WordPress Website Cost Guide 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown

WordPress is free. Running a WordPress website is not.

That distinction trips up business owners constantly. The software costs nothing to download, but the moment you want it live on the internet—with a domain people can find, hosting that keeps it running, and functionality that actually serves your business—real costs enter the picture. Those costs range from under $100 annually for a hobby blog to $15,000+ for custom professional development.

This guide breaks down every cost category, explains what drives the price differences, and helps you determine which investment level makes sense for your situation.

True WordPress website cost at a glance

WordPress software is free. It’s open-source, and that part will never change. But running a WordPress website involves real costs that range from under $100 for a DIY hobby blog to $15,000+ for custom professional development.

The core expenses break down like this:

– Domain registration: $10-20 per year
– Hosting: $3-100+ per month depending on type
– Themes: Free to $100+ for premium options
– Plugins: Free to $300+ per year for premium tools
– Developer fees: $25-200+ per hour if hiring help

The massive price range exists because “WordPress website” means completely different things to different people. A personal blog with a free theme operates in a different universe than a custom-designed ecommerce platform with integrations and conversion optimization.

Personal blog

A hobby blogger can launch for under $100 in the first year. Shared hosting runs $3-10 per month, a free theme works fine, and essential plugins cost nothing. Ongoing costs stay minimal—maybe $50-150 annually for hosting and domain renewal.

This approach works when traffic doesn’t matter and the site exists primarily for personal expression rather than business outcomes.

Small business brochure site

Professional appearance requires more investment. Expect $300-800 in the first year with managed hosting ($20-50 per month), a premium theme ($50-100), and essential plugins for forms, SEO, and security.

The jump in cost reflects the jump in expectations. Visitors judge your business by your website. A site that loads slowly or looks dated costs you credibility.

Ecommerce store

Online selling adds complexity. WooCommerce itself is free, but payment gateway fees (typically 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction), shipping extensions, and inventory management tools push first-year costs to $500-2,000+ for DIY setups.

Professional ecommerce development ranges from $3,000 to $15,000+ depending on product catalog size and custom functionality requirements.

Enterprise platform

Custom development for established businesses with specific requirements typically runs $10,000-50,000+. This includes strategic planning, custom design in Figma before development begins, hand-coded functionality, and ongoing maintenance contracts.

The investment reflects the business impact. When your website generates significant revenue, professional development pays for itself through improved conversion rates.

Core costs you cannot avoid

Every WordPress site requires certain foundational elements regardless of whether you’re building it yourself or hiring professionals.

Domain name

Your domain name is your address on the internet. Registration costs $10-20 annually for common extensions like .com or .net. Premium domains or specialized extensions cost more.

Domain privacy protection—hiding your personal information from public records—typically adds $10-15 per year, though some registrars include it free.

WordPress website hosting cost

Hosting is where your website files live. The server that delivers your pages to visitors when they type in your URL.

Hosting Type	Monthly Cost	Best For
Shared Hosting	$3–10	Personal blogs, low-traffic sites
Managed WordPress	$20–50	Small businesses, professional sites
VPS Hosting	$50–100	Growing businesses, higher traffic
Dedicated Server	$100–300+	Enterprise, high-traffic applications

Shared hosting means your site shares server resources with hundreds of other websites. When one of those sites gets traffic spikes or security issues, your site can suffer too.

SSL certificate and basic security

SSL certificates encrypt data between your website and visitors. Modern browsers flag sites without SSL as “not secure”—a credibility problem for any business.

Many hosting providers include basic SSL certificates free. Premium certificates with extended validation cost $50-200+ annually. Basic security measures like firewall protection and malware scanning often come bundled with managed hosting or through security plugins ranging from free to $200+ per year.

Optional costs that add power and complexity

Beyond the essentials, additional investments can improve functionality, appearance, and performance.

Premium themes and page builders

Free themes work for basic sites. Premium themes ($50-200 one-time or $50-100 per year for subscriptions) offer better design, more customization options, and ongoing support.

Page builders like Elementor Pro or Divi add drag-and-drop design capabilities. Expect $50-200 per year for premium versions.

Premium plugins

WordPress’s plugin ecosystem includes thousands of free options. Premium plugins typically offer better support, more features, and regular updates.

Common premium plugin categories and typical costs:

– SEO tools: $99-299 per year
– Backup solutions: $50-150 per year
– Security suites: $100-300 per year
– Form builders: $50-200 per year
– Performance optimization: $50-150 per year

Custom integrations and APIs

Connecting your website to other business systems—CRM platforms, email marketing tools, payment processors—often requires custom development work or premium plugin licenses.

