Building a WordPress website has a cost, even though the core software is free. The total expense depends greatly on your budget and what you want to achieve with your site.
This article breaks down the costs associated with creating a WordPress website. We aim to clarify how much you might spend and why.
We will also offer tips on how to manage your spending. Learning to minimize costs without sacrificing quality is key to building an effective website.
Our guide will help you navigate the expenses of website creation, ensuring you get the best value for your investment.
This is a lengthy read, and that’s why we have added a table of contents. Here is what we will cover in this article:
- What Do You Need to Build a WordPress Website?
- Estimating The Real Cost of Building a WordPress Site
- What's the Cost of a WordPress Website (Low Budget)?
- What's the Cost of a WordPress Site (with More Features)?
- What's the Cost of a Small Business Website with WordPress
- What's the Cost of a WordPress Ecommerce Website?
- What's the Cost of a Custom WordPress Site?
- How to Avoid Overpaying and Cut Down Spending?
Video Tutorial
If you’d prefer written instructions, then just keep reading.
What Do You Need to Build a WordPress Website?
WordPress is free for anyone to download and use. It is open-source software that gives you the freedom to install it on any kind of website.
If WordPress is free, then where is the cost coming from?
The cost of a WordPress site can be broken down into the following categories:
- WordPress hosting
- Domain Name
- Design
- Plugins and Extensions (Apps)
To create a self-hosted WordPress site, you need web hosting to store your files. Every website on the internet needs hosting. This is your website’s home on the internet.
There are different hosting plans available for all kinds of websites. You need to pick one that suits your requirements and fits your budget.
Next, you will need a domain name. This will be your website’s address on the internet, and this is what your users will type in the browser to reach your website (for example, wpbeginner.com or google.com).
With WordPress, there are tons of free website templates available that you can use. However, if you want something more advanced / custom, then you can purchase a premium template or have one custom-made, which will raise the cost.
There are 59,000+ free plugins for WordPress. These are apps and extensions for your websites. Think of features like a contact form, gallery, etc.
So, while you can build a website with just the hosting and domain cost, based on your situation, you may end up paying for additional tools and services. That’s why it’s often confusing for people to find out the real cost of a WordPress website.
Let us walk you through the real cost of building a WordPress site.
Estimating The Real Cost of Building a WordPress Site
Depending on your needs, your cost to start a WordPress website can range from $100 to $500 to $3000, to even as high as $30,000 or more.
It’s important to know what type of website you are building and what you’ll need for it because that will directly affect your cost.
But don’t worry. We’ll show you how to avoid a financial disaster and make the best decisions.
For the sake of this article, let’s break down websites into different budget categories:
- Building a WordPress website (low budget)
- Building a WordPress website (with more features)
- Building a WordPress website for small business
- Building a WordPress eCommerce website
- Building a custom WordPress website
Now let’s see how much each of these projects costs and how you can avoid spending any more than necessary.
What’s the Cost of a WordPress Website (Low Budget)?
You can build a fully functional WordPress website for yourself and keep your costs under $100. Here is the cost breakdown of a WordPress website on a low budget.
First, you will need a domain name and web hosting.
A domain name typically costs $14.99 / year, and web hosting normally costs $7.99 / month.
Thankfully, Bluehost, an official WordPress-recommended hosting provider, has agreed to offer our users a free domain name and up to 61% off on web hosting.
For more hosting recommendations, check out our guide on how to choose the best WordPress hosting.
Next, you will need to install WordPress on your hosting account. See our step-by-step guide on how to start a WordPress blog for complete instructions.
Once you have installed WordPress, you can choose a design for your website using a free template.
These design templates are called WordPress themes, and they control the appearance of your website.
There are thousands of professionally designed free themes available for WordPress that you can install. See our expert pick of beautiful free WordPress blog themes for some examples.
Once you have chosen a WordPress template, follow the instructions in our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress theme.
Next, you may want to add certain features to your website, like adding a contact form, a photo gallery, a slider, etc. Don’t worry; there are more than 59,000 WordPress plugins available that will help you do that.
Plugins are like apps or extensions for your WordPress site. See our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Below is our selection of the essential WordPress plugins that you should install on your website. All of them are available for free.
Features
- WPForms Lite – Add contact forms to your WordPress site and accept online payments with Stripe.
- Shared Counts – The best WordPress social media plugin that doesn’t slow down your website and is fully GDPR compliant.
- SeedProd Lite – Easily build custom landing pages for your website without any code.
Website Optimization
- All in One SEO – Improve your WordPress SEO and get more traffic from Google.
- MonsterInsights (Free) – Helps you track visitor stats using Google Analytics.
- WP Super Cache – Improves your website’s speed by adding cache.
