When it comes to web development, WordPress is found to be the favorite platform. Its powerful features, ease of access, and beautiful designs have made the art of maintaining a website easy for businesses.
Even those who do not have any experience in web development can operate this platform by hiring a WordPress developer.
Now the question that arises is how much do the WordPress developers cost?
Here, we will attempt to answer just that.
WordPress Developers: Freelance vs Permanent
Before knowing the WordPress website costs, you need to know the type of developers your business needs. When it comes to Web development, you have three options, you can either hire an in-house WordPress developer, employ the services of a web development agency or hire a freelance WordPress developer from time to time.
While it is advisable to have an in-house WordPress developer if your business mainly operates online and any small issue can become a glitch in your business operations. A WordPress developer in such scenarios will ensure instantaneous solutions and your business will keep running smoothly.
However, if your business is not solely dependent on the internet and having a website is just a bonus, hiring a developer with high WordPress development costs will not prove to be that resourceful for you. In this case, you have two options- either you can hire a web development agency to maintain your website on your behalf or you can employ services from a freelancer from time to time.
Both these options have their pros and cons. Where one ensures fast solutions, the other is cheaper. It depends upon your needs, your expertise in handling a website, and how much you are willing to spend on a website.
It is to be noted here that although a freelancer will be more cost-effective and brings with them the flexibility to hire a person who is an expert in dealing with that particular problem that you are facing, yet having a full-time agency ensures faster results and quality output. Moreover, the web development agencies are well-equipped with the latest technologies and software, making your WordPress well-adjusted and responsive for the latest devices.
Also, you can ask them for guidance whenever you face difficulties with your website, as building an effective website for your business is not a day’s task. Rome was not built in a day, remember.
6 WordPress Developer Skills Required
While looking to understand the WordPress website development costs, the first thing you need to do is to figure out what all services you will need from him. Thus, you must make a list of the various skills that he must possess, the job that we will carry out, etc. Here we have listed a few skills that your WordPress developer must possess:
- HTML: Being the most commonly used computer language, HTML is a basic requirement for any WordPress development program. HTML is used extensively to build web pages by various WordPress developers all over the world.
- JavaScript: JavaScript is often used for implementing some of the more complex features of WordPress development. It, therefore, comes in handy to improve the operation of your website.
- Design Skills: One of the key responsibilities of a WordPress developer is website designing. Therefore, they must possess some knowledge about the basic principles of design to give your website a balanced look to make it look attractive for the users. Another thing that your WordPress developer must ensure is that your web design is responsive to different platforms and can adjust according to the device where the website is accessed. So, never go for low WordPress website design costs if it compromises the quality.
- Analytical Coding: One thing that a WordPress developer will need to do a lot is to find errors in the various codes used in running the website. Therefore, it becomes crucial that he can quickly analyze the codes for various errors to avoid technical problems.
- Debugging: The Internet is always prone to the nuances of various bugs and errors. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to run regular tests, identify bugs in the website. Thus, debugging is a key skill that your WordPress developer must be well-equipped with.
- Backend Basics: A WordPress developer often has to collaborate with backend WordPress developers and thus, it is wise to ensure that your WordPress developer understands the fundamentals such as SQL, cybersecurity, databases, server operations, etc.
5 Things to Consider While Looking For a WordPress developer
Once you are done finalizing the skills that you want your WordPress developer to possess, you should start looking for a WordPress developer. Now, before you start looking to employ someone, you must take into consideration certain things and work out these details. It will make it easier to short-list the candidates who meet your requirements.
1. Fixed-rate or rate per hour
The first thing that comes up when you start looking for someone to take care of your WordPress development needs is whether it is better to pay a fixed amount to your WordPress developer or pay them on an hourly basis. Both the options have their advantages and drawbacks. Where one ensures accountability and quality, the other ensures discipline and flexibility in work. What approach you want to employ depends upon the complexity of your project, the time available for work, and the expertise required.
