Think WordPress is Free? Here's the Real WordPress Costs

WordPress is widely recognised as one of the most popular website-building platforms available today. With its open-source nature, many assume that utilising WordPress means creating a custom website, for free. However, this perception overlooks the various costs associated with developing and maintaining a functional and professional site.

This article aims to shed light on these expenses, helping you understand how much WordPress costs to create a site that meets your needs. From hosting and themes to plugins and security, we will explore the financial aspects often hidden behind the allure of a “free” platform.

First, let’s see why so many people are attracted to WordPress.

The Attraction of WordPress

WordPress has become a household name for website creation, thanks to its user-friendly interface and extensive themes and plugins. Its open-source nature makes it freely accessible, attracting both beginners and experienced developers. However, while the core software is free, additional costs such as hosting, domain registration, premium themes, plugins, and security measures add up quickly, making it a significant financial investment.

As your WordPress site grows, maintenance costs increase. A simple blog might need basic hosting and a free theme, but an e-commerce site requires advanced features and higher-quality hosting to handle traffic and transactions securely. Understanding WordPress pricing, including ongoing maintenance fees and the variability in costs depending on whether services are managed in-house or outsourced, helps manage expectations and plan a realistic budget for a thriving WordPress or ecommerce site.

Considering these factors is essential as we delve deeper into understanding WordPress costs.

Key Cost Components of a WordPress Website Cost

When planning for a WordPress website, it's crucial to understand the WordPress website cost, accounting for both initial and ongoing expenses. While the software itself is free, you’ll need to pay for a domain name, reliable hosting, premium themes and plugins. As your site grows, also consider expenses for maintenance, updates, and technical support to fully grasp the financial commitment.

1. Domain Name

The cost of a domain name can vary depending on the domain registrar, and the domain extension (.com, .net, .org, etc.). Typically, domain names can range from £8.00 to £20.00 per year. However, premium domain names with popular keywords or short, memorable combinations can be significantly more expensive.

It’s crucial to choose a domain name that represents your brand well and is easy for visitors to remember. Some hosting providers and plans offer a free domain registration for the first year, which can lead to savings, but be aware that costs will incur after the initial free period.

2. Web Hosting

Web hosting is the service that allows your website to be accessible on the internet. There are several types of hosting options available:

• Shared Hosting: This is the most economical option, where multiple websites share the same server resources. It’s suitable for small websites with low traffic. Prices can start from £4 per month.
• VPS Hosting: Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting offers more resources and better performance than shared hosting. It provides a virtual environment with dedicated resources, making it suitable for growing websites. Costs typically starts from £8 per month.
• Managed Hosting: Managed hosting services take care of all technical aspects, including updates, security, and backups. This option is convenient for businesses without in-house technical expertise. Prices can vary significantly, often starting from £25-£30 per month and going up based on the level of service provided.

Selecting the right hosting type depends on your website’s needs, traffic volume, and your budget. Many web hosting plans also offer a custom domain free for the first year, which can be a significant benefit for businesses and personal websites.

Let’s say you opt for Shared Hosting at £4 per month—this adds up to a total of £48 per year.

3. Themes

WordPress themes determine the visual appearance and layout of your WordPress site.

• Free Themes: The WordPress repository offers a wide range of free themes. While they are budget-friendly, they may come with limited customisation options, functionalities, and support.
• Premium Themes: These themes are often more feature-rich and come with dedicated support and regular updates. Premium themes can cost between £30 and £100 as a one-time fee, though some may have yearly subscriptions.
• Customisation Costs: If you need a unique design that aligns perfectly with your brand, you might consider hiring a developer or designer to create a custom theme. Custom themes provide complete control over the design but can be costly depending on the complexity and functionality you need.

We know that most of the time, you can use free themes, but sometimes, to achieve the functionality or design you want, a premium theme is the only choice. Let’s say you opt for the Blocksy theme, which costs £55.99 per year—this would be part of your ongoing investment in building and maintaining your website.

