month. These plans offer valuable tools such as staging and auto-updates, streamlining maintenance. With object caching, your WordPress site gains a significant speed boost, up to three times faster.

When selecting a host, our top recommendation for WordPress websites is Bluehost. It ranked highest in our WordPress hosting research and comes endorsed by WordPress itself – a strong endorsement indeed! 

If you are looking for budget-friendly robust hosting for your WordPress website, Bluehost’s WordPress hosting plan starts at an affordable $2.95/month – even cheaper than your morning coffee! As your traffic surges, you may want to consider the adaptable WP Pro (Managed WordPress hosting) option to handle traffic spikes. This plan begins at just $19.95/month.

If you plan to sell via WordPress, you should install the WooCommerce plugin. WooCommerce Plugin helps to streamline your experience, whereas Bluehost presents hosting plans tailored for WooCommerce, commencing at just $3.95/month.

Shared Hosting 

Shared hosting is ideal for small businesses and personal websites as a budget-friendly choice. Hostinger’s shared hosting plans prices from $1.99 to $3.99/month.

Especially on the security front, built-in malware scanning and a web application firewall shield your site against potential attackers.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting employs a group of servers to distribute website traffic and reduce periods of inactivity. For example, if one server encounters issues, another takes over to keep your WordPress site operational.

Through virtualization, cloud hosting divides physical server resources into multiple virtual servers. This strategy helps users enhance overall performance and ensures your website remains functional even during surges in visitor traffic.

Given its advanced infrastructure, cloud hosting costs more than other hosting options, pricing at $9.99 monthly.

Pre-made Themes and Plugins

Every WordPress site requires a theme for its design. Premium themes offer intricate design and support compared to free ones. Alongside themes, plugins enhance website functionality,  providing advanced features for optimized websites.

WordPress Themes

WordPress offers various themes that cater to businesses, ranging from free to paid ones. The prices are between $23 and $200 per year and even up to $1,000 for a lifetime license.

For a premium theme, you should purchase directly from the developer’s website, such as Astra or OceanWP. Alternatively, you can explore reliable platforms like ThemeForest, Themeisle, and Elegant Themes, which provide multiple options.

WordPress Plugins

WordPress plugins represent an additional cost in the realm of WordPress pricing. While not obligatory, plugins offer a straightforward means of enhancing your current theme or website functionality.

WordPress plugin offerings fall into three categories:

• Free plugins: These are typically open-source creations from non-profit individuals or groups. They come with no initial or supplementary charges.
• Freemium plugins: They offer basic features for free, but unlocking advanced functionality requires upgrading to the premium plan.
• Premium plugins: They frequently deliver comprehensive features, customer support, and consistent updates with paid options.

By offering over 60,000 options within the WordPress plugin directory, costing from $2 to $1,000 per year.  These plugins are also structured with diverse pricing models, encompassing one-time charges as well as monthly or annual subscriptions. 

The overall expense of WordPress plugins for each website can significantly fluctuate based on the number of plugins integrated.

Here are some highlights of plugins we highly recommend:

• Yoast SEO – SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tool helps your site reach a high rank from $0 to $99 per year. 
• MonsterInsights – This plugin creates detailed analytics such as bounce rate, page views, sessions, and so on, costing from $99. 50 to $399.50 per year. 
• MailChimp – T his tool helps users turn emails into revenue through email marketing, SMS marketing, and social media at $0 to $350 per month. 

Security

Regular updates are necessary for the core WordPress software, plugins, and themes to help users avoid paying for security. It prevents vulnerabilities to hackers and viruses that outdated software can expose you to.

SSL Certificate

An SSL certificate, also known as a “Secure Sockets Layer” certificate, is a crucial element for ensuring website security. It’s the technology responsible for safeguarding internet connections and is indicated by the “s” in “https”. 

However, if you use a CMS system, you’ll need to arrange for one yourself. These certificates usually cost around $50 per year for basic options, but they can reach up to $600 or more for advanced choices.

Moreover, certain hosting providers, such as Bluehost, offer free SSL certificates with some of their WordPress hosting plans.