Website Security
- Duplicator or UpdraftPlus– Free WordPress backup plugins.
- Sucuri or MalCare – Free website malware scanners.
There are many more free WordPress plugins to add different features and extend your WordPress site. See our best WordPress plugins category, where we have reviewed hundreds of WordPress plugins.
Total Cost of website: $46 – $100 per year
What’s the Cost of a WordPress Site (with More Features)?
We always recommend our users start small and then add more features as their website grows. This way, you will not be paying for anything that you don’t really need.
As you add more features to your website, your website cost will start to increase.
You can continue to use Bluehost for WordPress hosting to keep the cost low and get a free domain name.
However, since you will be adding more features to your website, it may make sense to get a more powerful hosting configuration like SiteGround’s GoGeek plan. This will cost you a little more, but it comes with premium features like staging, faster performance, and can handle up to 100,000 visitors per month.
You can use our SiteGround coupon to get 83% off for the first year of your hosting.
You can also go for a premium WordPress template for your site. Unlike free WordPress templates, these templates come with extra features and priority support. See our expert selection of the best responsive WordPress themes for some great premium templates that you can use.
For more website features, you need to use a combination of free + paid plugin addons.
Here are some essential premium WordPress plugins and extensions that you’ll need as your site grows:
Features
- WPForms Pro – Adds a drag-and-drop form builder to your WordPress site.
- WP Rocket – Premium WordPress caching plugin to speed up your site.
- SeedProd Pro – Adds a drag-and-drop WordPress page builder.
- WP Mail SMTP – Improves email deliverability and fixes the WordPress not sending email issue.
- Uncanny Automator – WordPress automation plugin that helps you connect your website with popular tools & services without any code.
Marketing
- Constant Contact – One of the best email marketing services.
- OptinMonster – Converts abandoning website visitors into subscribers. Powerful lead generation for WordPress.
- MonsterInsights Pro – See how visitors find and use your website.
- All in One SEO Pro – Improve your website’s SEO ranking.
- PushEngage – Get more traffic with push notifications.
- HubSpot – All-in-one CRM, live chat, email marketing, and sales tools.
Security
- Duplicator – For automatic WordPress backups and safe cloud storage.
- Sucuri Firewall – Website firewall and malware protection.
There are many more WordPress plugins and services that you can add. Each paid service or addon that you add will increase the cost of your WordPress site.
Total cost of website: Depending on the premium WordPress plugins and services that you add, it can be anywhere between $500 and $1000 per year.
What’s the Cost of a Small Business Website with WordPress
A lot of people often ask us how much it costs to build a small business website with WordPress. The answer depends on your business needs and the tools you’ll be using to grow your business online.
Basically, you can estimate the cost to be somewhere between a low-budget WordPress site and a WordPress site with more features.
Keep in mind that you don’t add a full-fledged eCommerce store to your business website. In that case, see the next section in this article for a more accurate estimate.
If you are just starting out and need a simple website showcasing your products and services, then we recommend starting with Bluehost. Their starter plan will reduce the cost significantly and will leave you with money that you can spend on other premium tools if needed.
If you have a more flexible budget, then you can sign up for SiteGround’s GrowBig plan. They are known for their excellent support, which is a good thing to have for a small business owner with no technical background.
Next, you will need to pick up a design for your website. You can look for a WordPress theme for business websites or pick a responsive WordPress theme that matches your requirements.
You can choose a free WordPress theme. However, since it is a business website, we recommend you purchase a premium theme that gives you access to support and updates.
Now, let’s talk about plugins.
You will need to use a combination of free and premium plugins to control the cost. Following are some of the premium plugins that are absolutely essential for a small business website.
Features
- WPForms Pro – The premium version will give you access to all the features you’ll need for lead generation. This includes PayPal, Stripe, and Square payments, conversational forms, email marketing integration, and more.
- SeedProd Pro – Adds a drag-and-drop WordPress page builder.
- WP Mail SMTP – Improves email deliverability and fixes the WordPress not sending email issue.
- Uncanny Automator – WordPress automation plugin that helps you connect your website with popular tools & services without any code.
Marketing
- Constant Contact – One of the best email marketing services, especially for small businesses.
- OptinMonster – Helps you convert website visitors into leads and customers. You’ll need it for lead generation and conversion optimization.
- MonsterInsights Pro – The best Google Analytics plugin helps you see where your users are coming from and what they do on your website. This allows you to make data-driven decisions to grow your business.
- All in One SEO Pro – Improve your website’s SEO ranking.
Security
- Duplicator Pro – The premium version of the plugin comes with automatic backup scheduling, remote storage locations to keep your backups, drag and drop site migrations, and more.
