How Much Does It Cost to Build a WordPress Website From Scratch?
Short answer: A custom WordPress website typically costs $1,500 to $5,000 for a small business site with 5-10 pages, $5,000 to $15,000 for a larger site with custom functionality or a WooCommerce store, and $15,000+ for complex, highly custom builds. The biggest cost driver isn’t the number of pages, it’s how much of the design is custom versus template-based, and how much custom functionality the site needs beyond content and a contact form.
What Actually Drives WordPress Build Cost
WordPress itself is free, so every dollar in a build quote is paying for design, development time, and expertise, not licensing. Four factors explain almost all of the price variation between a $1,500 site and a $15,000 one.
- Design origin. A site built from a pre-made theme with light customization costs far less than one built from a custom Figma design translated pixel by pixel into code
- Page count and content complexity. Ten simple pages cost less than five pages with custom layouts, interactive elements, or unique content types
- Custom functionality. A contact form is trivial. A booking system, a membership area, or a custom search and filtering experience is real development work
- Ecommerce. Adding WooCommerce, product catalogues, and a checkout flow is a meaningfully bigger scope than a content-only site
Typical Cost by Site Type
| Site type | Typical cost | What’s included |
|---|---|---|
| Small business brochure site | $1,500 – $5,000 | 5-10 pages, custom theme built from a design, contact forms, basic SEO setup |
| Content-heavy or custom site | $5,000 – $10,000 | Custom page templates, blog architecture, custom fields, moderate integrations |
| WooCommerce store | $6,000 – $15,000 | Product catalogue, checkout, payment gateways, shipping and tax setup |
| Complex or highly custom build | $15,000+ | Custom applications, membership systems, advanced integrations, multi-language |
These ranges assume a properly built, custom-designed site. A theme-only build with minimal customization can come in under $1,500, but you’re trading cost for a site that looks like hundreds of others and is harder to extend later.
Where the Money Actually Goes
On a well-scoped project, the majority of the cost is development time translating a design into a working, maintainable site, not the design itself or the platform. A rough breakdown for a typical $5,000 project: design implementation and theme development is usually the largest single line item, followed by custom functionality, content setup, and testing across devices and browsers. Ongoing costs are separate and much smaller: hosting typically runs $10 to $50 a month, and a domain renews around $15 a year.
Fixed-Price vs Hourly for a New Build
For a new build with a defined scope, fixed-price is almost always the better fit, you know the total cost before committing, and the incentive is on the developer to deliver efficiently rather than bill more hours. Hourly makes more sense for ongoing work after launch, where the scope naturally varies week to week. Our fixed-price vs hourly comparison goes into this in more depth.
How to Avoid Overpaying, or Underpaying and Regretting It
The cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest outcome. A site built too quickly, on an overloaded page builder, with no real code review, often needs a second, more expensive rebuild within a year or two. Before comparing quotes, make sure each one covers the same scope, custom design versus a template, the actual page and content complexity, and whether testing, basic SEO setup, and a post-launch warranty period are included. Our WordPress developer vetting checklist covers what to check before you commit to a quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a basic WordPress website cost?
A basic, custom-designed brochure site with 5-10 pages typically costs $1,500 to $5,000. A theme-only build with light customization can be cheaper, but usually looks generic and is harder to extend later.
Why do WordPress sites vary so much in price?
WordPress itself is free, so the price reflects design and development time. A custom design translated into code, custom functionality beyond content and forms, and ecommerce all add real hours, which is why quotes for what looks like “a website” can range from $1,500 to $15,000 or more.
Does the cost include hosting and a domain?
Usually not, hosting and domain costs are separate and ongoing, typically $10 to $50 a month for hosting and around $15 a year for a domain. Confirm with your developer whether the quoted price is build cost only or includes the first year of hosting.
Is a WooCommerce store more expensive than a regular WordPress site?
Yes, typically. Adding a product catalogue, checkout, payment gateways, and shipping and tax configuration is real additional scope on top of a standard content site, which is why WooCommerce stores usually start higher, around $6,000, rather than the $1,500 entry point for a basic brochure site.
Should I choose the cheapest quote I receive?
Not automatically. Compare what’s actually included, custom design versus template, testing, basic SEO setup, and a post-launch warranty, before comparing price alone. A cheap build that needs to be redone within a year usually costs more in total than paying properly the first time.
Want an exact number instead of a range? Tell us about your project and we’ll give you a fixed quote within 24 hours, no obligation. See our WordPress developers or get a free quote.