How Much Does It Really Cost to Build a WordPress Website?

As a WordPress agency in Surrey, we are often asked “how much does it cost to build a website?” Honestly, there is no standard answer as the cost of building a website largely depends on the project scope. Building an eCommerce store is likely to cost more compared to setting up a WordPress website for a small start-up. Other requirements such as creating a theme-based website or a fully customised website also influence the cost of making a website.

So, while there is no one-size-fits-all cost of creating a website, there are a few factors you need to consider that will provide you with an estimated cost for setting a realistic budget.

Factors To Consider When Creating a Website Using WordPress

1. Domain Name

To make it easier for customers to find you online, you need to register a domain name for your website. A domain name is the address of your site that people use to visit your website.

Like this:

Here, ‘mambamedia’ is the domain name while ‘.com’ is the domain extension. Customers will type in the domain name ‘mambamedia.com’ in the browser URL bar to visit the site.

When registering a new domain, you need to ensure that it is short, memorable and relevant to your business. For instance, if you are selling ‘kids clothes’ online, then a domain ‘clothesforkids.com’ will not only describe the nature of your business, but will also help with SEO.

You can register a domain with either Bluehost or HostGator – two top domain registrars. A .com domain on Bluehost costs $12.99/1st yr while at HostGator, a .com domain starts at $12.95/yr*

The cost of the domain will depend on the domain availability and the extension you choose. Note, for a premium domain, the cost is usually higher.

Further reading: Essential Things To Do After Buying a Domain Name

2. Web Hosting

Hosting is another cost to consider when creating a website. Good quality web hosting ensures that your site is running optimally at all times. It provides you with all the necessary resources that are needed to run a successful website online. It helps secure your website data and provides the latest software updates required to improve your site’s performance.

When it comes to WordPress hosting cost, HostGator offers three plans – Starter, Standard and Business.

Bluehost, on the other hand, offers three types of WordPress hosting – Standard, Managed and Online Stores.

From an SEO perspective, a reliable web hosting provider ensures that your site enjoys a faster speed and there is minimal or no downtime. What’s more, it also provides a user-friendly control panel, which helps you to manage your hosting and domain account from a centralised dashboard.

3. SSL Certificate

SSL certificates help protect server-client communication, primarily ensuring that customer data – username, password, credit card information – is safely transferred from the user’s browser to the client’s server. Short for Secure Sockets Layer, SSL is a must-have for all websites according to the last Google update.

An SSL secured website has a green padlock next to the URL. Like this;

Also, by moving your website from HTTP to HTTPS, you’d be able to improve customer trust as well as search ranking.

The cost of an SSL certificate can vary depending on the type you choose – Domain Validated (DV), Organisation Validated (OV) or Extended Validated (EV). While domain validated SSL certificate is the most basic of the three types, OV and EV offer medium and high-level assurance respectively. To find out more about the pricing of each, go here.

4. Web Design and Theme

When it comes to the design aspect of your website, your focus should be on user experience. Every element on your website should be in sync – layouts, graphics, text and interactive elements. The goal is to make a great first impression. Here, the cost would depend on whether you want to build a theme-based website or a custom-built website.

While creating a theme-based website, choose a premium theme rather than a free WordPress theme to build a professional website.

Few things to consider when selecting a WordPress theme are;

• Pick a lightweight WordPress theme so it doesn’t affect your site’s performance and page load time.
• Ensure that the theme is responsive and works seamlessly across all browsers and devices.
• Choose a theme that can be easily customised to suit your business needs and requirements.
• Check if it supports third-party integrations and if it is compatible with essential WordPress plugins.
• Ensure that the WordPress theme is SEO-friendly, multilingual/translation ready and eCommerce ready. Learn why WordPress is the best CMS for SEO.
• Check ratings and reviews to learn more about the theme.

Some of the best multi-purpose WordPress themes that you can consider when creating a website are;

• Avada
• Parallax
• Enfold
• Bridge

Also, check out this pricing structure for various website design packages.

5. Plugins and Extensions

Plugins help with added functionalities to your website. The official WordPress plugins repository has 58,239 plugins which you can use for free. That’s right! From contact form plugins and slider & widget plugins to SEO plugins and social media & email plugins, these add-ons or extensions help you to manage all aspects of running your WordPress website.

However, most free WordPress plugins come with limited features & functionality and also have limited support. This is the reason why many website owners opt for premium plugins as it offers access to all features, regular updates and full customer support.

Some of the premium WordPress plugins that you should consider for your website include:

• Yoast SEO – All-in-one SEO plugin
• WP Rocket – A powerful caching plugin
• UpdraftPlus – The most trusted WordPress backup, restore and clone plugin
• iThemes Security Pro – The best WordPress security plugin
• MonsterInsights – #1 Google Analytics plugin for WordPress

6. eCommerce Features

One of the best things about creating a website with WordPress is you can easily add an online store to it with a simple plugin download. WooCommerce is the best WordPress eCommerce plugin out there and it is free to use. It offers you an array of themes to set up an eCommerce website. It also comes with numerous add-ons and extensions that allow you to add different features/functionality to your online store.

• It allows you to sell physical goods, digital downloads (eBooks) as well as affiliate products.
• You can create product pages, a cart and a check-out page.
• It supports various popular payment gateways.
• You can integrate with MailChimp, Google Analytics, Facebook etc.
• With the many extensions available, you can also calculate shipping and taxes and do a complete inventory.

The cost of adding eCommerce features will depend on the scale of the website, additional features, how many products to be listed, among others. You also need to consider the cost of the marketing strategy.

#Other Things To Consider

1. Website Content

This includes various sections on your website according to the sitemap starting with the about us, services/products section, FAQs, portfolio, careers page, case studies, premium content (eBooks), among others. A content writer can charge a lump sum for the entire website content or charge based on per word or per page. The cost will vary depending on the writer or agency you choose.

2. Search Engine Optimization

Once the website is launched, you need to optimise your website in order to improve site visibility on the search result. For this, you can hire an SEO agency and depending on what your website needs are, they’ll charge you accordingly. The starting price for SEO services is £475/month.

SEO for a website is important to boost search engine ranking and garner organic traffic. An experienced SEO agency will start with conducting a complete site audit. This gives an overview of the basic things that need to be undertaken at once; content optimisation, keyword optimisation, website speed optimisation, meta tags, alt tags, setting up Google Analytics etc. Advanced SEO will include technical and structural changes, outreach, link building campaign, etc.

3. Social Media Marketing

This is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your business and increase brand awareness. Through social media marketing, you can easily engage with your existing customers as well as reach a new audience. Most customers today search for brands/businesses on social media and not having a social profile for business across relevant social networks can mean a huge loss of opportunity to connect with potential leads.

A social media agency will help you with both social media management as well as marketing. This includes setting up social media profiles for your brand on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social platforms. They will help you set up actionable social media campaigns to obtain your marketing objectives. What’s more, they can also help you with social media ads to generate targeted leads. The price for social media marketing services starts from £475/month.

4. Website Maintenance

You also need to factor in the website maintenance cost when building a website. A well-maintained website will not only enhance user experience, but also ensure that your site’s security is not compromised. Website maintenance includes bug fixing, security upgrades, website updates, website backup, database optimisation, scanning and monitoring your site for malware, spam, among others.

Opting for website maintenance services is important to ensure your site is up-to-date at all times. A starter website maintenance package begins at £175/month.

Now that you know the cost of setting up a website, contact us if you are looking for a web design and development agency in Surrey.