Website Cost Calculator – How Much Does It Cost To Build A Website With WordPress By Yourself?

Cost is one of the most important factors when it comes to creating a website. In this website cost calculator post, I will examine all the costs associated with building a WordPress site.

WordPress has remained popular for years because of its ease of use and affordability. If you’re thinking about creating and customizing a site using WordPress, many options won’t break your budget. WordPress is excellent platform choice for building your business.

WordPress is an entirely free and open content management system (CMS). There are tons of free plugins and tools you can use to optimize your WordPress site. You can use them to create your own website from scratch with little or no coding knowledge.

However, there are still some implicit costs when launching a WordPress website. It’s not easy to know in advance precisely what your costs will be, because they can vary depending on your own individual wants and needs.

I suggest starting small. You can then scale your WordPress site over time as it grows. There are some great plugins that you can purchase, but they won’t be required when your site is in the preliminary stages.

 

Website Cost Calculator

Here are a few costs involved when building a WordPress website from scratch by yourself:

 

Domain Name

When you’re thinking about building a WordPress site, one of the first considerations will be your domain name. A domain name (the uniform resource locator or URL). It’s the name that people will type in to find your website.

Domain name pricing can vary significantly from provider to provider. Domain names ending with the .com extension are some of the most popular choices because they usually are the least expensive option. Most domain names cost about $10 to $15 per year. Specific hosting plans will even offer domain names free of charge.

 

 

I don’t recommend using free domain names such as www.yourdomainname.wordpress.com provided by WordPress.com’s hosting. Having your own unique domain name lends more credibility to your business and makes it unique (see what are disadvantages of using free WordPress hosting).

This helps you stand out in the crowded online world. The cost of building your website will also vary, depending on the domain name that you select and related options (like protecting your information privacy in WhoisGuard, etc.).

 

Web Hosting

Web hosting gives your site a home on the Internet. Once you’ve selected the right domain name, you need a good web host to publish your WordPress site (see best cheap WordPress hosting options). Hosting prices can fluctuate depending on the type of market.

If you’re about to launch a new site or have already started one, you may want to consider using a lower-priced web hosting service. New web sites tend to have less initial traffic than an already established website.

The lower your site traffic is, the less pressure is put on your site’s web hosting server. That’s why you don’t initially need to go with a higher-priced web host. On average, you’ll probably pay around $30 per year for web hosting services at the beginning.

 

 

Once your blog or e-commerce site starts to grow in popularity, it’s time to think about using a premium web hosting service. As your site visitors increase, that added traffic can start to slow down your server.

If the price isn’t a concern, you may want to use a WordPress-oriented web host. These companies also provide additional services, including faster speeds, security, and information backup.

A good web hosting providers to choose include Cloudways (check Cloudways review), 10Web (check 10Web review), GreenGeeks (check GreenGeeks pros & cons), InMotion hosting, WPEngine, etc.

 

WordPress.com or WordPress.org

No matter how much of a novice or an expert you are, it’s important to know the distinction between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. They sound very similar, but in reality they are both quite different from each other. Each site provides different services.

 

 

If you don’t want to worry about hosting service and domain name costs, use WordPress.com. However, there’s a catch. WordPress.com doesn’t offer any free themes or plugins.

WordPress.org offers a lot of great plugins and themes for free, but it doesn’t offer free web hosting. Between the two sites, using WordPress.org offers more free software options that can help your site run more efficiently.

 

WordPress Themes

WordPress has many impressive themes that you can use. You can use plugins later to make changes to your theme. The ideal theme is one that best fits the desired look and feel that you want your site to have. Take some time to think about your site. Do you want it to be easy to use and navigate? Should it look professional, or should it just be fun and engaging? There are themes to fit just about every niche and purpose.

 

 

A good theme is important, but so is your estimated web creation budget. Your budget should be able to afford your theme’s price. WordPress themes cover a wide price range, from free themes to ones that cost several hundreds of dollars (see differences between free vs paid WordPress theme). If the price is an issue, you can always select a free WordPress theme.

Most multipurpose WordPress themes are available for around $50. Compared to free themes, these themes offer more customization. Paid themes can also be used with plugins that allow you even more freedom to create your own custom niche website. This average price lets you calculate your budget more accurately and allocate enough funds for your site.

 

 

You can also purchase themes from Template Monster, Mojo Marketplace, Envato Market, Elegant Themes, ProteusThemes, ThemeIsle, TeslaThemes, etc. Some of the great themes include Astra (see Astra theme review), Deep theme (check Deep theme review), OceanWP (see differences between OceanWP free vs OceanWP pro), etc.

 

WordPress Plugins

WordPress plugins are extra bits of code that you can add on to your site. Also known as extensions, some plugins are free, while other premium themes typically run anywhere from $10 to $200. These charges can either be one-time costs or recurring fees.

I suggest trying free plugins first. If you like them, you can always upgrade later. The functionality from most free plugins should suffice. If your business relies on certain types of functionality, then you may want to upgrade to more professional plugins.

 

 

Using the right WordPress tools and plugins can help you grow your business. Using the right plugins in your backend can dramatically improve your site’s aesthetics, efficiency, and functionality almost instantly for both you and your site users.

Even though the types of plugins to use depend on your site’s niche, there are certain plugins that all websites should have. Data backup, search engine optimization, site speed, social sharing, and security are universal concerns that no site owner should ignore. In the WordPress community, the saying goes that “for whatever you want to do, a plugin exists.”

 

SSL Certificate

Adding a secure sockets layer (SSL) to your site is important, especially if you run an eCommerce store. Visitors are usually concerned about security and tend to stay away from insecure sites. Adding an SSL certificate to your site can give those visitors the peace of mind that they need.

 

 

You’ll also need to have an SSL certificate for your site because Google uses HTTPS as a ranking factor. An SSL certificate can run anywhere from $50 to $250 per year. Some web hosts may offer an SSL certificate for free or at a reduced price if you’re signing up with them for the first time. You can also get an SSL certificate for free from Let’s Encrypt.

 

e-Commerce Features

Building an online store can seem intimidating, but it really isn’t. WordPress doesn’t have any default e-commerce features, but several options can get your store up and running smoothly in no time:

• Easy Digital Downloads (Free with paid extensions): An excellent choice for any e-commerce store that’s selling digital products and services.
• WooCommerce (Free with paid extensions): An all-in-one e-commerce solution for WordPress sites.

 

 

Most of these plugins are free, but you may need to purchase premium plugins to ensure that they operate and function the way that you want. Accessing all the WordPress features isn’t always cheap, and pricing can vary depending on functions and need.

 

How Much Does It Cost To Build a WordPress Website?

To have a good WordPress site, you need a domain name and web hosting. As previously stated, the cost of building a fully functional WordPress-powered website depends on what you need.

Beginners are probably better off using free or low-cost options. You don’t need all the premium features right away.

When you’re trying to figure out the cost of building your WordPress site, first think about the kind of site that you want to have. Consider who your audience is, how much traffic you’d like to draw to your website, whether or not you need to integrate e-commerce into it, how you can appear more prominently in search engine rankings, and other factors.

All of this can help you determine the total overall cost of your site’s creation. Many of the world’s most popular sites use WordPress, so can you. I hope this website cost calculator post helped to determine your budget when starting a website. If after this you think that WordPress is not right choice for your, then check Shopify as it offers more out-of-the-box features. You can check WooCommerce vs Shopify comparison to see what are the differences.