- Sucuri Firewall or MalCare – Website firewall and malware protection.
Now, there are many more plugins and tools that you might want to use. We recommend you first try the free version and see if that does the job for you. Many premium tools are available with the free trials, take advantage of those to see if you really need that tool.
As a business website, you would want to spend money to grow your business. We are not advising you against spending money when it makes sense, and you can afford it.
For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to make a small business website.
Total cost of website: Once again it depends on the premium tools and plugins you purchase. It can be anywhere between $300 and $700 per year but could go as high as $1000 per year.
What’s the Cost of a WordPress Ecommerce Website?
WordPress powers millions of eCommerce websites around the world.
The cost of building a WordPress eCommerce website can be significantly higher, but we will show you how to build a WordPress eCommerce website while avoiding potential losses and overspending.
In addition to hosting and domain, your eCommerce site will also need an SSL certificate, which costs around $69.99/year. SSL is required to securely transfer customer data such as credit card information, usernames, passwords, etc.
We recommend using Bluehost. It gives you a free domain and SSL certificate, plus a discount on hosting.
After that, you need to select a WordPress eCommerce plugin.
There are several eCommerce plugins for WordPress, but none comes even close to WooCommerce. It is the most popular WordPress eCommerce plugin that allows you to build robust online stores to sell your products/services.
Next, you will need to install WordPress and WooCommerce on your website. We have a step-by-step guide on how to start an online store.
While WooCommerce is free, you will need to use paid addons for additional features. The cost of your website will go up depending on how many addons you need to add to your website.
Once you are up and running, you will need to choose a WooCommerce WordPress theme for your site. There are several paid and free WordPress templates with full WooCommerce support. Choosing a premium or paid template gives you access to support and extra features.
We have a list of the best free WooCommerce addons, but depending on your needs, you may have to use some paid extensions as well.
Here are some other paid services that you’ll need on your eCommerce website.
Features
- WPForms – To add customer inquiries and feedback forms, surveys and polls, and more.
- SeedProd Pro – Adds a drag-and-drop WordPress page builder to create beautiful product grids, customize the WooCommerce checkout, and more.
- WP Mail SMTP – Improves email deliverability and fixes the WordPress not sending email issue.
- Uncanny Automator – WordPress automation plugin that helps you connect your website with popular tools & services without any code.
- FunnelKit – Create high-converting sales funnels, slide out carts, frictionless checkouts, 1-click upsells, order bumps, and more.
Marketing
- OptinMonster – Convert visitors into customers with this powerful lead generation tool.
- Constant Contact – Powerful email marketing service.
- MonsterInsights – Ecommerce tracking with real-time stats using Google Analytics.
- All in One SEO Pro – Improve your WooCommerce SEO ranking.
- HubSpot – All-in-one CRM, live chat, email marketing, and sales tools.
Security
- Duplicator or BlogVault – Automatic WordPress backups.
- Sucuri – Website firewall and malware scanner.
Remember, the best way to keep your costs down is by starting small and adding extensions and services as your business grows.
Total cost of building a WordPress eCommerce website: $1000 – $3000. It could be higher depending on how many paid addons and services you add to your site.
What’s the Cost of a Custom WordPress Site?
A custom WordPress site is when you hire a WordPress developer to create a unique design and build specific features for it.
Usually well established, large to medium-sized businesses choose this route.
To support a custom WordPress site, you may also want to go for a managed WordPress hosting provider. This is a WordPress-centric hosting environment with managed updates, premium support, strict security, and developer-friendly tools.
In addition to your hosting and domain name, you will also be paying the web developer that’s building your website. Depending on your need, you may want to get quotes from several theme developers, web designers, and agencies.
The cost of a custom website depends on your requirements, budget, and the rates of the developer or agency you hire.
A standard custom WordPress theme alone can cost you up to $5,000. More robust WordPress sites with specific custom features can cost up to $15,000 or even higher.
However, if you want to get a custom WordPress site without breaking the bank, WPBeginner Pro Services offers custom WordPress site design and development at revolutionary pricing.
The Custom Web Design package, which costs $1,299, includes a dedicated project manager, WordPress setup, bespoke homepage design, 5 templated subpages, analytics setup, Brandy style guide, and much more.
For more recommendations, see our picks of the best places to hire WordPress developers.
Update: Since several of you asked for more details on this section, we have created a comprehensive guide on how much a custom WordPress theme costs and tips on how you can save money.
Aside from that, we have created a beginner’s guide on how much it costs to start a membership site in WordPress.
Regardless of the type of custom website you want to create, one effective way to reduce custom WordPress site costs is by using the SeedProd plugin. SeedProd is a drag-and-drop website builder that allows you to create custom themes and page layouts without editing any code.
