When it's time to build a website for a company, organization, municipality or association, sooner or later we think about the technical implementation and more precisely, which platform the website will be built on. Often when comparing website platforms and different publishing systems, WordPress is usually the one that everyone knows, at least by name. The popularity of WordPress is indeed in a class of its own: more than a third of all websites in the world have been built with it. [1]
A short lesson on WordPress
There are two different versions of WordPress:
- WordPress.com blog platform and
- WordPress.org publishing system.
The SaaS model, i.e. the WordPress.com platform offered as a service, is perfect for bloggers, small entrepreneurs, small associations and others who primarily want (or have to) build their website themselves. The platform is quite limited (aimed at more straightforward websites such as blogs and portfolios), so you can't create very demanding sites with WordPress.com.
WordPress.org, which is self-maintained and based on open-source code, is the more robust, flexible and professional publishing system, which is used to build web services from end to end; from small websites of a few pages to extensive implementations that require complex integrations, language versions and e-commerce functionality. When we generally talk about WordPress websites, we mean this version.
We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of WordPress in more detail in the comparison of publishing systems earlier.
Read: Guide to choosing a website platform - WordPress or Drupal?
Right! So what does building with WordPress cost?
The only right answer is what you may not want to hear: it depends. In our opinion, the best way to evaluate the price range of websites is complexity. How complex your site ultimately determines the work required for a professional team to build your site. Since WordPress itself is open source, using it does not involve license fees or other hidden costs.
In order to get to some price ranges, we need to dig into the subject a little more deeply...
WordPress website design
For website design, you should choose a dedicated UX & UI designer, i.e. a designer who knows how to design both user experience and user interfaces in a device- and browser-independent and accessible way. In the world of advertising agencies, we have found that an otherwise quite competent art director or graphic designer, often does not understand the basic requirements and limitations of web design well enough, although of course there are always exceptions to this.
The design of online services includes a few special areas of expertise, the acquisition of which takes years. These include responsive design, accessible user interfaces and platform-specific knowledge, such as understanding the possibilities and limitations of the WordPress block editor.
Well-designed is probably also well-made
Firstly, it is good to understand the three most important areas of the online service building process. The simplest division can be made between design, content and development:
- To begin with, you first need a designer and perhaps also more strategic business design skills to design your site (user paths, site structure, content hierarchy, visual layout)
- Taking care of your content is the single most important part of a successful website project. A handsome exterior or technical bells and whistles do not make you happy if the basic purpose of the site is not fulfilled – does it serve its users? The visitor basically comes to the site with a need and is looking for an answer to it.
- The responsibility is then given to WordPress developers who handle the technical implementation (installation, configuration, development, testing, integrations).
Our recommendation is to choose a partner who can do all parts of the project professionally without a separate handover process, but it is not a cardinal sin to acquire different areas from different places, for example planning from one agency and implementation from another.
Many have a separate brand agency that guides the use of the visual appearance. In principle, the final user interface drawings can be drawn by either party, so long as the author is familiar with user interface design and understands the framework and limitations of the technical implementation.
It is worth investing in the design of the user experience and the appearance of the user interface. A distinctive, personal appearance attracts and creates a bond with your brand. A straightforward and clear user experience, on the other hand, guides the user to do the things they were originally looking for, and on the way they may be interested in making a purchase decision or leaving their contact information.
Don't forget to plan your content! As part of planning the site's structure and content hierarchy, you also should think about how the content is structured in the core of the site. What themes do you want to communicate about and in what voice? In what languages? Do you create the content yourself or do you use the help of a professional? What about search engine optimization, when was the last time keyword analysis was done?
There are many ways to work with WordPress
Since WordPress is so shockingly popular, you can see many ways of implementation. Do-it-yourself implementations are the majority of WordPress sites, in which case one takes a ready-made theme and a bunch of plugins, which are then glued together in a pile of disassembled parts. This method often gets you going, but the road is usually paved with problems from day one.
In more professional implementations, significantly fewer external plugins are applied and a customized investment is made in those things that make the website stand out from the rest of the market, reduce manual maintenance work and generate more and better business. In addition, third-party plug-ins always bring with them dependencies and uncertainties, as they basically only handle one task each, and ensuring compatibility is the responsibility of others.
As you might expect, a complex website with many additional features will be much more expensive than a simple solution. However, when building a website, you shouldn't compromise on quality or the author's professionalism, because a well-created website supports your company's growth and scales with your operations.
Are you looking for an expert WordPress developer? Get to know our website services better: WordPress websites
Professional WordPress websites can cost anything between 20,000 and 200,000 euros
The price range is very large and this is where most companies' needs fall, so finding the sweet spot for your own needs can be difficult. This emphasizes the buyer's responsibility; Do you know what you are getting? Let's unpack this a bit.