A simple contact form connected to Mailchimp might cost nothing. A custom integration with an enterprise ERP system could require thousands in development hours.

WordPress web hosting cost explained

Hosting deserves deeper examination because it directly impacts site performance, security, and your ongoing maintenance burden.

Shared hosting

Multiple websites share one server’s resources. The lowest-cost option at $3-10 per month, but performance suffers when neighboring sites consume resources.

Shared hosting works for personal projects and sites with minimal traffic. It becomes problematic when your business depends on consistent performance.

Managed WordPress hosting

WordPress-specific optimization, automatic updates, enhanced security, and expert support. Costs $20-100 per month depending on traffic limits and features.

The “managed” part means someone else handles technical maintenance—core updates, security patches, performance optimization. You focus on your business instead of server administration.

VPS and dedicated hosting

Virtual Private Servers ($50-100 per month) provide dedicated resources without sharing. Dedicated servers ($100-300+ per month) give you an entire physical server.

High-traffic sites, custom server configurations, or applications requiring specific technical environments benefit from VPS or dedicated options.

Custom design and WordPress web design pricing factors

Professional design work involves multiple phases, each requiring specialized skills and time.

UI and UX strategy

Before anyone opens design software, strategic work happens. User research, competitive analysis, wireframing, and information architecture planning.

This phase typically represents 10-20% of a professional project’s hours. Skipping it leads to designs that look nice but don’t convert visitors into customers.

Responsive development hours

Building approved designs into a functioning WordPress site requires development expertise. Hand-coding ensures clean, maintainable code. Testing across devices and browsers catches problems before launch.

A 10-page site typically requires 40-50 development hours from an experienced developer. At professional rates of $100-150 per hour, that’s $4,000-7,500 for development alone.

Performance and accessibility requirements

Page speed optimization, mobile responsiveness, and accessibility compliance add development time but dramatically improve user experience and search rankings.

Google uses page speed and mobile-friendliness as ranking factors. Accessibility compliance (ADA/WCAG standards) reduces legal risk and expands your potential audience.

WordPress ecommerce price breakdown

Selling online introduces specific costs beyond standard website expenses.

WooCommerce setup costs

WooCommerce itself is free. The extensions that make it functional for real businesses are not.

Essential ecommerce additions include shipping calculators, tax automation for multi-state compliance, inventory management tools, customer account features, and reporting dashboards. Budget $200-500 per year minimum for essential WooCommerce extensions.

Payment gateway fees

Every transaction costs money. Standard rates run 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for major processors like Stripe or PayPal.

Monthly gateway fees, international transaction fees, and chargeback fees add to the cost. High-volume merchants can sometimes negotiate better rates.

Inventory and shipping extensions

Product management complexity scales with catalog size. Simple stores with a few products need minimal tooling. Stores with hundreds of SKUs and complex shipping rules require robust solutions.

Shipping integration with carriers like UPS, FedEx, and USPS typically costs $50-200 per year per carrier for real-time rate calculation and label printing.

DIY vs professional agency vs WordPress.com plans

Three distinct approaches serve different needs and budgets.

Factor	DIY Self-Hosted	Professional Agency	WordPress.com
First Year Cost	$100–500	$5,000–15,000+	$48–540
Time Investment	40–100+ hours	5–10 hours (your time)	10–30 hours
Customization	Unlimited (with skills)	Unlimited	Limited
Maintenance	You handle it	Agency handles it	Platform handles it
Ownership	Full ownership	Full ownership	Platform-dependent

Real cost of DIY

The financial cost looks attractive. The time cost often isn’t.

Learning WordPress, selecting and configuring themes, troubleshooting plugin conflicts, optimizing performance, maintaining security—all of this consumes hours that could generate revenue elsewhere. DIY makes sense when you have more time than money or enjoy technical challenges.

Agency project pricing models

Professional agencies typically work on fixed-price projects ($5,000-50,000+), hourly rates ($100-200 per hour), or monthly retainers ($500-5,000 per month).

Fixed-price projects provide budget certainty but require clear scope definition upfront. Hourly arrangements offer flexibility but can exceed estimates. Retainers work well for ongoing relationships with predictable monthly needs.

> Want clarity on what your website actually requires? Book a discovery call to discuss your project with professionals who understand business outcomes.

WordPress.com pricing tiers

WordPress.com offers hosted plans from $4-45 per month with built-in features and simplified management. The tradeoff is limited customization—you can’t install arbitrary plugins or themes on most plans.

