I’m glad you asked this question, and the answer is simple, it depends on what you want. How much does a WordPress website cost in 2020? I have to make a few assumptions to answer the question in a way that is helpful to you, but the following article is a guideline, based on 2 common scenarios. I have developed websites both public-facing and internal corporate web application frameworks that vary from free to several hundred thousand Rands. This article refers to public-facing websites, using WordPress as a content management system (CMS). If you are not sure that WordPress websites are for you, please read my article – “Why choose a WordPress website vs an HTML custom coded website?” before this one.
I am going to give you an estimate of what a WordPress website would cost in 2020 based on the following 2 scenarios:
- A website for a small business or guesthouse (no E-Commerce).
- An E-Commerce website and online store for a small company with up to 20 initial physical products.
The following assumptions are being made:
- Branding, draft copywriting and identity are already established by the client and don’t form part of these estimates.
- All Social Media accounts are set up and branded.
- All video assets are already produced, edited and rendered.
- Product photos have been supplied.
- Several cost elements are linked to the US Dollar exchange rate and subject to change accordingly.
- Most options specified have several variations that can significantly affect the price. I have tried to keep the price in the middle of the pricing range without compromising quality.
- I have not included the use of some professional versions of plugins. These typically carry an annual cost.
- I have not included CDN content distribution pricing in the scenarios.
Annual Hosting Costs:
| Domain Name Registration for a non-premium .com domain (annual fee) | R 300 | $ 19 |
| SSL Certificate (annual fee) | R 700 | $ 44 |
| Professional Hosting Service (annual fee) – includes email, FTP, Databases, IP address | R 4,000 | $ 250 |
| TOTAL: | R 5,000 | $ 313 |
| Optional Annual Maintenance Fee (monitoring security logs, and component updates on a monthly basis) | R2,400 | $150 |
There are cheaper hosting options available, but this is the recommended configuration for a professional business WordPress website. I recommend the annual maintenance fee to all clients, as this is a key to keeping the site stable and keeping hackers out. See my article – “Why choose a WordPress website vs an HTML custom coded website?” where I discuss some of the keys to successful WordPress websites – good hosting is one of them. If you are looking to manage your own hosting, I recommend you make sure you have a good security strategy. I offer managed hosting and handle the technical, hosting maintenance and security details for you.
A WordPress website for a small business or guesthouse
This scenario is for a small business or guesthouse requiring a basic website presence. It would include the following standard pages: Home, About us, Contact, Thank You, Terms of Use, Privacy. A small business would have 4 to 5 other pages including details of their Products or Services pages. A guesthouse would have Accommodation, Facilities, Rates, Gallery and Booking Enquiry pages. I have excluded landing pages and further detail pages for clarity. I have included an average amount of image optimisation. Sourcing images and optimising them for a website is a key step that needs to be done SEO, site performance and user experience. I have found that most clients need this service, and just supply raw images. I include some basic post-processing in Photoshop where needed.
| WordPress Site Set-Up and Configuration – Base Plugins, Security, SSL, Email & Accounts | R 1,500 | $ 94 |
| Professional Theme (some themes require annual fees for updates) | R 800 | $ 50 |
| Theme configuration and branding set-up, including Home, About us, Contact, Thank you, Terms, Privacy pages | R 2,400 | $ 150 |
| 4 to 5 Additional Pages – Products/Services or Accommodation, Facilities, Rates, Booking Enquiries. | R 1,200 | $ 75 |
| Stock Image Sourcing and Optimisation (excluding image licensing fee where applicable) | R 800 | $ 50 |
| Supplied Image Optimisation | R 800 | $ 50 |
| SEO Optimisation | R 1,000 | $ 63 |
| TOTAL: | R 8,500 | $ 532 |
Some projects require copywriting, branding, Social Media set-up, video production and marketing services in addition to the above line items. Anchorage Guesthouse is an example site you can view here.
E-Commerce Online Store
This scenario is for a small business based on the previous costing with the addition of a WooCommerce online shopping store. I have based the costing on 20 physical products using the standard extensions for WooCommerce. There are premium extensions that you may need to license.
| Basic WordPress website for small business – as above | R 8,500 | $ 532 |
| WooCommerce Configuration | R 1,500 | $ 94 |
| Payment Gateway Integration | R 1,000 | $ 63 |
| Shipping Integration | R 1,000 | $ 63 |
| Initial 20 Products set-up | R 2,400 | $ 150 |
| Supplied Image Optimisation | R 2,600 | $ 162 |
| TOTAL COST: | R 17,000 | $ 1,064 |
Some projects require copywriting, branding, Social Media set-up, video production and marketing services in addition to the above line items. The above figures are guidelines, to give you an idea. A WordPress website cost can vary significantly. If you are looking at a new website or revamping your existing site, please contact me to discuss your needs, and see how I can help you.