Read more: Websites for the company: this is how you bid for a website renewal
Building websites tailored to the unique needs of companies usually requires at least an expert implementation team of 4-5 people and years of technical expertise and understanding of both business legality and customer needs, regardless of the industry. This is where the importance of a competent agency is emphasized.
A slightly more comprehensive website project includes at least a design part and a technical implementation, where the goal in both is to create a website that achieves the set business goals, stands out from the competition and is a complete brand experience. Ready-made blocks and themes do not answer this, and will require you to spend more of your own time on planning.
The content structure, target group-specific content paths and insightful content solutions do not arise by chance. This process takes time and requires the participation of both the customer and the agency's experts.
In terms of technical features, the site must meet the requirements of modern accessibility, search engine friendliness and responsiveness. At the same time it should contain flexible tools for effective marketing, offer functions to support your business and often contain completely customized functionalities that serve customers or automate internal processes. This also requires a knowledge and work that requires time and expertise.
The price level for qualified WordPress agencies throughout Finland is around 90-140€ / h + VAT, with a few percent fluctuations in one direction or the other, depending on the skills of the team and of course also the physical location.
When you basically have to spend at least a few months on the project, the price level is easily in the range of €20,000 – €40,000 + VAT without very comprehensive functions or customizations being done yet. When you add a bunch of functionalities, language versions and a couple of integrations to this, the price has already doubled quickly.
Large, complex websites may take several months to be designed, developed and tested, often containing many customized functions and integrations. In addition, they can be maintained part-time or full-time by several developers, in which case the costs required for setting up the site and annual maintenance can easily be calculated in hundreds of thousands of euros.
The largest WordPress-based web services functionally contain much more than just articles and content pages. Various transaction services, configurators, search engines, online stores and application-like features have been implanted into these. In this case, for example, we are talking roughly about the price range of €100,000 – €300,000 (VAT 0%).
Publicly available data on domestic WordPress-based implementations is a bit poor, other than in the case of public tenders. It should be stated here that, for example, the national procurement threshold (€60,000) for WordPress-based tenders opened during 2024 has been exceeded several times. From the side of the private sector, you can try to outline indicative budget frames, e.g. through the Publications section of Vierityspalkki’s website (in Finnish), where budget information is available in the form of price brackets.
Sounds like a lot… What if I just need a simple WordPress site?
Of course, less time is needed to design and develop a simple site than a more complex one. Technical skills probably don't have to be at such a high level when it comes to a simple site, so it may be that a less experienced developer can build your site, and you don't necessarily need to pay them the same hourly rate as a specialist who has implemented tens or even hundreds of sites, who is in high demand and can command a high hourly rate. In Finland, most of these projects are carried out in agencies, where website projects are often done in conjunction with brand renewal projects and other strategically focused sales and marketing process overhauls.
A business website or a site with a few page templates based on simple product themes or commercial page builders can be obtained more cheaply in the freelancer market, for example with an investment of a few thousand euros. And this is a valid solution for those who do not need comprehensive customizations, integrations and functionalities. As soon as you add functionalities that add complexity, such as language versions, integrations with other systems or online store functionality, an experienced and skilled developer is quickly worth the price.
Read more: What does a WooCommerce online store cost?
Building WordPress websites with Valve
At Valve, we are an office specializing in WordPress-based websites for growth-oriented SMEs and large internationally operating listed companies We build demanding websites with years of experience, ambition and great professional pride.
Most of our customers are the communication and marketing decision-makers of companies. Many of their websites are typically created for marketing and sales needs, informative and flexible, so-called "basic business websites." However, websites almost always have some functionality or features that require the insight and expertise of a competent and experienced author.
Our approach to WordPress development is quality-focused and aims to leverage WordPress' own practices and features. We are constantly developing our own tools and our own know-how, and we stay involved in the activities of the international WordPress community, for example by participating in events and seminars.
We also try to avoid ready-made themes and using masses of third-party dependencies. We carefully select only the plugins that we trust to do the job. In our experience, relying on add-ons developed and maintained by just any third party is quite a gamble, so only add-ons that have passed our screening process end up on our customers' sites.
In Valve, the price level of a typical WordPress web service is usually between €40,000 and €60,000 (VAT 0%), but the most comprehensive implementations are the result of longer processes and their costs can rise to over €200,000 (VAT 0%).
In addition, it is good to understand that business-critical services are constantly being developed and optimized, in which case large investments are typically made for systematic and planned development on an annual basis for several years.
Are you looking for an expert WordPress developer? Get to know our website services better: WordPress websites
What costs should be considered in WordPress development?
Building websites is always a significant undertaking and requires a certain investment to hire a competent team, so the biggest cost comes from work. Along with the development of the website, there are also certain running costs that it is good to consider these when budgeting for websites, as these can increase by double every year after the project.
These running costs include at a minimum:
- Hosting or server costs (from hundreds to thousands per year)
- Care and support service costs (thousands per year)
- Add-ons and ready-made software (from tens to hundreds per year)
Lähteet:
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