You can use SeedProd to reduce your custom WordPress site costs by as much as 90%.
For more details, see our tutorial on how to easily create a custom WordPress theme with SeedProd.
How to Avoid Overpaying and Cut Down Spending?
We always recommend our users start small and then scale their WordPress site as it grows. In many cases, you don’t need all the premium features that you see on many well-established websites in your industry.
Keep in mind that those websites had a head start, and it likely took them some time to figure out how to manage costs and grow their business.
You can start with a budget website using free plugins and templates. Once you start getting visitors, you can consider adding premium features like a premium template, email marketing, a paid backup plugin, a website firewall, a business email address, business phone services, live chat, and so on.
The same goes for your eCommerce website. Start with the bare minimum, and then as you start selling, you will find out exactly the tools that will help you and your customers.
Look for the best WordPress deals and coupons to get additional discounts whenever you can.
Even for robust WordPress sites, you don’t always need to hire a developer. We have step-by-step tutorials on how to create different types of WordPress websites, such as:
- How to create a business directory with WordPress
- How to create an online review website with WordPress
- How to build an auction website using WordPress
- How to build a coupons website with WordPress
- How to create a multilingual website with WordPress
- How to create a job board with WordPress
- How to create a questions & answers website with WordPress
- How to create a portfolio website with WordPress
- How to create a wiki knowledge base website using WordPress
- How to create an online marketplace using WordPress
We hope this article answers your questions about how much a website costs to build. You may also want to see our list of legit ways to make money online with WordPress, and our AI-powered business name generator tool to come up with company name ideas.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Olaf
I really like this article. I think I’ll save it and occasionally send it to customers who don’t believe that a website can cost anywhere from a few dollars a month to tens or even hundreds of dollars a month. Sometimes it’s very difficult to set a price just for the work on a website. When you consider the final result, the website, domain, plugins, and developer’s work—you can easily end up with a completely customized website costing between 1,500 and 2,000 euros. However, it’s great that you’ve covered everything from the cheapest options to the more expensive ones, so beginners don’t get discouraged thinking building a website is too costly. If someone builds a website themselves, uses the lite versions of plugins, and finds that sufficient, they can easily end up spending only 30 euros a year. And that’s an excellent price. But it does require personal effort, enthusiasm, and a willingness to learn new things.
Mrteesurez
What a comprehensive analytics !
You have explained everything in details and is well understood.
Except for hosting and domain, WordPress is totally free and the use of hosting like Bluehost shared hosting has cut the costs down below $100 with their offer, making it affordable for starters to start blogs.
uzoma ichetaonye
When setting up a WordPress website in terms of the cost. i love the fact that WordPress allows for free website themes. When i was setting up mine some years ago, i utilize the opportunity of installing a free theme of which later i upgraded to the premium version of my website theme.
So, i will say that it is 100% beginner-friendly for new users as you only need to pay for web hosting and a domain name ONLY.
Thanks WPBeginner for this article.
Dennis Muthomi
Hosting is a major factor for me because I want my website to load quickly. Slow loading speeds lead to poor user experience, which REALLY hurts conversions.
I think it’s worth investing in good hosting like SiteGround’s GoGeek hosting plan for more hosting power and performance that can handle more traffic as your website grows.
Hajjalah
Hosting and a domain name for a website are so vital and in most cases not free because one has to pay for them but I am somehow optimistic about about the use of free or paid plugins and themes. Because most starting websites have a low traffic, does the use of free plugins and themes affect website performance ?
WPBeginner Support
No, using the free options available from plugins does not affect your website performance differently than if you were using the paid versions.
Admin
Jiří Vaněk
The difference between the paid and unpaid versions lies in the features. The core of the plugin is exactly the same. However, the paid version offers certain additional features, usually those that are highly requested. So, in the end, the plugin is completely the same, but obtaining a paid license simply unlocks features that were previously unavailable.
Dayo Olobayo
This is a valuable guide for anyone starting a WordPress website. The section on custom development costs is insightful. For those considering hiring a freelancer or agency, are there any recommendations on how to find reputable providers and ensure they understand one’s specific needs?
WPBeginner Support
For a starting point we would recommend taking a look at our article below!
https://www.wpbeginner.com/showcase/best-places-to-hire-wordpress-developers/
Admin
Vincent Nyagaka
Thank you for breaking down the costs of building a WordPress website in such a comprehensive way! Understanding the expenses involved, from domain registration to hosting and themes, is crucial for anyone willing to create a website. Your detailed guide provides clarity on budgeting considerations, allowing beginners to plan effectively and make informed decisions. With your insights, navigating the financial aspects of website development becomes much more manageable.