4. Plugins

WordPress plugins enhance your site with added features, from simple improvements to complex functionalities.

• Free Plugins: There are thousands of free plugins available in the WordPress plugin repository. While they cover a broad range of functionalities, they may have limitations, lack support, and potentially pose security risks.
• Premium Plugins: These plugins offer advanced features, better performance, and dedicated support. Prices can vary widely, from £10 to £100 or more per plugin, often with yearly renewal fees.‍
• Essential Plugins: For a business website, essential plugins might include those for SEO (like Yoast SEO), security (like Wordfence), and e-commerce (like WooCommerce). While these can have free versions, premium versions provide additional capabilities and support.‍
• Cost of Additional Functionality: Depending on your website’s needs, investing in premium plugins for added functionality can significantly enhance your website’s performance and user experience.

Same as for themes, you can choose free versions of plugins, but bear in mind that these are often limited. Depending on your needs, you may find yourself opting for premium ones to achieve your goals.

Let’s say you want an SEO plugin. In most cases, a free one will work great, but if you need advanced features like creating an SEO schema for your website, a premium plugin such as SEOPress Pro costs £39.76 per year.

Now, for legal compliance, we use Termageddon to generate essential legal pages like a Privacy Policy or Cookie Policy. This plugin will cost an additional £9.74 per month, amounting to £116.88 per year.

You might also need additional plugins for specific functionality. For example, creating an advanced contact or enquiry form may require a premium plugin costing around £64.10 per year.

Altogether, with these examples, you’d be spending around £220.74 per year on plugins alone. And this doesn’t account for other tools you might need as your website grows. The list of plugins can expand further depending on your requirements and the features you want to implement.

So far, how much will you be paying per year?

Now, let’s see how these costs add up:

• Domain Name: £10 (average cost for standard domains)
• Web Hosting: £48 (shared hosting at £4/month)
• Premium Theme: £55.99 (Blocksy theme)
• Premium Plugins: £220.74

In total, you’re looking at £334.73 per year for a basic setup with premium features. Keep in mind this doesn’t include additional costs for customisation, advanced functionality, or higher hosting tiers if your site grows.

‍

With a good grasp on the significance of themes and plugins, we can now explore the various factors that influence the Development and Customisation Costs of your WordPress site.

Development and Customisation Costs

When it comes to creating your website, you have two main options: the DIY or hiring a professional web designers. Each approach has its own benefits, costs, and considerations.

DIY Websites

Do you want to create your website yourself? This can be a cheaper option, but it requires time, effort, and a willingness to learn. Most websites need a page builder to create a custom design. For example, you can use Elementor, which costs £5.67 per month. Over a year, this adds up to £68.04.

However, creating your own website means:

• Learning how to design and build a website.
• Mastering the tools and plugins you’ve purchased.
• Spending precious time that could be used elsewhere.

While DIY websites can save on upfront costs, they require a significant time investment and may not achieve the same professional quality as a designer-built website.

Working with Professional Web Designers

Alternatively, you can choose to work with professional web designers. Depending on your needs, the cost of a professionally designed website typically ranges from £1500 to £5000.

Here’s what you get:

• Expertise in design, development, and functionality.
• Access to premium tools and plugins, often covered under the agency’s license.
• A polished, professional website tailored to your specific needs.

That said, sometimes you might require specific functionality that isn't covered by standard tools. For example, if you need a property listing feed, you may opt for a premium plugin like WP Property Feed, which costs anywhere from £199 to £999, depending on the features you need. While this is a one-time fee, it’s an additional cost to consider.

So, how much will you be spending on your website?

If you choose the DIY route, your total costs will include:

• Domain name: £10
• Web hosting: £48
• Premium theme: £55.99
• Plugins: £220.74
• Page builder (e.g., Elementor): £68.04

Total DIY cost: £402.77 per year (approx.).

If you choose to work with a professional web designer, your costs will vary depending on your needs:

• Website design: £1500 to £5000
• Domain name: £10
• Web hosting: £48
• Additional functionality (e.g., WP Property Feed): £199 to £999

Total professional cost: Starting at £1757, potentially reaching £6057, depending on the complexity of your website and additional features.

