What started out as a neat way to blog about your life now powers up 34% of the internet. That is WordPress in a nutshell.

It’s a powerful platform that’s used by everyone from all walks of life. From small businesses to enterprise corporations, everyone benefits from the unmatched functionality provided by the platform.

More often than not, however, we’ve observed that it’s marketed as a “free” platform. But is it though?

Well, technically it is, but there are additional costs associated with using it. In this article, we’ll give you a short rundown of the costs you can incur when using WordPress.

So, let’s begin!

How Much Does a Web Host Cost?

Let’s make one thing clear from the outset; not all web hosting is created equal.

Your choice of web hosting depends on what you want to achieve with WordPress.

If you’re just going to blog about something, then the choice of host would be a lot cheaper. A basic plan from Bluehost or SiteGround can work wonders for your blog.

If you’re going to start an eCommerce store with lots of products, you’re ideally looking at an intermediate-level hosting package that supports your eCommerce efforts.

For a beginner, that is enough. But what if your blog or business starts to grow?

Whenever a business grows (scales up), owners decide to migrate to a newer, more professional host. Whereas before you were working with shared hosting services like Bluehost, now you’ll be using a WordPress managed hosting service like WPEngine.

These hosting services are a lot more powerful than their shared hosting counterparts. Not only do they provide more powerful features, they help you scale your website without you ever having to worry about running into any particular hurdles along the way.

The only problem is that these services are expensive.

To reiterate, your choice of hosting depends on what type of WordPress website you want. If you have a limited budget, it’s best to start off small and build your way up in such a way that you’ll be able to afford the advanced hosting services in the future.

Now, let’s talk about SSL certificates.

A Note on SSL Certificates

SSL certificates are an integral pillar of your website’s security. That nice little “https” you see at the top of a browser matters a lot to Google and indicates that your site is secure.

Almost all the major hosting services, shared and managed, do provide SSL certificates with the hosting package. If for some reason, you did not get an SSL, you can always contact web hosting support or purchase an SSL certificate.

Domain Name Registration

As with the hosting, the price of a domain name depends entirely on the type of name (abc, xyz) and extension (.com, .org) you’re looking for.

There are plenty of sites where you can purchase a domain name. The most notable amongst them being NameCheap and GoDaddy. They provide affordable options for domains that cost you anything in between $10 – $40 per year.

These companies also offer additional services like WHOIS Guard that allows you to hide your personal information from the WHOIS domain directory. If you’re worried about your identity being public, then it’s a very important feature to have.

Costs of WordPress Design and Themes

The best thing about using WordPress is that there are tons of free themes available on the official WordPress theme store. You can install and customize them to your liking with website building tools like Elementor.

However, if you’re strapped for time and want a professional theme without the extra effort you can always pay for a WordPress theme. The costs you incur on these premium themes vary depending on their provider.

In addition to these free themes, there are also third-party WordPress themes that you can download from sites like ThemeForest. While their prices are high, you’re getting tons of useful features that you would be hard-pressed to find on free themes.

What’s the Cost of a WordPress Plugin?

Another redeeming feature of WordPress is its plugin database. Similar to WordPress themes, the official WordPress plugin store has a vast collection of free and paid plugins. You can get a plugin for just about any WordPress functionality.

While the majority of the plugins are free, those that are paid can cost you anything between $47 to $200 depending on what the plugin does.

For example, MailChimp and Yoast SEO are both freely available on WordPress. They are, however, limited in their functionalities and features. If you want the whole range of features, you can purchase their premium versions for $89 and $35 or more respectively.

Note: There are plenty of piracy sites where you can get premium versions of various WordPress plugins for free. But what you’re getting for free you’re trading off for your website’s security. These “nulled” themes are infected with bugs and viruses that can lead to dire consequences for your website.

WooCommerce and Extensions

Let’s talk about WooCommerce and the price you can incur using the plugin.

The plugin itself is free. You can create an aesthetically designed and functional online store in just a few hours. On the WooCommerce platform, you get a ton of nifty extensions, both free and paid, that you can use to power up your eCommerce operations even further.

Where you’re getting Easy Digital Downloads for free, you’re also paying $50 to $175 for Inventory Source, a dropshipping extension for WooCommerce. There are plenty of paid extensions that add serious value to your store if you have the budget to go about purchasing them.

Final Words

From all of what we’ve discussed in this article, it should be pretty clear that WordPress isn’t free. The costs you incur in addition to downloading the software can range depending on your requirements and budget.

At the end of the day, it all depends on the amount of time you’re willing to invest on the platform. If you’re not giving your site enough time, it’s eventually going to fall apart even with the most advanced theme, plugin, extension, or web host.

Thanks for reading!

Author Bio. :- Shazaib – A passionate writer and tech enthusiast,  He works as a Digital Content Producer at Reviewsed.