However the costs differ like country generic domains in specific countries.
WPBeginner Support
That is true, different currencies and regional domains may have different pricing.
Admin
Moinuddin Waheed
Geography plays important role in the costing for making a website.
In our country India, making a wordpress website for small blogs and institutions, they want to pay a maximum of 500$.
in most of the cases it would be less than this.
This is because the competition is too high here and it becomes difficult to make a good bargain.
Some local servers are very cheap but we never buy from them as I think it is always better to have good hosting servers and domain providers.
Thanks for making the cost calculation of WordPress websites easier.
Abubakar Zubair
I wanted to make a similar comment and found it here already.
yes, as you said, a large role is played by demographics. I recently started enjoying being a developer when I started getting clients from the U.S.
al amin Sheikh
I don’t know why still people go to Shopify where WP with WC can be scaled up for large e-commerce websites.
Very helpful for the business owner.
Moinuddin Waheed
Most of the times when we get into something and start doing , it becomes very difficult to come out of that platform and test other available options.
I had similar interests in other platforms untill I tested wordpress myself. once I started working on wordpress, it started giving a feeling like I can make anything on the web with the help of wordpress.
This has led me to make a nearly complete transition to this platform.
Those who are using Shopify or other platforms are infact never tasted the ease of wordpress.
Jiří Vaněk
The answer is simple. Because WordPress is not that easy for beginners. It requires maintenance, updates (which don’t always go smoothly and can sometimes break the website), and it often needs coding adjustments. That’s why many people prefer simpler, ready-made solutions that require little to no maintenance. And that’s also very appealing.
Jiří Vaněk
It’s an interesting comparison when I compare it to the prices in the country where I live. Web hosting here is at a similar price, but, for example, own server here is significantly cheaper. The biggest costs for us are the plugin prices, which are the same for everyone, and then, of course, the developer, who costs about 50 Euros per hour of work. However, a small blog or personal portfolio in the Czech Republic costs around 500 Euros, and a large website or e-shop costs ten times as much.
Moinuddin Waheed
Thanks for the breakdown of the costing for making an online presence whether it’s a blog or a website.
The cost may vary depending upon the nature and requirements of the website but the basic and standard cost of most important aspects of the website like domain name , hosting almost remains the same.
Iriogbe peter
I appreciate the effort you put into crafting this article.
I want to ask, how much should a web developer charge from a client who wants to build a customized WordPress website?
WPBeginner Support
It heavily depends on the individual and site, we do not have a guide for deciding pricing from a developer’s perspective at the moment sadly.
Admin
Ahmed Omar
An insightful exploration into the real costs of building a WordPress website!
Your detailed breakdown of expenses, from hosting to premium themes, is invaluable for budget planning.
A technical suggestion, leveraging Caching Plugin can significantly optimize performance and cut down on hosting costs.
Thanks for shedding light on the true investment
WPBeginner Support
You’re welcome!
Admin
Sameer Hussain
Such a detailed and organized article, considering there is so much competition out there. I would just like to add one thing. Start small and keep the ‘Snowball effect’ in mind. Treat your website as a plant seed. And don’t forget to water it. The tools mentioned in this article are spot on.
Shafqat Khan
Great breakdown of WordPress website costs! Your detailed guide covers expenses for various site types, emphasizing the smart approach of starting small and expanding as needed. The section on avoiding overpaying is insightful, suggesting a gradual adoption of premium features. The step-by-step tutorials are a valuable resource. Overall, your article is a go-to guide for users at different stages. Kudos for providing valuable insights to the WordPress community!
WPBeginner Support
Happy to hear you liked our article and found it helpful
Admin
Lara Carter
I was wondering, how do websites, like wpbeginer make money if all of the content is free, is it just from adverts?
WPBeginner Support
We cover how we make money in our article below
https://www.wpbeginner.com/opinion/wpbeginner-income-how-much-money-does-wpbeginner-make/
Admin
Suresh
Building a WordPress website is really affordable if you choose the right hosting company that supports WordPress. This guide explains it all.
Lara Carter
I have recently started to try and learn about website development and how to build a website yet and a question I kept trying to understand was about the cost of WordPress. This website explained it clearly naming all the differences in price between the different plan options including the features and the different options, comparing the value of the different plans. I have been wanting to experiment with WordPress by starting website possibly for young enterprise, but I didn’t want to spend too much money on it as I am only experimenting and playing around with the website, becoming familiar with it. This webpage was very helpful for to gain an understanding of this.
