How much does a WordPress site cost?

Why WordPress website costs vary

WordPress websites dominate the web. According to Popupsmart, over 40% of websites are now powered by WordPress.

So how much does a WordPress site cost? We break the costs down in simple terms, looking at all the factors involved in building simple or complex business and ecommerce sites.

You can build a WordPress site for free using a pre-made theme. Or spend up to £100,000 with a digital agency. Both could be called “a WordPress site.” So what’s the difference?

The answer comes down to:

• What kind of business you run
• What you need the site to do
• Whether you value performance, security, SEO and scalability

We’ve been building WordPress sites for 15 years. Here’s what we’ve learned about what affects cost, and what to watch out for.

What goes into the cost of a WordPress website?

1. Domain name

£10–£30/year

This is your website address (e.g. yourbusiness.co.uk). You can register it yourself or let your agency manage it for you.

This is a nominal fee, but critical for brand protection (amusingly, someone managed to get the Argentinian Google domain for £2!) and often also has email accounts attached to it, so pretty mission critical if you mess up the renewal.

Have a look here for the full low down on how domains work.

2. Hosting

£60–£600+/year

Hosting is where your site lives. Cheap shared hosting is fine for basic blogs, but if you want performance, backups, and support, you’ll want:

• Managed WordPress hosting (like SiteGround, Guru, or Kinsta)
• Green hosting options for ethical businesses

Here is a bit more about eco web hosting.

3. Design and development

Free to £100,000+

Like buying a banger or a Ferrari the costs vary wildly, this is the bit we will try and explore deeper in this article.

• Free or premium theme: £50–£200 (but limited flexibility)
• Custom design: £2,000–£100,000+

Custom WordPress sites take longer, but reflect your brand, messaging and goals. They’re also easier to scale and maintain over time.

4. Plugins and extra functionality

£0–£1,000+/year

Plugins add features like booking systems, SEO tools, ecommerce, membership areas, etc. Some are free, but others charge annual licences.

This can be cheaper than getting a developer to build the functionality for you, but avoid bloated setups with lots of (30+) plugins.

We see this often, it slows the site down and adds security risk.

5. Content & imagery

£0–£1,500+

A website is words and pictures wrapped up in code.

Who is writing your copy? Who’s sourcing or taking photos? Do you want a video banner for your homepage? Good content is vital for SEO and conversions.

• Copywriting: £250–£750/page
• Photography: £300+ for a day shoot

And if you think any writer or photographer will do, try writing for landing page conversion. Or compare a general photo shoot with one designed specifically for your website.

6. Ongoing maintenance

£20–£200/month

It’s worth considering what needs to happen after the launch. Technical frameworks, WordPress and the plugin makers all release updates, so you need to maintain your site.

A secure, well-functioning WordPress site needs:

• Plugin and theme updates
• Backups and uptime monitoring
• Performance and security checks
• Support time for minor changes

We offer all of this in our WordPress maintenance packages.

What often gets missed (but still costs you)

Time

DIY or builder-based sites often look appealing until you spend dozens of hours wrestling with settings, layout, copywriting and images.

Performance

Cheap hosting + bloated themes = poor user experience. That hits your bounce rate, SEO ranking, and ultimately your leads.

Ownership

Beware of:

• Agencies who register your domain in their name
• Builders where you don’t own your design
• One-person devs who disappear with your site credentials

Compliance

GDPR, cookie banners, accessibility, and performance metrics all affect cost (and reputation).

WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace: cost comparison

Wix and squarespace are great starting points (as well as WordPress.com) they are a safe environment with limited access to the code – meaning very little can go wrong.

This benefit is also the limitation, at some point your business may need some bespoke functionality, optimisation or functionality that is just not possible within the platform.

If you want full control, better SEO, and long-term scalability, WordPress is usually the better investment.

So, what does a good WordPress site cost?

These are general figures, but you can see how the scope changes the cost. It’s not just about the “site”, it’s about what it does for your business.

Hiring a freelancer is going to be the most cost-efficient way to build your WordPress site. Generally, they will have a smaller hourly rate than an agency, and be competent in either design or development. Here is the key differentiator, if you go down this route consider which skillset you are about to employ:

Designer

Will be very keen to meet the aesthetic needs of your brief, and may gloss over some of the detail in the functional requirements. They will likely use a paid theme and lots of plugins, making a gorgeous (but slow) website.

They will likely have a limited concern for Security after the launch, and further down the line you may need to entirely rebuild the site in a lightweight theme.

Developer

The developer will capture the need for your website and be keen to ensure it is functional, they may kick back on unnecessary embellishments through the process and keep it simple. Security and hosting will be an important part of the conversation and the site will be beautifully coded under the hood and likely as quick as a whippet.