2. What work is required?
The second thing that you must figure out before you go looking for a WordPress developer is what you need to do. Having a list of tasks prepared not only ensures that you find the most, but it also ensures a smooth workflow and, thus, timely delivery of your project.
3. Deadlines
You must set deadlines for the tasks to get the work done on time. This not only ensures a smooth workflow but also brings discipline to your business, especially in the case of long-term collaborations.
4. Experience required
While possessing knowledge of the required services is a basic requirement, it is not sufficient. For certain jobs, you may need a well-experienced candidate who knows how to handle a particular situation. For instance, let’s say your website is attacked by a certain bug and you need to seek the services of a WordPress developer to fix that bug. Now, in this case, you may prefer a candidate who is already experienced in dealing with this issue rather than a candidate who has never before encountered such a problem.
5. Requirements of your website
Lastly, you must take into consideration the various requirements of your website. What do you require to be done, what are the things that need to be taken care of? Whether it is web designing or coding that you need assistance in. Once you are done finalizing your list of requirements, you can go on to find the right candidate to carry all these jobs on your behalf.
4 Steps to Find a Suitable WordPress Developer
While searching for a suitable WordPress developer you should look out for a developer with an average WordPress website pricing. The process of finding and hiring a suitable WordPress developer for your business can be broken down into four steps. All these steps are discussed here in detail:
1. Identify Your Needs: First and foremost, you should identify the needs of your business and set some goals for your web development project. You must be very specific about the tasks that you need to be taken care of, the more comprehensive your goals will be, the better a WordPress developer will be able to deliver them. Therefore, you must spend a lot of thought and plan on your vision and mission for your website. You must analyze factors like the type of website you want, the number of web pages you want on your website, what all information will be displayed on those pages, etc.
2. Prepare a Budget: Once you are done setting the goals for your project, you must set a budget for carrying out the project. While setting the costs, you must consider things like the complexity of the job, required skillet, the amount of time and effort the project will require, the size of your project, the level of expertise needed, etc.
3. Know What You are Looking For: Before you start looking for a potential candidate, you must spend some time and decide on your expectations from the job. You must have a clear idea about what you want your WordPress developer to do for your business, what skills you require him to possess, what other interpersonal skills you are looking for. This will help you in deciding if an applicant will be suitable for the role or not.
4. Start Searching: Once you are done working on all the details and requirements of your web development project, you must immediately start looking for potential candidates. You can post ads on platforms like LinkedIn, can approach web development firms, conduct interviews.
Once you find a suitable candidate, do not waste much time in coming up with a decision. Taking up too much time will delay the project and cost you a good candidate.
How Much Does a WordPress Developer Cost?
As we have seen above, the cost of hiring a WordPress developer depends upon multiple factors such as the requirements of your website development, skills that you need the WordPress developer to be equipped with, the amount of complexity the job requires, experience, technicalities of the job, length of your project, etc. You can get a WordPress developer for as cheap as $15 an hour to as high as $500 an hour, depending on the various details of your web development project.
The cost of making a WordPress site depends on different needs and types of website such as:
The building cost of a low-budget WordPress site, features, customization, complexity, eCommerce, and more.
FAQs for Hiring WordPress Developers
1. How much does WordPress website maintenance cost?
Building a website is not enough. Maintaining it is very important. If you want to choose in-house website maintenance then the WordPress costs for website maintenance are $0 to $110 per month and the other type is freelancer website maintenance that costs $50 to $100 per hour. There is one more option to choose that is a web development agency/company that will charge $119 to $449 per month as WordPress websites maintenance costs.
2. Is it better to have an in-house WordPress developer?
It depends upon your business as well as the complexity of work. If you need to update your website frequently, it is advisable to hire an in-house WordPress developer.
3. How much does WordPress cost per year?
If you want to pay the cost of WordPress development on a yearly basis then the WordPress cost per year is around $120 to $15,000 and it depends on the unique features of your websites such as design, plugins, number of pages, and functions. If you want more features and a number of pages then you need to pay more for this.