WPBeginner Support
Glad to hear our article was helpful
Admin
Олександр
At the age of 53, I need to learn a new profession. I want to try my hand at creating websites. But I am an absolute zero in this area of knowledge, so I need very simple and detailed explanations. I hope your blog will help me with this. What I have read here inspires me to keep learning. I don’t know if I will be able to go all the way, but you have convinced me to keep learning with this article. Some things are already becoming clear. At least, the skeleton of understandable concepts is beginning to emerge. Thank you for your work. Greetings from Ukraine!
WPBeginner Support
Glad this guide was helpful and we hope you find our other articles just as helpful!
Admin
Shashwata
Very well explained, A person without any single programming knowledge can easily understand what you want to saying. Very Nice, Keep it up…
WPBeginner Support
Glad our guide was helpful
Admin
Iwuozor John
Thank you so much WPbeginners. You explain these concepts so well that I no longer have doubts. I really appreciate.
WPBeginner Support
You’re welcome, glad our guides are able to help
Admin
julius
This is beautiful and well detailed explaination
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad you found our article helpful
Admin
Jackie Lambert
Hi – this is a great and comprehensive article, but it has left me with a couple of questions.
I am on a Premium plan. I understood that I can’t install plugins but you mention free plugins that I should install even on a most basic website.
I would love to have backup at the very least. What do you suggest?
I set up my blog on Wordpress. How does Bluehost relate to this? I don’t remember choosing hosting.
Thanks a mill!
WPBeginner Support
This guide is for WordPress.org sites and you are on WordPress.com, for a better understanding of the difference between the two, you would want to take a look at our article here:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/self-hosted-wordpress-org-vs-free-wordpress-com-infograph/
Admin
Richard Thatcher
I enjoy reading through WP Beginner for the wealth of information that I will need to learn to have a good site in the future. It also has an interesting Do-it-yourself spirit to it that is empowering.
I am looking forward to learning as much as I can.
WPBeginner Support
Glad you like our content, hope we continue to be helpful with your learning and site itself
Admin
William Becker
I really appreciate your work that you have done in this blog.I like it keep it up.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad you like our content
Admin
James D. A. Terry
I’m an author, book reviewer and author interviewer. I also produce a monthly newsletter. Which Wordpress should I use .com or .org and at what level?
Also, if I decide to go with .org can I transfer my .com to .org?
WPBeginner Support
You can transfer a WordPress.com site to WordPress.org, for which to use, it would depend on what your goals for the site are. You can see the different features for each in our article here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/self-hosted-wordpress-org-vs-free-wordpress-com-infograph/
Admin
ashley
I’m wondering if it makes sense to host something on Bluehost PLUS pay for Wordpress.com’s Business Plan for $25/month? Or do both of those offer more or less the same thing?
WPBeginner Support
If you are hosting on BlueHost, you do not need to pay anything to WordPress.com, you may want to take a look at our article here: https://ithemes.com/tutorials/wordpress-com-vs-wordpress-org/
Admin
Lisa
The articles on your site are very very much informative and straight to the point. I am really thankful for your help.
WPBeginner Support
Glad our articles are helpful
Admin
Bill Patterson
I would avoid wordpress.com at all costs. They handcuff you if you want to expand and get into the backend files. I have taken over sites built on that platform and had nothing but trouble moving to a normal site hosting.
WPBeginner Support
Thanks for sharing your experience with WordPress.com, we normally recommend WordPress.org to avoid the restrictions but for just starting out WordPress.com is a free option for a hobby site or similar. For moving WordPress.com sites in the future you may want to take a look at our guide here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-properly-move-your-blog-from-wordpress-com-to-wordpress-org/
Admin
SHIVANI UMEACADEMY. COM
There is a great blog, very good information in it, very good its content, this has helped me.
WPBeginner Support
Glad our content help
Admin
Keith
I need to build a page with a header photo and title followed with 3 columns of photos. Can you recommend a theme that is simple for a beginner/non-programmer to accomplish this? Thanks
WPBeginner Support
If you have a specific design that you are wanting to customize, you may want to take a look at our recommended page builder plugins here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/best-drag-and-drop-page-builders-for-wordpress/
Admin
Moses
Thanks a lot for this article, it was so helpful to me.
Kim
I am a small blogger (blog is less than 1 year). I currently am on wordpress.com. My renewal is coming up and I am wondering if I should upgrade to the business plan on the .com site or move over to wordpress.org ? I’ve been focusing this year on content (I’m a food blogger), but I want to get social media numbers up so I can get paid work. Would love your advice!
Sadi
Wordpress.com has some limitations while .org is more preferable in your case.
Their is a post regarding Wordpress.com Vs Wordpress.org on Wpbeginner, it will help you take better decision.
Fred
Hello, I’m interested in building a financial eCommerce (paid subscription via credit card, Square, PayPal) website with 3 to 5 pages and a 30-45 second YouTube video explaining my business model.
