Having a strong digital presence is crucial for every business today. It helps attract a wider user base and gives you an edge over competitors.
Numerous website builder platforms are available these days. However, with a 42.7% global market share, WordPress tops the list as an immensely popular CMS platform worldwide.
WordPress is a leading content management system (CMS), and has become a go-to platform for building websites due to its flexibility, ease of use, and extensive range of features. Nevertheless, when building a WordPress website, one key consideration is understanding the costs involved.
The cost of building a WordPress website can vary significantly. It’s influenced by factors such as domain registration, hosting, themes, plugins, customisation, content creation, SEO, marketing, and maintenance. Understanding these elements is key to managing your website development budget.
In this blog post, we’ll delve into the various factors that contribute to the cost, giving you a clear understanding of what to expect during the journey towards your WordPress website development phase.
So by the end of this blog, you’ll have a detailed pricing sheet for WordPress website building cost and tips on balancing overpricing.
But before that, the question that bothers every WordPress user
Is WordPress Actually Free?
WordPress itself is free to use as it is an open-source content management system (CMS). You can download the WordPress software and install it on your own hosting server without paying any licensing fees.
While the WordPress software itself won’t cost you a dime, to have a fully functional website, you’ll need to pay for a domain name (your website’s address) and web hosting (storage space for your website’s files).
There are also optional costs like snazzier themes and feature-rich plugins, but the core WordPress software is free to use and modify, making it a budget-friendly website building option.
| What Makes WordPress the Best CMS?Â
WordPress combines user-friendliness, flexibility, scalability, SEO-friendliness, community support, security, mobile responsiveness, cost-effectiveness, and integration capabilities. Below are the main reasons that makes WordPress as the best choice for your business: |
| Note: Although WordPress is a budget-friendly and user-centric CMS, there’s nothing wrong in comparing its specifications with the popular alternatives like Joomla, Magento, Shopify and Drupal to make an informed decision. |
Cost of WordPress Website: As per the Business Size
The cost of a WordPress website can vary significantly based on the size and complexity of the business, including eCommerce and enterprise-level websites.
For small businesses or startups, the cost typically ranges from $10,000 to $30,000, depending on the level of customisation, functionalities, and integrations required. The cost can range from $30,000 to $200,000 or more for medium-sized businesses or growing startups with eCommerce needs.
Enterprise-level websites for large corporations or organisations require extensive customisation, scalability, and advanced functionalities. The cost for enterprise-level WordPress websites can range from $200,000 to $280,000 or more.
| While WordPress provides a cost-effective and flexible platform for creating websites, it’s important to budget for the additional costs depending on your specific needs and requirements. |
Below is the table showing a brief estimate of the cost of WordPress website development as per the business size:
| Website Type | Description | Estimated Cost |
| Simple Website | Basic design and layout, standard functionalities, minimal customisation, and third-party integrations. | $10,000 – $30,000 |
| Moderate Website | Customised design and layout, additional functionalities (e-commerce, memberships, booking), moderate customisation. | $30,000 – $100,000 |
| eCommerce Website | Includes features such as online store setup, product listings, shopping cart, payment gateways, and order management. | $100,000 – $200,000 |
| Enterprise Website | Custom-designed layout, advanced functionalities, extensive customisation and integrations, SEO and performance optimisation. | $200,000 – $280,000+ |
Factors Determining WordPress Website Development Cost
The allure of WordPress lies in its ability to cater to a range of budgets. However, the final cost of your WordPress website can vary depending on several factors.
By carefully considering these factors, you can estimate the cost of building your WordPress website and make informed decisions that align with your budget and website goals.
Here’s a breakdown of the key influences:
Website Complexity
Website complexity is a major driving force behind the cost of your WordPress website. It includes the number of pages, layout customisation, graphic design elements, and animations.
A simple website with a basic design, standard functionalities like contact forms and a blog, minimal customisation, and few third-party integrations would have low complexity.
