With 60% market share, WordPress is the most popular CMS worldwide. That’s only one of the reasons why people choose this platform when creating a new website. But there is usually one big question among them: how much does WordPress cost?
The WordPress platform itself is free to use. However, bear in mind that building a website requires things like a domain name, web hosting, themes, plugins. These might have a price tag attached.
Whatever your project, we’re here to tell you about the general cost of making a complete WordPress website.
What do you need to build a WordPress website?
Domain Names
The domain name – the very first thing your visitors will see. If we think of a website as a house, the domain name would be its address line.
You will have to register your domain. If your desired domain name is taken, you’ll definitely find plenty of alternatives.
Picking a domain name can be tricky. You should come up with a unique but simple name so people can easily recognize your site.
There are two parts that make up a domain name. The label, and the Top-Level Domain. If we take hostinger.com as our example, hostinger will be the label, and .com will be the TLD.
.com is the most popular TLD option, but it can be pricey. You can browse alternatives like .net, .org, and .me. Most domains require at least a small payment.
Hosting
Hosting provides users with a place to keep all their websites’ files. With the same house analogy, hosting is the building which stores all your belongings. A hosting provider rents our server space for your data, making it accessible to visitors.
The price varies depending on storage size, bandwidth amount, and other features. Generally, the more you get – the bigger the price.
Another thing to remember is ownership of the server. If you’re using shared hosting, the storage will be divided between several accounts. Meanwhile, a private hosting service lets you have dedicated storage used only by you.
That doesn’t mean other people will be able to access your website’s files. They will be safe and sound, and you’ll be the only one who can make changes. But you will be sharing the storage space and bandwidth with other users.
Choosing a private hosting service is great for heavy traffic websites that always need to run perfectly. Meanwhile, shared hosting is an excellent alternative for smaller projects that receive limited traffic.
Relax, there are still free options. With 000webhost, you won’t have to pay anything to use shared hosting services.
Themes
Themes decide the appearance of a WordPress website. It includes everything from color, to how columns are organized, and other elements.
Actually, WordPress offers free themes that users can choose from. However, they may not satisfy everyone. You can always browse the marketplace and look for premium themes!
The premium ones usually have more sophisticated designs and are updated regularly. There is a cost to pay, but luckily the price range is very large. Some will cost under $10, while others come with theme bundles that cost over hundreds of dollars.
Themes come in the overall WordPress cost. Always consider your needs. If it’s more of a personal blog, don’t’ pay too much for a theme.
Plugins
When you know what features you need, use plugins to integrate them into your site. There’s a plugin for nearly anything, from ecommerce, to quizzes.
Usually, there are several options in every plugin category.
Let’s say you want to have a digital store. You will need a download manager. There are plenty of options to choose from, in many different price ranges. From the paid Easy Digital Download to the free WP-Download Manager.
Remember always to read the reviews, so you know exactly what you’re getting, and if it’s worth your money. You don’t want to build up the overall WordPress cost!
What Is the Estimated Price of a WordPress Site?
When it comes to building your own WordPress site, there are two paths you can take. Either make it yourself or hire someone to do it for you.
The first option is practically free. In exchange, you will have to sacrifice time and energy to get what you want. This option makes sense if you’re just building a small personal blog.
However, it excludes hosting fees, domain names, themes, and plugins.
On the other hand, hiring someone to create your website can be expensive. Depending on your requirements, WordPress cost could build . up to tens of thousands of dollars.
The developer you hire may already include costs like hosting. If you’re hiring a competent and experienced developer, the price might be high. That’s why only famous people or big businesses often take this path.
How Much Does It Cost to Set up a Blog
A blog is commonly used to keep personal writing, basic tutorials, essays, etc. In short, it is often owned by a single person. Do you have to pay much for this?
The answer is no. WordPress.com offers you a free blog service. However, it is limited in terms of design and storage space. And you always have to use the ‘.wordpress.com’ subdomain with you.
000webhost is a great alternative. It offers free hosting and a subdomain, on which you can install WordPress.
If you use free themes and plugins, you won’t need to pay a single penny.
When you feel the need to spend a little money on your blog, there are always premium options.
For a theme, a developer like Genesis offers a lifetime theme package for $129.95. You get a professional look, security, and performance.
If you need more storage and a domain, a hosting company like Hostinger will provide you with both for only $1.45/month.
As for plugins, it depends on what website you are working on, but we’ll get into that later.
All in all, if you choose this route, it will cost you only $156.35 in the first year and $26.50 the next.
How Much Does It Cost to Set up an Ecommerce Site?
It is a different story when you want to build an ecommerce site. You need a bigger server, suitable plugins, a matching theme, and a .com domain is arguably a must.
To have a fully functional ecommerce site, a $0 budget is a poor choice. You may not fulfill customer needs if your site is slow and has only a few features.
We recommend starting with Hostinger’s business package. It’s great for your business and will only cost $3.95 a month and you’ll get a free domain.
Divi has a great collection of ecommerce store themes. The price starts at $89/yearly, or you can pay $299 once. You will have access to all their themes.
And lastly, you should have an ecommerce plugin. WooCommerce is our first choice. It’s free, but the supporting plugins sometimes aren’t.
However, you can still have a working ecommerce site with just WooCommerce.
That’s it, you can have a functional online store running for $136.40/year.
Additional WordPress Costs
Themes and Their Prices
Hundreds of developers invite you to use their unique themes that fit into many different price ranges.
You can opt for a single theme or a bundle. As with Genesis, one theme is priced at $129.95, but there is a bundle package for $499.95 which includes all their themes.
Or TeslaThemes, who offer one theme for $58/year, all themes for $99/year or a lifetime package for $299.
if users don’t want to pay anything, WordPress provides 11 free themes that might do the job.
However, third-party themes are far more secure, updated more regularly, and are better looking. You should choose one if you have the budget.
Plugins and Their Prices
Some plugins are a definite must. Like ones for security, speed, and SEO. Plugins are very important for your website and have a big influence on the overall WordPress cost.
Security plugins like Sucuri Security are a great choice although the price is relatively high – $17/month. But it provides complete protection against any harm to your site.
Google take website speed into account in its ranking system. An advanced speed plugin like WP rocket ($49) is recommended for its features and popularity.
Lastly, If you want your site to rank high, you should definitely have an SEO plugin. Yoast – one of the best SEO plugins out there will cost $89/year.
There are plugins that can wait until your site reaches a certain point. For example the WooCommerce subscription plugin ($249). It works best if your site already has a lot of traffic and you want to use a loyalty system.
There are free alternatives to all of these plugins.
How to Avoid Overspending?
One of the best tips we can give is to ask yourself: What am I going to do with my website? Which WordPress costs are mandatory and which aren’t?
Then you can decide what your website needs: which theme, plugin, hosting, and domain.
If your website is personal or in an early phase, you’ll be fine with free options. We know it takes time to pick the best free ones, but in exchange, you save a lot of money.
However, if your website represents a brand, there’s nothing wrong with opting for the paid versions. After all, the website is not just for you but also your customers and readers.
Conclusion
Several aspects define WordPress cost: plugins, themes, hosting, and the domain. You can choose to have a free WordPress site if you don’t mind the compromise. If you want to have the best features you can, including a site built by an expert, that will cost thousands of dollars.
In the end, it all comes down to the purpose of your site. WordPress cost highly depends on how much functionality you need and how much you are willing to spend.
We hope this article helps you decide the best plan of action.
