What a WordPress Site
Actually Costs
From an Agency That Builds Them
Most searches for “WordPress cost” return WordPress.COM subscription pricing. That is a $4/month hosted platform. It has nothing to do with hiring a developer to build a professional WordPress site on your own hosting. We are the agency. Here are the real numbers.
If you need a simple 2-3 page site and are happy to manage it yourself, WordPress.com or Squarespace is the right answer at $10-$23/month. Come back to a development agency when you need custom functionality, a WooCommerce store, or a site that performs above 85 on PageSpeed.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org — They Are Not the Same Product
When most people search “how much does WordPress cost,” they get WordPress.com subscription pricing. This is a hosted platform where Automattic manages your site for a monthly fee ($4 to $45 per month). It restricts plugins, customisation, and advanced functionality on lower plans.
WordPress.org is different. It is the free, open-source software installed on your own hosting. You own everything. You can install any plugin. There are no platform restrictions. This is what professional developers build on. The software itself costs nothing. The hosting, domain, and development work are what you pay for. That is what this guide covers.
| WordPress.com | WordPress.org (professional build) | |
|---|---|---|
| Software cost | $4-$45/month | Free |
| Hosting | Included | $5-$100/month (paid separately) |
| Domain | Extra ($20/yr on premium plans) | $10-20/year (paid separately) |
| Development cost | Drag-and-drop only | $1,200-$20,000 (one-time) |
| Customisation | Limited by platform | Unlimited |
| You own the code | No | Yes |
| Right for | Simple personal/small business sites | Professional business sites |
WordPress Development Costs by Project Type
These prices are based on real projects quoted and delivered at $30/hour in 2025 and 2026. Every project starts with a written scope. You know the cost before any payment.
Premium Theme Customisation — $1,200 to $3,500
A WordPress site built on a premium theme (Astra, Kadence, or Blocksy) customised to your brand. Includes logo placement, colour scheme, font configuration, header and footer design, homepage layout, inner page templates (service, about, contact), and contact form with email routing.
At $1,200: Theme installation, basic customisation, 5-6 pages, contact form, mobile check. At $3,500: Full Elementor or Bricks customisation, 10+ pages, custom forms, blog setup, basic SEO configuration, speed optimisation.
Right for: Businesses that need a professional site quickly on a defined budget. Not right for: Sites that need unique design that templates cannot replicate.
Custom WordPress Theme — $3,500 to $8,000
A WordPress theme built from scratch to your brand specifications. No template starting point. Clean PHP, modern CSS, Gutenberg block compatibility, and full page speed optimisation built in from the first line of code.
At $3,500: Single design language, 8-10 page templates, custom header/footer, Gutenberg block support, PageSpeed 85+ target. At $8,000: Complex design system, 15+ templates, custom Gutenberg blocks, animation, multi-language support, and advanced SEO configuration.
Right for: Businesses with a distinct brand that templates cannot replicate. Also right for: Sites that will be maintained for 5+ years without plugin dependency.
WooCommerce Store (Standard) — $2,500 to $6,000
A WooCommerce eCommerce store with standard product catalogue, Stripe or PayPal payment gateway, shipping rules, mobile checkout, and order management.
At $2,500: Theme-based WooCommerce setup, 50-100 products, standard checkout, one payment gateway, basic shipping zones. At $6,000: Custom WooCommerce theme, 200+ products with custom attributes, multiple payment gateways, tax rules, inventory management, and customer account portal.
Note: WooCommerce plugin is free. Premium extensions (subscriptions, bookings) cost $100-$300/year each and are listed separately in the scope.
WooCommerce Complex Build — $6,000 to $15,000
WooCommerce with advanced functionality: subscription billing, wholesale pricing with B2B login portals, multi-currency, custom product configurators, loyalty points, or integrations with external ERP or inventory systems.
This range applies when the buying journey has non-standard steps, when different user roles see different pricing, or when WooCommerce must connect to systems outside the WordPress ecosystem. Every complex WooCommerce build starts with a data model review before development begins.
Custom WordPress Plugin — $800 to $5,000
A purpose-built plugin for functionality no existing plugin covers adequately. Common custom plugins: booking systems with custom availability logic, member portals with tiered access, REST API endpoints for headless setups, custom post type-based data structures, and WooCommerce extensions.
