What does WordPress cost in 2022 – The WordPress website costs at a glance
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems, and accordingly, many websites are created using the CMS. But is website development completely free? We take a look at all WordPress website costs at a glance. This article is an extension of this one: How Much Cost To Build and Run WordPress Website
Is WordPress CMS Free?
WordPress.org is an open-source system. This means that WordPress is a freely available software, which all users may use: in principle, free of charge.
But what does free mean? Can I create and manage a website with WordPress without paying anything?
First, one thing is clear: It is impossible to create and manage a website without paying anything. The subtle but crucial difference is that while WordPress itself is free, you still have to expect WordPress website costs. How high they are approximate, we look at the following.
1. WordPress Hosting Cost
To run a successful website, you need a good and reliable web host. If you want to build your website with WordPress, it may make sense to go straight for WordPress hosting specializing in content management systems.
Since there is a wide range of WordPress hosts, you should check the essential factors. These include, for example, the current WordPress requirements (PHP version 8.0 or higher, MySQL version 8.0 or higher, and HTTPS support), and the web host is oriented towards HTTP/2.
With most web hosts, you can choose the right one from different tariffs. Most tariffs start at just a few euros per month. Depending on the range of functions, you should expect annual hosting costs of 30 Euros on average.
2. Domain Name Cost
There can be significant differences in domain costs. The top-level domain, i.e., the domain extension, such as “.com” or “.co.uk” plays a decisive role. Depending on the choice of your environment, the annual costs range from a few euros to a high double-digit amount per year.
On average, your domain costs are around 10 Euros per year.
WordPress domain cost after one year
In normal circumstances, the price of your domain name should not increase. But there were cases when the domain owner find out, while he tried to renew the domain name, that the renewal cost was at least doubled. So, my advice is when you acquire the domain name, to register it on more than 3-4 years (maximum time is 10 years, for a .com). In this way, you will pay under $200 for the entire period of time, and another good thing is your domain name will be in your hands for 10 years (there are cases when the domain owner simply forgot to renew the domain name, and it was grabbed by someone else).
3. WordPress Design Cost
The theme of your WordPress website is the set of graphical elements that determine its appearance. You can choose the right one for your website from free WordPress themes. However, the choice is limited. If you already have an exact idea of the design of your website, you will probably not find it here.
In addition to the free themes, there are also many paid themes, for which you should expect costs in the mid-double-digit range. With these themes, you have to cut back less often, you can contact the theme developers in case of questions, and the handling is usually easier.
If you don’t find what you are looking for among the available themes, you can also have one developed specifically for your website. The price depends on how elaborate and feature-rich the design should be. The costs for a developer start at about 1500 euros, but depending on the theme, can quickly reach several thousand euros.
4. WordPress Plugins
WordPress is always the same. However, due to the numerous plugins, users always have the option to retrofit different extensions through plugins.
You can find a wide range of free WordPress plugins in the official WordPress plugin tool (WordPress plugin repository). But there are also many extensions for WordPress that are not free. It is impossible to make a blanket statement about how expensive plugins are because the costs are different and depend on the plugin itself.
Many paid plugins are already available for a few euros, but there are also a few specific applications where you have to expect a fee in the triple digits.
However, pay attention to whether you buy the corresponding plugin for a one-time usage fee or whether you have to expect ongoing costs.
5. WordPress e-commerce features
WordPress is not equipped with e-commerce features by default. However, you do have some options to extend your website to an online store with the help of plugins. The most common solution is the free WordPress plugin WooCommerce. This is an all-in-one solution for your e-commerce functions.
If you want to make your online store even more professional, you can also directly bring in shipping. Through the paid plugin Inventory Source (about 100 euros per month), your shipping information is sorted directly, and the plugin also works directly with WooCommerce.
6. Time expenditure
In addition to the listed costs, the time effort also plays a significant role. If you want to create your website independently, you will have to budget more or less time, depending on your skill level. The well-known saying “time is money” fits this context very well.
If you don’t have this time, a developer can also have your website entirely created. In this case, the time effort is wholly omitted, but you have to expect significantly higher costs. Depending on the effort, you should expect prices from about 1,000 euros; the more features you need and the more elaborate your design, the more expensive the development will be.
Conclusion: Premium WordPress website costs are not Free
In conclusion, you can see that the WordPress content management system is accessible in itself. However, you must expect some costs to create and manage a website successfully.
You will find premium WordPress hosting with some providers if you want to book the individual points together in one tariff. Starting at 5 euro per month, your domain and hosting of your WordPress website are already included, and you have a contact person who supports you in case of questions.
