What do you need to build a WordPress Website?

Our Sales and Web team get a lot of questions relating to the “cost” of website because they love sites that we build. Let's talk about the reality of the cost. 

What do you need to actually build a WordPress Website:

1. WordPress Hosting
2. Domain Name
3. Design aka Theme or Builder
4. Plugins and Extensions/Apps
   

The things listed above are what you have to have in order to build a site. The cost of these vary depending on where you purchase them. 

Let’s breakdown the real cost of building a WordPress website based on the type of site that you are building. 

1. Standard WordPress Website
2. Standard WordPress Website with Customizations and Features
3. eCommerce WordPress Website
4. Fully Customized WordPress Website 

Each of the types of sites listed above are basically different levels of a build. They all need the standard things but they vary based on functionality and fancy things being added on. 

Standard WordPress Website

• Domain name: This is something that is required. Domain names vary by cost depending on the domain registrar (company) you are using and what your domain is. For example, “.com” is going to be cheaper than “.info” typically. We typically see that domains cost $10 to $20 per year. 

• WordPress Hosting: Self hosting means that you are using large companies and managing everything yourself as far as backups, maintenance, updates, etc. Dependent on the hosting company will depend on what the cost is. Typically, we see that self hosting is between $50 to $100 per year. Managed hosting means that a company is maintaining your site in some fashion. There are various levels which drastically change the price and also vary a lot between companies. To learn more about managed hosting, reach out to us anytime.

• WordPress website set up: If you are doing this yourself, you next need to install WordPress on your hosting account. Each hosting provider can provide instructions for this and typically do when you sign up. Once this is installed you then can choose a design for your site using a free template or theme. There are thousands and thousands of them available for FREE. Choose your design and install it on your WordPress site. Now you are ready to build your site and add plugins if needed. 

• Plugins: There are some standard plugins that everyone should probably have. Plugins are like apps or extensions for your site that can do various things such as add a feature or functionality to your site or integrating with another service that you use. For example, most every site has some type of contact form where people can reach out to them. You will have to select a contact form plugin that you want to utilize. We love Gravity Forms but there are quite a few out there. Another example is if you wanted to have a photo gallery. There are tons of photo gallery plugins that are simple to use and free. 
  

Due to the DIY ease, free services and features that you can utilize and the self managed hosting, the total cost for this set up would be as low as $100. If you were to add on managed hosting services or a web agency to do this type for you, it would increase this cost of course.

Standard WordPress Website with Additional Functionality

Everything is typically the same as the Standard WordPress Website but there are a few extras that add to the cost. 

• Hosting: Depending on what you are adding to the site, you might need a more powerful hosting configuration which can increase the cost. 

• WordPress website set up: You can utilize premium WordPress themes or templates on your site. These are different from the free versions because these ones typically come with tons of extras features and support for 6 months to a year. Support means that you can reach out to the people who created the theme or template and get help from them directly or ask questions to the community. 

• Plugins: You can utilize plugins that cost a one-time fee or recurring fee. Some plugins will unlock other functionality that the free version does not. You also typically get better support from the paid version of plugins and they are often times updated more regularly. 
  

Due to the DIY ease, free and paid services and features that you can utilize and the self managed hosting, the total cost for this set up would still be fairly low. The cost typically would be at least $500 since you are adding premium themes/templates and plugins. It is all dependent on what you purchase though. If you were to add on managed hosting services or a web agency to do this type for you, it would increase this cost of course.

eCommerce WordPress Site

All of the standard information applies to this type of site as well but the difference is that you have to add quite a bit to it which can exponentially increase your cost. 

• WordPress Hosting : You can self host eCommerce sites but you would want to make sure that they are powerful enough for eCommerce hosting or else you have the potential of having a website that is always breaking or not showing online properly. You will need to have an SSL certificate added to your hosting plan. Typically, these cost extra on top of your normal hosting plan. Prices vary though so definitely research before signing up for hosting if e-commerce is what you desire to do. 

• WordPress website set up: Set up is the same as the other two standard website setups. 

• Plugins: You will need to have an eCommerce plugin for WordPress added to the site. There are several that are great but we always recommend WooCommerce. It is widely known, has tons of tutorials and support, and it is what we would recommend to anyone. There are tons of add-ons for WooCommerce as well so check those out. Some have cost associated but a lot of them are free and increase the functionality and features available for your store. You will also have to research and decide upon a payment gateway. WooCommerce has a default which is PayPal. This is free and you just have to link your PayPal account to the site. Easy peasy! If you want to have a more powerful payment gateway, there are several options available and all have pros and cons so definitely do your research. 
  

If you are building and managing all of this yourself, the price typically will start around $1000 with all of the themes, templates, and add-ons. If you were to add on managed hosting services or a web agency to do this type for you, it would increase this cost of course. Either way, the cost would be dependent on how many paid add-ons and what all you are trying to do. 

Custom WordPress Website

A custom WordPress website is where you reach out to a web agency or WordPress freelancer in order to create your own unique design and/or build special features for your site. 

• WordPress Hosting: This is definitely when you want to have managed WordPress hosting because there are so many customization and various things that you will have to update or support that it will be totally worth the extra cost to not have to worry about your site. QuickFix clients love our managed hosting because we provide quiet and they do not have to worry about their website. 

• Set up/ plugins/ etc: Everything will be outlined by your web developer or the agency that is helping you. There is typically a build cost, plugin and tool cost as well as the monthly managed hosting fee. 
  

This cost is a very wide range since every agency, developer and website build varies so drastically. Typically, this would start around at least $1,200. If you wanted to self host this, technically you can but we do not recommend it. If you were to add on managed hosting services or a web agency to do this type for you, it would increase this cost of course. 

Our Recommendations

1. We recommend that you stick within your budget and needs. If you are a small business, you probably can start with a standard WordPress site and grow it from there. QuickFix does a variety of things to help businesses of all sizes. Just ask us!! 
2. Your site is a living, breathing entity so think long term and not just your short term goals. If you long term want to have a custom WordPress site with all the bells and whistles, then start small and grow into that. With the right agency, you can do this very easily. QuickFix does this with a lot of our start up clients and they love it. 
3. Make sure you do your own research. Do not just accept an agency's word for the cost and recommendations. There might be a better way that will save you time, money and frustration in the long run. 
   

Overall every business should have a website even if it is just a simple and small one. If you need help or have questions, reach out to QuickFix Web Department anytime. They are awesome and happy to chat with you!