At $800: A focused single-function plugin (e.g. a custom form with specific routing). At $5,000: A complex plugin with its own admin interface, database tables, user roles, and REST API endpoints.
CV Infotech has a published plugin on WordPress.org: CVInfotech Importer for Shopify and WooCommerce (version 3.3.1, 5.0 stars).
Platform Migration to WordPress — $1,500 to $4,000
Migration from Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Webflow, or another WordPress host. Includes content transfer, URL structure preservation, redirect mapping, DNS cutover, and post-migration testing.
At $1,500: Small site (under 20 pages), simple content, no eCommerce. At $4,000: Larger site with blog archive, image galleries, custom forms, and complex redirect requirements from changed URL structures.
Note: URL preservation during migration protects your existing Google rankings. A migration done without redirect mapping can cause immediate ranking drops.
See our Wix migration servicePerformance Optimisation — $500 to $2,000
PageSpeed audit and optimisation for existing WordPress sites.
At $500: Caching plugin setup, image compression, basic CDN configuration. At $2,000: Server-level optimisation, database cleanup, plugin audit and removal, CSS/JS minification, and hosting migration if the current server is the bottleneck.
We have taken WordPress sites from PageSpeed scores of 35 to 88 on mobile. The most common causes of slow WordPress sites: too many plugins (especially page builders), uncompressed images, no caching, and shared hosting at capacity.
Ongoing Maintenance — $80 to $200/month
Monthly WordPress maintenance covers: core, theme, and plugin updates; daily automated backups with 30-day retention; uptime monitoring with 15-minute check intervals; and monthly security scans.
Standard sites: $80/month. WooCommerce or custom plugin sites: $120-$200/month.
Why maintenance matters: WordPress powers 43.5% of the web and receives constant security patches. A site that has not been updated in 6 months is a liability.
See our full WordPress maintenance serviceWhat Makes a WordPress Project More or Less Expensive
What increases cost
Custom design from scratch
Building without a theme starting point adds 30-50% to development time.
Plugin conflicts and legacy code
Taking over a site built by another developer often requires audit time before new work can start.
Content creation
Copy, images, and graphics billed separately if we produce them.
Complex integrations
Each third-party API (CRM, booking, payment, ERP) adds $400-$2,000.
eCommerce functionality
WooCommerce adds meaningful scope to any build.
Rushed delivery
Compressed timelines require parallel resources and cost 20-40% more.
What reduces cost
Supply a complete brief upfront
A detailed brief reduces discovery and scope revision time.
Provide your own content
Text, images, and brand assets ready at project start.
Choose a premium theme as a starting point
Saves 30-50% on design and development time.
Phase the build
Launch core features first. Add complex functionality in phase two.
Consolidate feedback
One structured round of feedback is faster than five incremental emails.
Clear decision-making
Projects with one decision-maker move faster than those with committees.
From Brief to Fixed Quote in 48 Hours
You send a brief
What the site needs to do, how many pages, what integrations are required, and whether you want a custom theme or a premium theme starting point. Even a rough brief is enough to start. We ask the clarifying questions.
30-minute discovery call
We map the full scope, identify integration requirements, and flag complexity risks before quoting. We do not quote without this call. A quote without discovery is a guess with your money.
Written scope and quote
A document listing every deliverable, every excluded item, the timeline, and the payment schedule (30% to start, 40% at mid-point, 30% on delivery). You see the full breakdown before agreeing to anything.
Build and deliver
Staging site for review before launch. One revision round in scope. 30-day post-launch support included. Maintenance plan options provided.
See our full WordPress development service.
WordPress Cost Questions, Answered
About the Author
Akash Singh — Co-Founder and CTO, CV Infotech
Akash has led WordPress development at CV Infotech since 2012. The team has published a plugin on WordPress.org (CVInfotech Importer, 5.0 stars) and maintained client WordPress sites continuously for over a decade. Clutch 5.0 / 35 reviews. Freelancer 5.0 / 512 reviews.
Know Your WordPress Budget Before You Speak to Anyone
The discovery call is free. The scope document is free. The quote arrives within 48 hours of the call. If what you need does not justify an agency build, we will tell you that in the call.