In this post, we'll break down the cost considerations for a WordPress website, covering everything from essential elements like hosting and domain costs to advanced customizations and security features. Giving you some insights into how much to charge a WordPress website in 2024.

There are approximately 252K websites created every day. With about 43% of all sites using WordPress, it remains one of the most popular CMS platforms for all types of businesses and use cases from small businesses, online stores, to bloggers and large enterprises. But the sites don't just pop up out of thin air, somebody has to design and build them. This is where you -- WordPress developers and agencies -- come into play. Building 43% of the websites out there is a lot of hard work. Hard work that should be compensated fairly.

But how much is it reasonable to charge for a WordPress website in 2024 and what should you consider before determining your pricing?

Choose your fighter: WordPress.org vs WordPress.com

But before we can talk about pricing your WordPress project, we need to talk about the two platforms of WordPress -- WordPress.org and WordPress.com. Although they share the same name and underlying technology, the two platforms differ in hosting, customization options, maintenance responsibilities, and overall control over your website. Let's have a quick look at the key distinctions.

• WordPress.org: In a nutshell, WordPress.org is the software that WordPress.com runs on. WordPress.org allows for a complete control over your website, use of custom plugins and themes, and enables building highly customized website. However, it requires you to manage hosting, security, and updates on your own or through a third-party provider.
• WordPress.com: A more hands-off, all-in-one solution where the hosting, security, and updates are managed for you. However, it comes with more limited customization options, especially on the lower-tier plans. The Business or Enterprise plans offer more flexibility but come with a higher price tag.

Factors impacting WordPress website price

When it comes to pricing a WordPress project, there is no one-size-fits-all magic number. Every project is different and the cost can vary greatly depending on several key factors.

And, of course, the price for each factor is dependant on the client's needs and the type of the website you're creating, but we'll get to that in more detail in the next section.

The main factors to consider when pricing your WordPress project are:

1. Size, type and location of the business: The profile of the business, not only influences the site's goals---whether driving sales for SaaS businesses or raising awareness for non-profits--- but are also important to ensure your pricing aligns with their expectations. It will also help you determine if and what kind of extra services you can offer.
2. Complexity and scale of the project: This includes the features, design and functionality, and number of webpages required. Whether you're using a pre-made theme or creating a custom design. Pre-made themes can range between free to a few hundred dollars. While custom theme can cost anywhere between $500 to $10,000 or more, as you might need to involve a designer.
3. Advanced features for e-commerce: Building an online e-commerce business website is usually more expensive due to it's integrations like WooCommerce for online stores or specific premium plugins. These plugins require ongoing updating to ensure compatibility with other components. Premium plugins can range from $50 to $300 annually.
4. Hosting and domain: The type of hosting chosen---shared, managed, cloud, VPS, or dedicated---can have a significant impact on the price. Meanwhile, a domain name with a .com top-level domain (TLD) can set you back around $12.99 annually.
5. Security features: SSL certificates, firewalls, and security plugins, especially for eCommerce sites. When it comes to security, there is no "average spend", as it depends heavily on the extent your website needs to be secured. For basic needs, the prices can start at $70 and easily stack up into the thousands annually.
6. Ongoing maintenance: Keeping the website updated, secure, and running smoothly. The monthly cost for website maintenance is around $50-$100+ per site (excluding SEO and hosting). Spoiler alert, this is a service many developers and agencies don't even think about to offer, leaving a lot of revenue on the table. And the good news is that, nowadays, thanks to tools like WP Umbrella, most of these tasks can be automated, making it an almost hands-off process.

Source: Hubspot

Benchmarks for different types of websites

The type of website you're building is one of the most important factors to consider. Different websites require different levels of effort, expertise, and customization, which can lead to a wide range in costs. However, the average price for a website project stays south of $5000.

Source: The Admin Bar annual survey 2024

☝🏼When deciding on how much to charge for a WordPress website, remember to always familiarize yourself with the client's requirements to the finest detail, while also considering your own skills and expertise.