On the other hand, a complex website may include custom-designed layouts, advanced functionalities, extensive customisation, integration with multiple third-party services and APIs, comprehensive SEO strategies, performance optimisation, multimedia content, and ongoing maintenance.
| Complexity Level | Estimated Cost |
| Simple Website | $10,000 – $30,000 |
| Moderate Complexity | $30,000 – $100,000 |
| Highly Complex | $100,000 – $250,000+ |
The more intricate functionalities and features you require, the more complex your website becomes, and consequently, the higher the development cost.
Design Customisation
Design customisation refers to the process of tailoring the site’s appearance and layout to align with its brand identity, user experience goals, and visual aesthetics.
It involves UI/UX design for building a WordPress website that tailors the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) elements to create an intuitive, engaging, and seamless visitor browsing experience.
The design customisation includes customising the layout, navigation menus, typography, colour schemes, imagery, icons, buttons, forms, and interactive elements to ensure consistency, accessibility, and visual appeal.
UI/UX design customisation focuses on optimising usability, functionality, and user engagement. Therefore, an average of $70,000 to $100,000 will be observed to implement best practices.
Development
Next is the development phase, which involves selecting and customising a WordPress theme to match the website’s design requirements and brand identity.
It also includes content creation and management and integrating essential plugins for functionalities such as SEO optimisation, contact forms, e-commerce capabilities, and security measures.
The development phase of WordPress includes:
- Frontend Development – It focuses on the client-side functionalities such as the layout, design elements, navigation menus, forms, buttons, content presentation, and overall user experience (UX).
This involves HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery to create responsive and aesthetically pleasing designs that work seamlessly across different devices and screen sizes. - Backend Development – It deals with the server-side functionalities, database management, and server logic that power the website’s functionality.
This includes PHP scripting, database queries (often using MySQL), server-side programming, security implementations, user authentication, content management systems (CMS), and integration with third-party services and APIs.
The developers of a professional WordPress development company are proficient in both front-end and back-end technologies and play a vital role in executing the development phase efficiently; for this, you might spend between $20,000 and $200,000.
Testing
Testing is an unsung hero in the world of WordPress website development. It’s the quality assurance step that ensures your website functions flawlessly and delivers a smooth experience for visitors. Here’s how testing plays a crucial role:
- Catching Bugs and Errors: Before you unleash your website on the world, testing helps identify and fix any bugs, glitches, or broken functionalities. It helps prevent these frustrating scenarios for both you and your visitors.
- Optimising Website Speed: Testing helps identify performance bottlenecks and allows you to optimise your website’s speed for a lightning-fast experience.
- Enhancing Usability: Usability testing involves observing real users interacting with your website and identifying any areas that might be confusing or difficult to navigate.
Testing can be done in-house or outsourced to professionals. While some basic testing can be done for free, using sophisticated testing tools or hiring professional testers will involve additional costs ranging between $4000 and $18,000.
Additional Costs
WordPress itself is free to use. However, several additional costs, often referred to as hidden costs, can arise during WordPress website development. These costs may not be immediately apparent but should be considered when budgeting for a website project.
- Premium Themes and Plugins: Free themes and plugins offer a good starting point, but they might have limitations in design, features, and support.
Premium themes often provide a more professional look, advanced functionalities, and ongoing updates. Similarly, premium plugins unlock additional features like advanced contact forms, SEO optimisation tools, or e-commerce functionalities.
[Want to learn how to develop your custom WordPress Plugins? Read here] - Security and Maintenance: While some basic security measures can be implemented for free, robust website security often requires additional tools or services.
Similarly, keeping your website updated with the latest WordPress version and plugins requires ongoing maintenance, which can be done in-house or outsourced to a developer.
By considering these additional costs upfront and budgeting accordingly, you can ensure a smoother and more successful WordPress website development process without unexpected financial surprises.
Although these expenses are based on a per-requirement basis, you can still estimate that they will range between $500 and $5000 yearly.
| Do not forget the Initial Fixed Costs!
