A question we are routinely asked is, why do websites cost so much to build when the core WordPress software is free? The cost of a WordPress site depends entirely on the features and goals of your nonprofit wants to achieve.
Read the full article at WPBeginner.com
Depending on your needs, your cost to start a WordPress website can range from $100 to $500 to $3,000, to even as high as $30,000 or more. Below we have broken down pricing into four categories.
Building a WordPress website (low budget)
You can build a fully functional WordPress website for yourself and keep your costs under $100. Here is the cost break down of a WordPress website on low budget.
First, you will need a domain name and web hosting.
A domain name typically costs $14.99 / year, and web hosting normally costs $7.99 / month.
Tapp hosts dozens of WordPress websites providing updates, backups, support and security. Next, you will need to install WordPress on your hosting account. WordPress for Beginners has a step-by-step guide tutorial here.
You can add certain features to your website like contact forms, photo galleries, a slider and more. And their are more than 40,000 WordPress plugins available that will help you do that.
Related: Wordpress Plugins Every Nonprofit Should Use
Building a WordPress website (with more features)
Since you will be adding more features to your website, hosting your website will cost a little more, but it comes with advanced features like staging, faster performance, and can handle up tp 100,000 visitors per month.
You can also go for a premium WordPress template for your site. Unlike free WordPress templates, these templates come with extra features and priority support. See WordPress for Beginners selection of 40 best responsive WordPress themes for some great premium templates that you can use.
Here are some essential premium WordPress plugins and extensions that you’ll need as your site grows:
Features
- WPForms (Pro) – Adds a drag drop form builder to your WordPress site
- Envira Gallery – WordPress image gallery plugin for photography or portfolio websites
- Beaver Builder – Adds a drag and drop WordPress page builder
Marketing
- Constant Contact – One of the best Email marketing services
- OptinMonster – Converts abandoning website visitors into subscribers. Lead generation for WordPress.
- MonsterInsights Pro – See how visitors find and use your website.
Building a WordPress website that accepts Donations
In addition to hosting and domain, your eCommerce site will aslo need an SSL certificate which costs around $69.99/year. SSL is required to securely transfer customer data such as credit card information, usernaems, passwords, etc.
Here are some other paid services that you’ll need on your website.
Features
- WPForms – To add customer inquiries and feedback forms
- Beaver Builder – To create stunning landing pages using a drag and drop page builder
- Soliloquy – Create beautiful product sliders with their WooCommerce addon
Marketing
- OptinMonster – Convert visitors into customers with this powerful lead generation tool
- Constant Contact – powerful email marketing service
- MonsterInsights – Ecommerce tracking with real time stats using Google Analytics
Security
- BackupBuddy – Automatic WordPress backups
- Sucuri – Website firewall and malware scanner
Total cost of building a WordPress website that accepts donations: $1000 – $3000. It could be higher depending on how many paid addons and services you add
Building a custom WordPress website
A custom WordPress site is when you hire a WordPress developer to create a unique design and build specific features for it.
A standard custom WordPress theme alone can cost you up to $5000. More robust WordPress sites with specific custom features can cost up to $15000 or even higher.
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