4. Are WordPress developers always expensive?
It depends on what skills you need him to possess, what is the level of complexity of the work involved, and how experienced your WordPress developer is. The higher the level of expertise and experience your WordPress developer possesses, the higher will be the cost.
5. How much does WordPress cost per month?
If you want to pay the cost of WordPress development on a monthly basis then the WordPress monthly cost is around $10 to $1250 and it depends on the unique features of your websites such as design, plugins, number of pages, and functions. If you want fewer features and a number of pages then you need to pay less for this and it will affect your monthly cost.
6. What is Responsive Website Development?
Responsive web development means the ability of a webpage to adjust itself according to the device, to enhance readability. It means that a webpage will change its size and scale as per the device.
7. How much does it cost to build a WordPress website?
The WordPress website costs depend on many factors that you should consider first. The factors are types of developers (Freelancers vs Permanent), developer skills, previous projects, website features, functionalities, development complexities, eCommerce, and more. These factors will define the cost to build WordPress websites. After some research, we can provide a range of costs includes designing, developing, and launching your WordPress website. But if you want a custom WordPress website then the cost will vary.
8. Are Freelancers cheaper than web development agencies?
Not always but if your business does not mainly operate online and having a website is just a bonus for you, freelancers can prove to be very resourceful for you. However, when it comes to long-term management, web development agencies are far more convenient and budget-friendly as compared to freelancers.
9. How much does it cost to host a WordPress website?
If you want to know the cost to host a WordPress website then you should consider some of the factors first. Also, the cost depends on the time frame such as monthly or yearly basis. If your business needs a self-host vs. allows WordPress to host your website then you need to pay $24 to $10,000 per year. This range can vary according to your business and website demand.
10. How much does a WordPress website design cost?
WordPress website design cost: The WordPress website design prices depend on the designs that your business needs. Also, the price differs on choosing the type of developers such as in-house, freelancers, or web design agencies. The in-house WordPress website design prices range from $110 to $300, while freelancers cost $500 to $5000 and agencies cost $3000 to $100,000. Now, it depends on you to choose the service according to your business needs.
11. What is the normal price range of a freelance web designer?
The cost of hiring a freelance WordPress developer usually amounts from $15 to $40 per hour but our developer cost starts at $10 per hour. However, this is just an estimated price. The actual price depends upon the level of expertise and the amount of experience a freelancer holds.
12. What Do WordPress Developers Charge?
The WordPress developers charge differently because there are many professionals, all of whom will charge different prices. Also, it depends on the way to pay the charge like hourly, monthly, or yearly basis. As well as you should consider the important factors like their previous projects, deadlines, experience, etc. But I can share an average hourly rate that is around $15 to $35. If you hire freelancers then the cost can vary. The custom WordPress website cost is different from the normal because it has some extra features.
13. Is the cost of WordPress worth the money?
Before answering this question we need to know about the advantages and disadvantages of using WordPress websites. As we know, WordPress is the best option for building websites of different types. Now, the cost for a WordPress website is worth it or not, it completely depends on the features that are needed for your business.
One of the advantages of using WordPress is- giving you the freedom to build any kind of website from a basic to an eCommerce site. It is SEO-friendly and it will help to rank better in search engines. But again some disadvantages are there like you need to add some additional themes, plugins, etc.
Takeaway
How much does a WordPress developer cost” is a crucial question that businesses, project managers, or CTOs need to know before hiring WordPress developers. After all, that will affect your overall ROI.
There is no way of coming up with a full-fledged budget for your WordPress developer or WordPress website builder cost. It depends on multiple factors. However, before you go on to hunt for a potential WordPress developer, you must have a complete list of skills that you require him to possess.
Before setting a budget for your project, you must also consider certain things, such as the level of expertise required, goals, complexities, time frame, etc. Based on all this, you can start looking for candidates and settle for the one who best aligns with your goals.