WordPress software won’t cost you a penny. However, there are some initial fixed costs that you have to incur to procure the services of website building on this platform. These fixed charges mainly include purchasing the hosting provider and domain name that will cost you around $550 to $1050 annually. |
WordPress Website Maintenance Cost
The cost of WordPress website maintenance in Australia can vary depending on several factors such as the complexity of the website, the level of maintenance required, the frequency of updates, and the specific services included.
| Maintenance Package | Description | Estimated Cost (per month) |
| Basic Package | Regular updates for WordPress core, themes, and plugins; security monitoring and malware scanning; backups and restore. | $100 – $250 |
| Standard Package | Includes all services from the basic package plus performance optimisation, SEO optimisation, and uptime monitoring. | $250 – $400 |
| Advanced Package | Includes all services from the standard package plus content updates, custom development, enhanced security measures. | $400 – $550+Â |
Note: These are just rough estimates, and actual costs can vary based on the service provider, the scope of maintenance services, the size and complexity of the website, and any additional requirements or customisation needed.
Custom WordPress Development Cost: A Complete Cost Breakup
Custom WordPress development involves:
- Creating unique designs.
- Customising themes or developing a custom theme from scratch.
- Implementing custom functionalities.
- Integrating third-party services and APIs.
- Optimising performance and SEO.
- Ensuring responsive design.
- Providing ongoing WordPress maintenance and support.
- Making WordPress website Accessible
Due to the tailored nature of custom development, costs can range from a few thousand dollars for simpler projects to tens of thousands of dollars or more for complex and extensive projects.
Below is the detailed price sheet that comprises the estimated view of WordPress Development cost for your project:
| Developmental Process | Design Tasks | Average Costing |
| Initial Fixed Costing | WordPress.com Plan
Domain Name Hosting Provider |
$8-$23 / month
$3-$30 / year $45-$90 / month |
| UI/UX design | Rough sketches
Low fidelity wireframes High fidelity wireframes |
$4000
$8000 $20,000 |
| UI design (visuals) | Mood boards
UI mockup samples Final UI mockups |
$2000
$8000 $20,000 |
| Development | Backend
Frontend |
$20,000-$200,000 |
| Testing | UI/UX testing
Functionality testing Accessibility testing |
$4000-$18,000 |
| Extensions | Website Theme
Plugins Security |
$500-$5000 / year (based on requirement) |
| Total Average Cost | $86,000 – $285,000 |
| Note: The cost sheet above shows the approximate numbers and is subject to change/differ per the client’s website needs and business requirements. Â |
Can You Reduce the Development Cost?
Absolutely! Several strategies and approaches can help reduce WordPress development costs without compromising quality or functionality. Below are some strategies to reduce your WordPress development costs:
- Define Your Needs: Before starting, clearly outline your website’s goals and functionalities. This will help you prioritise essential features and avoid unnecessary spending on bells and whistles.
- Explore Free Resources: WordPress boasts a vast library of free themes and plugins that can fulfil many basic needs. Utilise these resources before considering premium options.
- Minimise Customisations: Extensive design customisation can be expensive. Consider pre-made themes that offer a good starting point and focus on content and branding to create a unique website.
- Compare Quotes: If developer assistance is necessary, get quotes from several developers to compare pricing structures and find someone who fits your budget and project complexity.
Implementing these strategies can significantly reduce your WordPress development costs and build a website that aligns with your budget and goals. Remember, a well-planned and strategically built website can be just as effective as a highly customised one.
Conclusion
By now you must have understood that WordPress itself is free; however, the cost of building a WordPress website involves considering various factors such as domain, hosting, themes, plugins, customisation, content, SEO, testing, marketing, and maintenance.
Therefore, carefully planning and budgeting for these aspects, you can hire the services of a professional and highly experienced WordPress development company that can create a mesmerising WordPress website that meets your needs and effectively help in achieving your online goals.