Ongoing Website Maintenance and Security

So, you’ve finished your website—whether you’ve created it yourself or had a beautiful website built by a professional web design company. Now what? You need to keep your website safe, secure, and up to date, right?

Do It Yourself

If you decide not to pay for website maintenance, you’ll need to take responsibility for:

• Regularly updating plugins, themes, and your CMS.
• Monitoring your website for issues such as downtime or slow loading speeds.
• Fixing any problems that arise, such as broken functionality or security vulnerabilities.

While this approach saves on maintenance costs, it requires ongoing effort and technical know-how. If something breaks, it’s on you to fix it—whether that means troubleshooting yourself or paying for a one-off repair service.

Professional Maintenance Services

Alternatively, you can choose to invest in a website maintenance package. These services typically include:

• Regular updates to plugins, themes, and your CMS to ensure compatibility and security.
• Website backups and monitoring to minimise downtime risks.
• Fixing issues that arise before they impact your users.

Let’s say you opt for a maintenance package that costs £69 per month. Over the course of a year, that adds up to £828—but it offers peace of mind, saving you time and effort while keeping your website running smoothly.

‍

Webflow: A Better Choice for Business Owners?

As a business owner, you need a reliable and efficient website-building platform. Having built numerous websites using WordPress, we’ve observed that the ongoing costs for our clients often ended up higher than anticipated. This experience led us to transition to Webflow, which offers a more affordable and superior solution in many aspects.

Webflow is a powerful website-building platform designed for businesses of all sizes, boasting an array of features that make designing, launching, and maintenance straightforward—without requiring extensive technical skills.

Comparing Costs

Now that we’ve explored the various costs involved, let’s summarise and compare the total costs of building and maintaining a website on WordPress versus Webflow.

WordPress Website

For a standard WordPress website, here’s what you might spend in a year:

• Domain Name: £10.99/year
• Web Hosting: £4/month = £48/year
• Premium Theme: £55.99/year
• Plugins: This varies, but let’s consider:
  • SEO plugin: £39.76/year
  • Legal pages plugin (Termageddon): £116.88/year
  • Advanced forms or specific functionality plugin: £64.10/year

Total for WordPress (DIY):
£335.72/year, plus the cost of your time and learning to build the website yourself.

If you choose to work with a professional web designer, add:

• Website Development Cost: £1,500 to £5,000 (one-time cost)
• Possible additional plugin costs for specific functionality (e.g., property feeds): £199 to £999 (one-time cost).
• Website Maintenance: £69/month = £828/year (optional but recommended).

Webflow Website

For a standard Webflow website, here’s what you might spend in a year:

• Domain Name: £10.99/year
• Webflow Hosting: £11.38/month = £136.56/year

Unlike WordPress, Webflow does not require website maintenance. This is because Webflow doesn’t rely on third-party plugins, which are often the root cause of website issues on WordPress. With WordPress, plugins can break your website if they’re not updated, become incompatible with other plugins, or experience conflicts. Webflow provides a fully integrated platform with all necessary tools built in, reducing the risk of your site breaking and eliminating the need for constant maintenance.

Total for Webflow (DIY):
£147.55/year, plus the cost of your time to build the website yourself.

If you choose to work with a professional web designer, add:

• Website Development Cost: £1,500 to £5,000 (one-time cost).

Which Option Is Right for You?

WordPress may appear cheaper if you use free themes and plugins, but the costs can quickly add up when you need premium options or additional functionality. Additionally, WordPress requires regular updates and maintenance to keep your website secure and functional.

Webflow, on the other hand, offers an all-in-one solution without hidden maintenance costs. It’s ideal for those who value simplicity and reliability, as it eliminates the risks of plugin-related issues and the ongoing expense of website maintenance.

Ultimately, the right choice depends on your needs, technical skills, and whether you prefer a DIY approach or hiring a professional web designer.