With a commanding 43% of all websites, WordPress is undoubtedly a content management system worth considering for your next project.
Although WordPress is generally free if you don’t get the subscription-based model, there are still associated costs and pricing factors that are crucial to consider, such as the domain name, web hosting, and other elements that can significantly impact your brand’s online presence.
So, it’s important to understand the pricing options available and some common pitfalls to avoid.
In this blog post, we’ll dive into the various WordPress pricing plans and share valuable tips to help you create a successful website.
- Is WordPress Free or Paid?
- What Do You Need to Build a WordPress Website?
- Website Cost: What’s Different With WordPress?
- WordPress Pricing: Things to Avoid on Your WordPress Site
Is WordPress Free or Paid?
One common misconception many people have is whether WordPress is completely free.
The core WordPress software, which you can download and set up on your web hosting account or local computer after you have purchased a domain name and a hosting plan, is free of charge.
On the other hand, there’s WordPress.com, a hosted solution that aims to simplify the process by bundling everything together. While this platform offers a hassle-free setup, it comes with notable restrictions.
WordPress.com provides users with a range of plans, each associated with different features and pricing tiers. It’s a more turnkey solution, but users should carefully weigh the convenience against potential limitations.
What Do You Need to Build a WordPress Website?
There aren’t many essentials for building a WordPress website, but each plays a pivotal role in shaping your digital presence.
In short, you’ll need access to the following:
- Domain name
- Web hosting account
- WordPress files
- WordPress theme
- WordPress plugins
- Some content
Whether you’re looking to improve your skills or streamline your workflow, these points will help you achieve your goals.
Now that we’ve covered the bullet points, let’s dive deeper into what they mean for you and how you can use them to your advantage.
A Domain Name
Your domain name is the unique web address visitors will use to access your site. It’s like the online address of your business or blog. Although very few web hosting providers offer a free domain for the first year, you’ll need to renew it annually at a separate cost.
Even with HostPapa’s shared hosting accounts, you get a free domain name registration to help keep the initial cost minimal.
Web Hosting
Web hosting is where your website’s files, data, and content are stored.
It’s essentially the backstage of your online presence. Choosing a reliable hosting provider is crucial for ensuring your site’s performance and security.
Then, based on your requirements, you can choose the hosting plan that best suits your needs. Be sure that the web host offers an easy upgrade path to a better hosting solution, as you’ll need that when your business grows.
Your WordPress Files
As mentioned earlier, the core WordPress software is open-source and can be downloaded from wordpress.org. This is the engine that powers your website, allowing you to create, edit, and manage content with ease.
But if you feel that this is advanced work (we don’t judge!), consider the Optimized WordPress Hosting plan. For the same price as shared hosting, you get WordPress pre-installed and ready to accept your beautiful content!
A Theme
A WordPress theme determines the overall look and feel of your website. From all the free WordPress themes available, premium themes often offer more customization options, better support, and additional features.
Choose a theme that aligns with your site’s purpose and provides a user-friendly experience for your audience. Also, it’s worth checking out themes that offer great SEO, as it will help you stay ahead of the competition on search engine result pages (SERP).
In WordPress’s latest versions, you can create aesthetically pleasing WordPress sites even with built-in themes, especially block-based ones that enable full site editing. These can resonate with your audience and keep them coming back for more.
Some Plugins
Plugins are add-ons that extend the functionality of your WordPress site. On a simple web hosting plan with WordPress installed, you can have as many plugins as you like.
They can enrich security, improve SEO, add social media integration, and more. While many plugins are free, some premium options offer advanced features and dedicated support.
Some other cases include free plugins that do have a premium option. These are excellent choices to check out some of the plugin’s options, allowing you to choose whether you want to stay with the simple features or get the premium ones.
Content
Of course, the heart of your website is its content. This includes text, images, videos, and any other media you want to share on your site.
Craft compelling and relevant content to engage your audience and fulfill the purpose of your website.