This approach works for simple sites where convenience outweighs flexibility.

Hidden and ongoing costs after launch

Website costs continue beyond initial development.

Software updates and maintenance

WordPress core releases updates several times yearly. Themes and plugins update more frequently. Each update can introduce compatibility issues requiring attention.

DIY maintenance costs time. Professional maintenance costs $50-200 per month but includes expertise and accountability.

Security monitoring

Websites face constant attack attempts. Malware scanning, firewall management, backup verification, and security patch application require ongoing attention.

A security breach costs far more than prevention—in direct remediation costs, lost business during downtime, and damaged reputation.

Marketing and SEO budget

A beautiful website that nobody finds generates zero business value. Content creation, search optimization, and potentially paid advertising represent ongoing investments beyond the website itself.

How geography and expertise affect WordPress site price

Developer location and experience level significantly impact project costs.

US-based senior teams

Experienced US-based developers typically charge $100-200 per hour. Higher rates reflect established processes, direct communication, and business context understanding.

Overseas freelancers

Developers in lower cost-of-living regions often charge $25-75 per hour. The rate difference is real, but so are potential challenges with communication, time zones, and varying quality levels.

Hybrid global teams

Many agencies maintain teams across multiple locations—combining senior US-based strategy and project management with skilled developers in other regions.

This model can offer cost efficiency without sacrificing quality, provided the team has worked together long enough to function cohesively.

Cost scenarios from hobby blog to enterprise platform

Real-world examples illustrate how different needs translate to different investments.

Scenario 1: Hobbyist

A personal blog or portfolio site with minimal traffic expectations runs about $75 for the first year and $75 ongoing annually. This covers shared hosting and domain registration with free themes and plugins.

Scenario 2: Local service business

A professional site for a plumber, dentist, or consultant runs $5,590-8,590 for the first year including professional design and development. Ongoing annual costs settle around $515 for hosting, domain, and plugin renewals.

Scenario 3: Scalable ecommerce

An online store with 100+ products runs $9,415-16,415 for the first year including professional development. Ongoing annual costs land around $1,415 plus transaction fees.

Calculating ROI and when to invest in professionals

Professional investment makes sense when the return exceeds the cost.

Conversion rate impact

A professionally designed site converting at 3% versus a DIY site converting at 1% represents a 3x difference in business results from the same traffic.

If you’re spending $1,000 per month on advertising driving 1,000 visitors, that conversion rate difference means 30 leads versus 10 leads monthly.

Opportunity cost of downtime

When your DIY site breaks, you’re troubleshooting instead of running your business. If your site goes down during a marketing campaign, you’re losing money every hour.

Professional maintenance includes someone else solving problems while you focus on revenue-generating activities.

Lifetime asset value

A well-built website is a business asset that appreciates with proper maintenance. A poorly built website is a liability requiring eventual replacement.

The $5,000 professional site that lasts five years costs $1,000 per year. The $1,500 cheap site that requires rebuilding after two years costs $750 per year—plus the opportunity cost of operating with a subpar site during that time.

Next steps to get an accurate WordPress website quote

Before engaging with developers or agencies, gather information that enables accurate scoping.

Document your requirements: How many pages do you need? What functionality is required? What integrations with other systems are necessary? What’s your timeline and budget range?

Review potential vendors by examining their portfolio, asking about their process, and noting their responsiveness during initial conversations.

Understand what you’re buying by clarifying who owns the domain and hosting, whether you’ll have full admin access, what’s included in ongoing maintenance, and what happens if you want to leave.

FAQs about WordPress website cost

How long does it take to build a custom WordPress site?

Professional WordPress sites typically require four to twelve weeks depending on complexity and revision cycles. Simple brochure sites complete faster than ecommerce or custom functionality projects.

Do premium plugins charge monthly or lifetime fees?

Most premium WordPress plugins use annual subscription models for updates and support, though some offer lifetime licenses. Lifetime licenses can save money long-term but may leave you without support if the developer stops maintaining the product.

Can I start with cheap hosting and upgrade later without rebuilding?

Yes, WordPress sites can migrate between hosting providers without rebuilding, though performance optimization may require adjustments. Plan for migration costs and potential downtime during transitions.

What does WordPress maintenance typically include?

WordPress maintenance covers core updates, plugin updates, security monitoring, backup management, and performance optimization. Professional maintenance prevents security vulnerabilities and compatibility issues.

How often does a business website need a full redesign?

Most business websites benefit from redesigns every three to five years to maintain modern appearance and functionality. Regular maintenance and incremental improvements can extend the useful life of a well-built site.