I’m undecided between using Bluehost or GO Daddy, which one can deliver a more robust performance at a lower cost?
Or can you give me a better alternative instead of Bluehost or GO Daddy?
Thank you so much!
Best regards,
Fred
WPBeginner Support
Hi Fred,
The performance of your website depends on how many people will be visiting it and how well optimized it is. We recommend using Bluehost and then gradually increasing your server resources as your traffic grows.
Admin
George
Hi Fred, Go for Godaddy…if you can manage Amazon AWS is even better, try lightsail. I tried both Godaddy and AWS, the later edged over….it’s just the setting up needs a bit of tech.
Steve Donoso
We are setting up a simple webpage on Wordpress (hosted by Bluehost) for a nascent film festival. It will solely be an informational webpage with three links to other sites. Nothing will be sold, or downloaded or uploaded on the webpage. Wordpress wants to know if we want to build a personal or business site — given what I’ve just described, which option is simplest?
WPBeginner Support
Hi Steve,
You are probably signing up for a WordPress.com website. Please see our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
Admin
Don Vannice
Hi…My book just got published and will be for sale on Amazon.
I need a site that shows a graphic of my book cover, plus a link to Amazon, plus a forum, plus a blog, plus links to FB and Twitter.
I already have my domain name with Go Daddy.
Can I hear from someone on this setup and the cost?
Thanks.
David
The many levels of hosting plans is what confuses me the most. I see a lot of add-ons and features.
I want to create a blog with with a forum feature for discussions. I am doing it more for my own satisfaction than to make money but monetizing the site would be nice. I would use either an affiliate program and/or pay per click.
It would also be nice to have a separate email associated with the domain.
Any suggestions on where to start and what level hosting plans would get me what I want.
WPBeginner Support
Hi David,
If you are just starting out, then the basic or plus plans on Bluehost would be good for now.
However, you will need to upgrade your hosting as your website gets more users.
Admin
VectorJournal
I see that many web designers have chimed in and were worried that they would lose jobs because people were building their own websites. If that logic stands, then there would be no hope for carpenter, chef, plumber, marketer, business consultant etc.
Indeed, a few years ago when Canva, a graphic design software was launched, many graphic designers were worried that it would take their jobs. But many are still doing fine. Canva’s primary market is bloggers who hope to monetize from their blogs. They have never been a big client for graphic designers. It takes much more than script fonts, gaudy background, Photoshop level adjustment to ensure a consistent and beautiful branding image for your website.
So folks, keep calm and focus on growing your skills. And huge thanks for WPBeginner for the most helpful Wordpress tutorial series on the planet.
Vicki
Well said VectorJournal.
I am a total believer in an educational approach with my clients. I find the more I educate them on how to “do-it-yourself,” the more they rely on me to take them to the next step, and the next – at their pace of readiness. They also learn what they don’t want to do themselves and what takes too much time for them to do (and get me to do that task instead) or what they can do themselves. When they understand the time and cost involved in the processes, they can better make decisions about where there money and time goes. I find it is a win-win situation. There is plenty of work to go around, but when we want to hold onto our knowledge tightly, it only breeds distrust.
In regard to this article, I think it is great.
Vicki
I don’t often subscribe for stuff based on one article but I find your style is very easy to understand and progresses logically. Thanks! So many “educators” actually leave out simple but crucial steps. Nice job!
My question is…if I want a responsive site, can I still obtain that through getting a .org template and adding bootstrap? Is it that easy? Or, as a beginner in wordpress, will I need to hire someone to get bootstrap and worpress to work together?
Thanks.
WPBeginner Support
Hi Vicki,
Most themes on .org are already responsive. There are also some themes that are built using bootstrap.
Admin
JoDel
Hi! Thank you for the article it’s clear and very helpful.
I was wondering though, if I wanted to pay someone to review everything I’ve done and check the security of the domain as well as everything I have on the hosting site, where would I go to find someone? There’s so many random people and places, it’s hard to tell who is legit and who is going to run off with all of my info.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give!
WPBeginner Support
hi JoDel,
You can find developers on websites like UpWork and Freelancer. Thoroughly check their profiles and completed jobs before hiring them.
Admin
Yonatan
A great website and great content; very much helpful for beginners.
Ellen
I read your article and several others, and I’m still not clear.
– You say WordPress is free but WordPress lists the cost of $4/month (in another place on their site I thought I saw $12/month) for a site with a custom domain. The WP site says that cost includes a custom domain name. Does that mean you don’t have to pay extra to register the domain?
– If you pay the $4/month, you still have to pay for a host, correct?