Plugins

While WordPress boasts reasonable built-in security, several plugins can provide an additional valuable layer of protection. Our favorite plugins include:

• UpdraftPlus for backups and restores (free plan available, premium plans range from $70 to £399 per year).
• Sucuri for advanced protection and hack resolution (priced between $199.99 and $499.99 per year).

Developer Fees

You might consider enlisting a developer to construct your WordPress website, driven by reasons such as:

• Time constraints.
• A distinct design vision or complex functionality requiring custom coding.
• Lack of confidence in the process.

Quantifying this expense is tricky, as it hinges on your specific requirements. For a basic setup, costs could range from $100 to $200. For more intricate projects, you might exceed $1,000.

Consider, for instance, a gym website needing user logins, membership payments, and class booking with scheduling – the accumulation of functions quickly overwhelms a DIY approach.

WordPress Costs for a Blog

If you aim to transform your hobby into a lucrative side income through blogging, certain essential investments are in order.

Let’s delve into the fundamental expenses you should expect when setting up a WordPress blog.

Starting a WordPress blog typically incurs an initial expense of approximately $173, covering upfront annual or monthly charges. Subsequently, the ongoing monthly cost averages around $12.

WordPress Costs for an eCommerce Website

WordPress itself doesn’t have built-in tools for creating online stores, but WooCommerce can add eCommerce features and easily connects with different payment methods to your website.

We will assist you in figuring out your budget by breaking down the costs involved in building a basic eCommerce website as below:

Starting a WordPress eCommerce website comes with an initial cost of approximately $673 per year, and there are recurring monthly expenses of about $41.

WordPress Costs for a Custom Website

Creating a custom site empowers you with full authority over design and functionality, encompassing personalized themes and scripts. This degree of customization empowers you to address precise business and customer requirements.

However building a custom WordPress website demands a high level of technical expertise. If you lack this proficiency, it is best to hire WordPress developers or web designer at an expensive cost. 

Constructing a custom WordPress website involves an initial investment of approximately $3,500. Your arrangement with the web developer will determine subsequent ongoing costs. For instance, monthly maintenance might require around $500 to $1,000.

5 TIPS to Avoid Overpaying on WordPress Pricing 

Building WordPress websites can come with various costs based on your specific needs. Here are some straightforward tips to avoid high pricing in creating your WordPress website.

Assess your needs.

Before deciding, you should take the necessary time to choose the ideal web hosting plan for your WordPress site. 

Also, consider your preferred web server, desired web applications, and whether managed hosting is necessary. For instance, while you might eventually want a real-time chatbot, you could initially focus on essential features like email marketing to gather leads.

Choose free themes & plugins.

Free themes and plugins might not have all the bells and whistles, but they can still make your website look good and work well. Plus, if you know how to customize them, you can make them fit your needs perfectly.

So, the tip here is to be smart about your choices. Start with the basics – the free themes and plugins – and build your website’s foundation. As your website grows and you figure out exactly what extras you need, you can consider getting premium options. 

Use Stripe and PayPal payment gateways.

When you’re setting up your online store on WordPress, it’s a good idea to begin with simple and trusted payment methods. Stripe and PayPal are well-known and widely used payment gateways that many customers are comfortable with. These are like safe and convenient cash registers for your website’s checkout.

Compare your options for hosting. 

Before you make a decision, you need to research a few different hosting providers. Each provider specializes in a specific type of hosting. Some hosting providers are really good for small websites, while others are better for big ones with many visitors.

To make sure you’re making the right choice, you have to look into what each hosting provider offers, read what they say about their services, and see if they have good customer reviews.

Hire a developer. 

When creating a sophisticated WordPress website, you can hire a developer or do it yourself with the help of step-by-step guides. 

However, if your website is not too complicated, you might not need a developer. Plenty of tutorials are available that guide you through building different types of WordPress websites. 

WordPress.org vs WordPress.com: A Comparison Table 

In general, WordPress.org is suitable for individuals aiming to create a website from scratch and retain full autonomy. This demands coding expertise and isn’t ideal for beginners. 

In contrast, WordPress.com is more user-friendly, though advanced customization requires a higher-priced plan.

WordPress Pricing: FAQs

In Conclusion

When it comes to WordPress pricing in 2023, it’s essential to understand the various elements that contribute to the overall cost. By carefully assessing your needs and making informed choices, you can build a functional and attractive website without overpaying.