If you’re an eCommerce business, having well-designed product pages with enough information has to be high up on your checklist. Then, you can build a blog to share all the latest news on these subjects and build your brand awareness by sharing them on social media.
Website Cost: What’s Different With WordPress?
The cost of building a website can vary greatly depending on your chosen platform. That’s why we wrote an article a while back discussing all the costs associated with the website-building process.
When it comes to WordPress, there’s still the cost of the web hosting and the domain name. A reliable web hosting service will save you money at the start by offering a free domain name and plenty of server resources as a head start.
After that, if you have some WordPress plugins that require a subscription to keep functioning, you’ll have to pay a small amount to keep using them.
Premium themes aren’t exactly like that. You can purchase the theme along with lifetime upgrades, but you need to pay for the support as a subscription. Many WordPress users stick with the theme only.
How to Grab a Free Domain Name
With HostPapa, all you need to do is pick up your hosting plan! After you select the plan you want to use, you can choose the domain name that will append to it for free.
The same goes for any of the more featured-packed hosting options from HostPapa. For example, our Website Builder, a very user-friendly option to get your business online, gives you a free domain name to start immediately.
Optimized WordPress Hosting and Do-It-For-Me are also some great examples of web hosting solutions that provide a domain name for free for everyone starting out.
How Much Should I Pay for WordPress
The answer to that question relies on the scope of your business and how many integrations and features you need from your website.
If you’re looking for a cost-effective solution for your small team of up to ten people, Start, and WP Start are the perfect options.
These affordable plans will only cost you $2.95/mo USD if you decide on a 3-year plan while providing 100GB of SSD storage, a free domain name, and many other impressive features.
From there, you can choose a free or premium theme (up to $60 USD one-time payment) with all the features you’ll need from your setup.
WordPress Pricing: Things to Avoid on Your WordPress Site
If you’re planning to create a new WordPress website to establish your online presence, it’s crucial to perform some essential checks before going live and before making big decisions like opting for a premium theme, plugins and web hosting solutions.
In short, you need to:
- Check for hidden costs: This means checking potential hidden expenses such as premium themes, plugins, and additional services on your web hosting provider that may be required for specific functionalities.
- Ensure scalability in your web hosting provider: Some web hosts give you just the required space to host your website. Others go the extra mile to make sure you get a seamless experience even if you opt for the most affordable hosting plan.
- Double-check your security investments: Neglecting your website security is one common mistake to avoid. Website security includes secure hosting, SSL certificates, backups, and regular updates to WordPress, themes, and plugins. Some web hosting companies offer additional security services to keep everything in check.
- Leave it to your trusted web host to handle all of the above for you: As a last resort, you can rely on your web host to handle some or all of your website-related concerns. A reputable web host will assist you with any common questions. HostPapa offers this type of assistance via the PapaCare+ service, which provides speedy and award-winning customer support and issue resolution for just $49.95 USD per month – a real bargain.
Hiring Help: Web Developer Cost Compared to Other Solutions
It’s absolutely possible to build a website on your own, even if you don’t have the necessary skills. However, some individuals may be short on time to do so. In such cases, opting for our Do-It-For-Me hosting plan can be very appealing.
After becoming a part of our service, our clients share their objectives and preferences with us, and we present them with various design options to incorporate into their final product.
The best part is that all of this comes at an attractive price of $99/mo, which is a bargain compared to the prices charged by web design agencies worldwide.
So, to conclude, the WordPress cost difference is negligible compared to other non-CMS-based websites. The constant costs like web hosting and domain registration will remain no matter the website type you use.
From a simple blog to an eCommerce site, the cost of building a website based on WordPress is low. Premium plugins and themes can up the cost significantly, and if you’re a more technically inclined person, you might find the whole process a breeze.
Once your website is launched, certain tasks need to be done. However, if you have correctly planned your website design, there is no need to worry. HostPapa is always available to assist you with any questions or concerns, just like we have done for our many satisfied customers.
Because, with HostPapa, every website is a happy website!
Want to read more? Hop onto HostPapa Blog to read exciting topics around web hosting.