Thanks much.
WPBeginner Support
Hi Ellen,
You are probably looking at WordPress.com prices. We recommend using self-hosted WordPress.org and the article above will give you an estimate of how much it would cost to start a WordPress blog using self hosted WordPress.org.
Admin
Ellen
Thanks! So, I can create a Web site by paying for just the domain and the host?
WPBeginner Support
Hi Ellen,
Initially, yes. However, you will have to use free themes and plugins WordPress.org has thousands of free plugins and themes. If you choose to use paid themes, plugins, or services then this will increase your cost.
Elli
Hi, thanks for a straight-forward article!
I am a total beginner taking on a challenge to build my first simple blog site…
I use bluehost
I use wordpress
I am playing with some templates
I have created a localhost to work on
I am making good progress!
My question is:
When do buying Genesis and a child theme come into play?
I signed up with Bluehost through The Minimalist website and watched their tutorial to set up. Everyone keeps talking about Genesis but I am not sure if it is something I need right now as a beginner?? And I didn’t see it mentioned above.
Thanks in advance for any help!
WPBeginner Support
Hi Elli,
Good luck with your blog
Genesis is a WordPress theme framework, which makes it easier for theme developers to create child themes based on a rock solid and performance optimized parent theme. You can purchase genesis and a child theme for it.
However, if you are just starting out, then you can start with any good standard compliant theme and with proper optimization it could even outperform a Genesis theme.
Admin
Ravi
hi,
I want to build a crowdfunding site in wordpress and cant find any in the mentioned list ‘how to create different types of WordPress websites such as:’. please advise how can I do so with the low budget as suggested in the article to start small. to be more precise, it would be an equity crowdfunding site.
Hasnain
Hello first of all above knowledge is very useful .I have a question that if you make money online via Google adsense so you have to pay wordpress also? If yes so how much?
WPBeginner Support
Hi Hasnain,
No, you don’t have to pay WordPress. If you are on a self hosted WordPress.org website, then you have complete ownership and control of your website.
Admin
Grace
Hello,
Thanks for the article. I clicked the button, but Bluehost does NOT give over 60% off ‘on web hosting.’ There is no indication of your website either on the Bluehost website while I go through the sign up process. How can I get the discount you mentioned?
Thanks in advance
Thankfully, Bluehost, an official WordPress recommended hosting provider, has agreed to offer our users a free domain name and over 60% off on web hosting.
WPBeginner Support
Hi Grace,
When you click the button it takes you to Bluehost website, where you see a message ‘Special offer for WordPress users’. You will see the discounted price above the green ‘Get Started’ button.
Admin
Raka
If I were to pay $10k+ for a WordPress ecommerce, why should I not go for a Magento.
Lodi Daniel
I think this article is great for some one is well articulate with website design and cost implications but a bit misleading for some one who is very naive about website costing. cheap can be cost saving in the short run but a complete disaster in the long run.
I have built websites for clients who really want to save a huge cost but in the end they fail to get value for their little money.
Awontis
Everyone wants a beautiful website and luckily WordPress offers many themes at reasonable prices. Since you’re doing things yourself, you’ll probably want to choose a pre-made WordPress theme for your site’s design. A lot will depend on the type of look you want for your WordPress site and you need to think about how you want to represent yourself or your brand online, and that costs.
Nate
A lot of these articles neglect a huge factor of building your own site: time. If you have never built a site before you are going to spend a lot of time figuring out things work. Then once you do have it built, how do you know it is right?
What is your time worth? Would you pay me with no experience in your job the same amount you make.
Looking at the Holistic Cost and the TERM cost is important: Time, Enjoyment, Result, Money. Money is last for a reason.
Jeffrey Samorano
Great article! I love how you’ve broken it down.
However, I feel there needs to be some words of caution for the “cheapest” option you’ve outlined.
Sometimes, saving money in the short-term can cause headaches and larger financial burdens later on down the line.
I would add that *if you know you want to grow your site* (more then just validating an idea or starting a blog), that you should really start out with a premium theme. I feel that the ‘cost’ (time, headache and money) of changing themes later is unnecessary and more trouble than it’s worth.
Premium themes are so cheap that, in my opinion, it’s better to start out with something really good that you can grow into, than to upgrade later. This is even more true for “free” themes that use proprietary visual editors and shortcodes. moving from one shortcode library to another is, essentially, re-constructing every single page of your website.
Another word of caution is to find a reputable source for free themes. the danger is that “free” themes could have built-in back doors for potentially nefarious intrusions. beware free themes that have not gone through some kind of checks and balance or, third part verification.
I’m sure this could probably be an entire post in itself but, i feel it’s worth mentioning here as well.
Great Article!