WordPress Pricing: How Much Does it Cost to Build a WordPress Website?

WordPress is the most popular & fully functional content management system, or CMS, that allows users of all levels of expertise to launch and manage a website. For those without site development training and expertise, WordPress can be installed with “one-click,” and customized from a host’s control panel with any of the thousands of premium and free themes available from WordPress itself and a long list of third-party developers.

The overall WordPress cost includes various factors such as hosting, themes, plugins, domain, SSL certificates, and ongoing maintenance. WordPress allows for advanced customization and control for site owners with web design and development experience.

WordPress Pricing: Costs for Setting Up a Website

Since WordPress is free to download, it offers a free plan with minimal features suitable for personal use. The cost of building a WordPress website comes from setting the site up, using plugins and themes that aren’t free, and any design costs incurred if you don’t build it yourself. The free version has limited features and customization options, often requiring additional purchases compared to the paid plans.

Components Needed to Build a WordPress Site that Incur Cost

• Domain Name
• WordPress Hosting Plan
• Themes
• Plugins
• Website Security & Protection

Purchasing a Domain Name

Already know what domain name you want to buy but haven’t purchased it yet? You are in luck because there are companies like Bluehost where you can buy your domain name and set up hosting at the same time. You also have the option to connect a custom domain from a separate provider.

The hard part about buying a domain is choosing which one to use after that it’s easy. Some hosting plans offer a free domain for the first year, but additional costs can arise with domain names. The average domain name typically costs around $14.99 but can vary depending on the name, domain extension, and the length of time you buy it for.

WordPress Hosting Cost: The Different Types of Hosting Plans Available

WordPress can be used in so many different hosting environments, the price for WordPress hosting can range from less than $5 per month for shared hosting to several hundred dollars for fully managed hosting. The costs associated with WordPress sites include expenses for web hosting, domain names, SSL certificates, WordPress themes and plugins, developer fees, website maintenance, and security. Between those two extremes lies a variety of hosting packages offering varying combinations of services and customer support, so that there is a hosting price to suit the needs of users ranging from personal bloggers to large corporations.

Using WordPress software requires hosting, a domain name, and premium themes to build and scale a website. Bluehost offers the following WordPress Hosting options:

• WordPress Hosting – Basic, Choice Plus, Online Store and Cloud
• Woocommerce Hosting – Online Store, Online Store + Marketplace

WordPress Hosting Options

WordPress’s versatility and flexibility make it possible to include WordPress in hosting environments of all kinds – and to allow for a range of hosting packages and prices to meet a wide range of user needs.

When using WordPress.org, users can also benefit from community forums for getting help or hiring a web development company to create a unique and custom website.

Shared WordPress Hosting – Affordable Options for Small Sites

A shared WordPress hosting solution is not for everyone. In this kind of hosting environment, a site powered by WordPress shares space on a common server used by hundreds, or potentially thousands, of sites using not only WordPress but also the many other available site builders. This allows providers to offer a basic plan at very low prices. For users who want more features than the basic low cost service can offer, some shared WordPress hosting providers may also offer tiered service packages for higher prices.

• Cost – with hosting prices that can start as low as $3-$5/month per month on initial promotions to standard rates around $20/month
• Site Speed – all sites on a shared server have to share the server’s resources equally, a site that uses more of those resources can cause neighboring sites to run slowly.
• Security – security measures may be skimpy and poorly implemented, too.
• Support – the lack of WordPress specific features and support can also mean that users are not likely to get assistance from the support team for WordPress related problems.

But, for smaller sites and new users who are establishing an online presence, shared WordPress hosting can be an affordable and convenient option.

Managed WordPress Hosting – More Features at Higher Prices

Some hosting providers offer WordPress hosting exclusively, with a long list of optional features that can be combined to create customized packages that can meet the needs of larger, more complex sites. This kind of managed WordPress hosting is optimized to support all the features of WordPress design and development.

• Cost – as low as $19.99/month to $60/month depending on needs and features
• Site Speed – websites load faster and can accommodate higher traffic volumes than typical shared hosting environments that distribute server resources over a much larger number of sites running on different platforms available through the host.
• Security – includes enhanced security features for protection against both general and WordPress-specific threats. Security monitoring, upgrades, and patches are carried out automatically by the web host as part of the dedicated hosting contract
• Support – technical and customer support representatives are specialists, specifically trained to offer in-depth solutions to users’ questions and concerns.
• Management Services – Depending on the level of service, this kind of web host can also take complete ownership of managing the site, which includes handling all technical and maintenance issues such as upgrades and site security monitoring.

At Bluehost, we know speed is a huge factor in hosting. We want our users to have the best possible experience with their websites, which is why we recently implemented platform optimizations that resulted in major hosting improvements. You’ll now see server response times that are up to 70% faster.

eCommerce Hosting Plans with WooCommerce

Building an online store? No problem! WordPress supports WooCommerce, the most popular online store platform. Most hosting providers allow you to pick a WordPress hosting plan that will automatically include WooCommerce.

WooCommerce allows you to manage products & shipping, take secure payments, and build your site to your businesses needs.

• Cost – as low as $7/month to $32/month

A Price to Suit Every WordPress Website

The spectrum of available WordPress hosting options not only allows new users to establish an online presence but also provides scalable solutions for growth over time. Various factors influence WordPress website pricing, such as hosting plans, domain name, and themes.

From low-cost shared hosting of a free WordPress install to fully managed hosting that includes enhanced security and WordPress specific optimization, there’s a WordPress hosting solution that can fit just about any budget.

WordPress Pricing: Premium Themes

Once you have installed WordPress, it is time to start designing your site. WordPress offers several free WordPress theme templates, but you also have the option to upgrade to premium templates. Free themes may lack the necessary features to develop a feature-rich WordPress website, while premium themes offer more intricate design components and support. Premium themes offer more features and do cost extra. It all depends on the needs of your business or website that is being created.

Premium themes typically offer more customization options, are of higher quality, and offer more security features.

WordPress Pricing: Premium Plugins

Certain features that most businesses use require the use of a plugin. Some include but not limited to forms, photo galleries, and optimization plugins. Some popular plugins that people pay for include:

• WooCommerce (eCommerce)
• WP Rocket (Site speed)
• WP Forms Pro (Forms)
• OptiMonster (Lead Generation)
• Sucuri (Website Security)

WordPress Pricing: Website Security

If you purchased your domain and hosting plan from the same provider, a free SSL certificate might have been included. This will help keep your site secure and display your web address with HTTPS in front of the URL, protecting the connection between the user’s computer and the site.

If an SSL certificate was not part of your package, it is highly recommended that you purchase one to keep your site secure. Plugins can also add extra security. Sucuri and WordFence are two of the most popular security plugins.

Choose Your WordPress Hosting Plan & Getting Started Building Your Website Today!