What Is the Real Cost of Building a WordPress Website?

You probably have the perfect idea for a business. All you need is a website! Is that all? Right, just a website? Not so fast.

If you start doing research and you’ll quickly see that investment needed to build a business website can vary. And if you’re not careful, it can grow quickly.  So how much does building a website using WordPress actually cost? Simply put, it really depends on the primary factors of domain, hosting, themes, and plugins.

Since there are so many different things that go into building your website, there are plenty of things you could splurge on here and save on there. It all depends on how you choose to build it. Let’s get into these specific areas and see how much each individual aspect of your site could cost.

Domain Name

A domain name is one of those expenses that you can’t really avoid. You will pay a fee when you renew your domain each year. When looking for where to buy, make sure you choose a reputable company with transparent pricing.

Cost: $10-50/Year

Website Hosting

Like a domain name, hosting is an essential for setting up your site. It will also probably be the largest monthly cost, so it’s important to ensure you’re choosing the right host.

Hosting is a tricky thing to price out. While plenty of hosts offer $10/month hosting plans, the old adage “you get what you pay for” especially counts toward hosting. You could host your own site, trust it to a shared host, or you could go with managed WordPress hosting like Pressable. Along with your hosting subscription, you’ll get plenty of added value with 24/7 WordPress hosting support, and Jetpack Security.

Cost: $25/Month

WordPress Theme

One big draw of WordPress is the included themes that give even the least tech-savvy among us the ability to create stunning websites. If you are starting a personal blog or just need somewhere to throw up your résumé and portfolio, a free theme might be a good option. There are tons of professionally designed free themes included with your WordPress account, or you can opt for a premium WordPress theme, which usually averages around $50-$75.

If you need a website fully customized to your brand, offering, and target market you’ll need a custom designed theme. This theme can come from a freelance web web designer and developer if you don’t have someone in-house. Rates for custom themes can vary, so it’s a good idea to get a few different quotes. A standard custom theme should be in the range of $5,000, but depending on your needs, this price can get up past $15,000.

Cost: $0 (DIY) to $15,000 (Custom Design)

WordPress Plugins

While WordPress offers a lot of included functionality in the core software, virtually every website or blog requires additional plugins to augment that base feature set.

WordPress.org lists 50,000+ plugins, and many of these are free to use. The more complex plugins will come with a subscription fee that could climb up to $300/year for the bigger business plans.

One piece of advice when it comes to plugins: You can have too many WordPress plugins. While it can be tempting to download all the latest and greatest, too many plugins can interfere with your site’s speed and functionality.

Cost: $0-$1,000/Year

What’s the Total Cost?

Overall, this means your website could cost as little as $300/year and the price will grow based on the needs of the website owner or organization.

One way to save money is to look into the added perks you can get through your hostin gprovider. With a hosting plan from Pressable, you obtain instant access to JetPack Premium, a plugin that would normally cost you an additional $100/year. Pressable will also perform a lot of the tasks you might think you need a plugin for, like backups and caching. This can save you a lot of money, and a lot of stress from dealing with multiple subscriptions.

Learn more about all the WordPress hosting features you’ll get with Pressable.

Amanda Nadhir

With over a decade of experience in the tech industry, Amanda's experience demonstrates her sales expertise. Her commitment to building, training, and guiding high-performing teams has been instrumental in driving Pressable's success. Amanda's extensive background in sales and marketing, coupled with her sharp business acumen, has made her an invaluable asset to the tech community. Her ability to identify and foster talent, combined with her passion for developing winning sales strategies, has propelled her to the forefront of the industry. When she's not expertly navigating the tech sales landscape, she loves spending quality time with her family, loves travel and adventure, lounging pool/beach-side, playing tennis, working out, and meeting people/making friends all along the way!