Choosing an agency

We may be biased, but we think that hiring a digital marketing agency is the best option because your site will benefit from the attention of specialists across different areas (front-end development, back-end development, graphic design, etc).

The conversation will start from a marketing perspective rather than a design or functional one i.e. what are the goals your website is trying to achieve? More enquiries? Sales? Operational system? Showcase? And where does this fit with your business and budgets?

They will blend the creative flair of the designer through the design phase, and detailed developer throughout the build phase, managed by a project/account manager through the journey.

How to get what you need from your new WordPress website

1. Clarify your real goals

Don’t start with features. Start with purpose.

• Are you looking to generate leads, sell products, share expertise, or attract funding?
• Do you need to build trust, attract talent, or reduce admin time?
• Is this your first website or a strategic redesign?

Being clear about what success looks like will help you make smarter decisions at every stage—from layout to plugins to content strategy.

2. Audit your internal resources

Ask yourself:

• Do we have time to manage the project?
• Can someone write copy that balances SEO with tone of voice?
• Who will gather images or brief a photographer?
• Do we have capacity to update the site ourselves?

If your internal capacity is limited (and let’s face it, most small teams are stretched), working with an agency that can support you on these fronts will likely save you time, money, and headaches.

3. Ask the right questions before you commit

Before signing off on any quote or platform, be clear about:

• Ownership: Will you own the domain, hosting, and website files?
• Flexibility: Can you easily add pages or content without breaking things?
• Support: What happens if something stops working or you need help?
• Scalability: Can this grow with you over time?
• Exit strategy: If you want to leave, how easy is it to take your site with you?

These questions aren’t just technical, they protect your long-term investment and peace of mind.

4. Set a realistic budget range

You don’t need to know the exact number upfront, but you do need a range. Think in tiers:

• Under £500: DIY with a theme, no dev support
• £500–£2,000: Basic setup with some freelancer help
• £2,000–£6,000: Custom WordPress site with pro support
• £6,000+: Advanced integrations, ecommerce, content strategy

Being transparent about your budget helps the right people guide you towards the right solution.

5. Be strategic, not reactive

Don’t just react to a quote or a shiny design. Think strategically:

• Is your brand messaging aligned?
• Will this platform still work for you in 3 years?
• Are you solving the right problem, or just launching something fast?

Time spent upfront on planning will repay itself many times over in performance, sustainability, and peace of mind.- Who owns the site?

• How is it maintained?
• Is it easy to edit?
• What happens if something breaks?

If you’re speaking to suppliers, listen carefully to what’s included—and what’s not.

What you WON’T pay for with a WordPress site

Emails

Although common in the early days of the web when websites and emails were bundled on the same server. Nowadays the operational demand for email should not be slowing down your website performance and should be considered a completely different service.

Google & Office 365 battle it out for your monthly subscription for emails and bundle in all sorts of basic office staples to make this a no-brainer.

Do I pay for the WordPress platform?

The most important fact to know about WordPress is that the platform itself is free, both in terms of cost and usage rights.

You or your chosen developer/agency are entitled to download the core WordPress files and edit them to your heart’s content without paying a penny. There are no paywalls, no license fees and no restrictions on legitimate commercial use.

If you decide you want to work with a different developer in the future, you can simply give them access to your files, and you can even take your files and host them elsewhere.

Important note: If you are self-building, please don’t make the mistake of visiting wordpress.com and signing up for a plan, this is similar to a shared hosting environment above and you find limitations on editing the server-side code.

You need to download the free WordPress software either via wordpress.org or via your web host’s dashboard/cpanel.

Promoting your new website

Just before we go, it’s worth a quick note that there are roughly 200 million active websites at the time of writing. The assumption might be that you will appear on Google when someone types in your products or services. The reality is, if that will make you money, someone else is probably already doing it.

Considering how you will market your new website may make you think completely differently about the website you are about to build. Book a marketing planning workshop to build a plan and avoid disappointment after the launch.

Summary: what does a WordPress site cost?

• There’s no one-size-fits-all answer
• It depends on your goals, size, team and ambitions
• You could spend under £500, or more than £10,000

The question is: what outcome do you need from it?

A cheap site that doesn’t perform will cost you more in missed leads, tech headaches, and reputation.

A well-planned, sustainable WordPress website should:

• Load quickly
• Be easy to edit
• Rank well in search
• Grow with you
• Pay for itself

Ready for a conversation with Devon’s WordPress specialists?

WordPress continues to lead the way in terms of internet market share, and we don’t see this changing any time soon. As WordPress specialists, we would love to talk to you about your future plans.

How much does a WordPress site cost with Vu? Again, that will depend on the type of site you need and what kind of design and features you need.

By combining the flexibility of the WordPress platform with our many years’ experience with small and medium-sized businesses, we are confident we can build a site that meets your goals and fits your budget.

Please visit our dedicated WordPress website service page and reach out to us for an initial chat.