• Basic website: These sites typically use pre-made WordPress themes and minimal to moderate customizations. These are usually portfolios, personal websites or landing pages. Depending on the customization, number of web pages and custom elements, for a basic website you might want to charge between $500 to $4000.
• Custom website: A custom-built website involves more tailored features, unique designs, and possibly custom design and development from scratch. It often includes custom code features (such as search or essential e-commerce functionalities) and a larger number of web pages. Custom websites can range from $5000 to $10,000+, depending on the complexity.
• Ecommerce website: Websites with complex e-commerce functionality. These sites will typically have large product catalogs, custom features, and require additional functionality for product pages, shopping carts, discount codes and payment gateways. It involves managing hundreds to thousands of product variations and media files. E-commerce websites also require more ongoing maintenance and security layers to ensure smooth operations and uptime. Complex projects like this are usually priced at $20,000+ and take months to build.
• Large-scale website: These are sites with many unique, detailed and complex requirements, including large-scale online retail sites and big enterprise-level business sites. The price point for websites in this category is $50,000+.

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Determining the price for a WordPress website

Choosing the right pricing model depends on the type of website you're building, your client's needs, and your business model. Firstly, let's look at some common pricing models:

Hourly rate

Charging by the hour allows for flexibility, especially for projects where the scope might change over time. For smaller projects or tasks, charging an hourly rate is ideal. It ensures you get paid for the time spent on unpredictable changes or last-minute client requests. This pricing method works best for freelancers and continuous project-based work.

According to Fiverr, the hourly price for a beginner website developer is around $75-$100, and up to $300 for a more experienced developer.

Flat fee

Offering a flat fee is a good option for well-defined projects with clear deliverables, like full website builds, as it provides clarity for both you and the client since the cost is fixed upfront. You would draft a package proposal and pricing offer based on your clients' needs and considering the factors discussed earlier.

Larger projects, such as a custom-built ecommerce website with advanced features like membership systems, inventory management, and API integrations, will naturally command a higher price.

However, the downside with flat fee is that you might end up working more hours than anticipated, if the project scope expands or unexpected issues arise.

For determining a flat rate for a WordPress project, you can refer back to the previous section for benchmarks.

Monthly fee for maintenance

Once the website is launched, ongoing maintenance is crucial for ensuring smooth performance, security, and functionality. Offering a monthly retainer or maintenance fee allows you to provide continuous updates, security patches, plugin updates, and support. This model ensures long-term relationships with clients and provides recurring revenue for your business.

• What's Included in maintenance: Maintenance packages typically cover tasks like updating WordPress core files, keeping plugins up-to-date, security scans, backups, and addressing any technical issues that may arise. It's common to offer tiered plans depending on the level of service the client requires. For example, a basic plan may include updates and security scans, while a premium plan offers advanced services like monthly performance reports and priority support. If you'd like to learn more, check out the ultimate WordPress website maintenance checklist.
• Setting the price: Maintenance fees can range from $50 to $100+ per site monthly depending on the complexity of the website and the client's needs. A smaller personal blog might require only occasional updates, while an ecommerce website with high traffic will need constant attention, hourly backups and more robust services.

Lastly, we'll leave you with a little life hack. You can use a dedicated WordPress maintenance tools like WP Umbrella to automate critical features like backups, security checks, cache clearing after plugin updates, regular auto-generated client reports and performance/uptime monitoring, so that you can focus on delivering value to their clients instead of getting bogged down in maintenance tasks. And it will only set you back $1.99 per site/monthly. It really is a no-brainer. You can give it a try yourself for free.

Final words

Pricing your WordPress services can feel like a bit of an art form. With so many factors to juggle---from the business profile of client to the complexity of the site---there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Whether it's hourly rates, flat fees, or monthly maintenance packages, the key is finding a balance that works for both you and your clients.

And remember, building a website doesn't have to be just a one-time deal---it's your opportunity to turn it into a long term partnership by providing real value long after the site is live and WP Umbrella is here to help you do it effortlessly.