The short answer: a WordPress site for a small business has two kinds of cost. The first is a one-time cost to build or move the site; at PowerUp, converting an existing site starts at $900, and custom builds are quoted by scope. The second is an ongoing cost of roughly $25–$60 a month for hosting and maintenance. WordPress itself is free. You pay for the work around it.
I’ve been building WordPress sites since 2007, and “how much will this cost?” is almost always the first question. It’s a fair one, and “it depends” is a frustrating answer. So here’s what it actually depends on, with real numbers where I can give them.
What are the main cost buckets?
Almost every quote breaks down into the same few pieces:
| Cost | Type | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Design and build | One-time | Planning, design, development, content setup, testing, launch |
| Domain name | Yearly | Your address (yourbusiness.com), usually bought from a registrar |
| Hosting | Monthly or yearly | The server your site runs on, SSL, and backups |
| Maintenance | Monthly or yearly | Updates, security monitoring, and small fixes |
| Premium plugins | Yearly (sometimes) | Licences for tools like forms, booking, or e-commerce add-ons |
Most of the price variation is in the first row. The rest is fairly predictable once the site is live.
How much does it cost to move an existing site to WordPress?
If you already have a site on Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, or an old WordPress theme, and you mostly know what it should say, a conversion is the most affordable route. Your pages, text, and images are moved over, the site is rebuilt on a clean, modern WordPress setup, and page titles, descriptions, and URL structure are carried across so you don’t lose search visibility.
At PowerUp, a Conversion to WordPress starts at $900, one-time, and usually takes a couple of weeks depending on how much content there is. It’s a good fit when your needs are mostly informational. It’s not the right fit if you need custom functionality or complex e-commerce.
How much does a custom WordPress website cost?
A custom build is planned around how your business works: your audiences, your goals, and what you need visitors to do. That’s why I don’t publish a single number. A focused rebuild for a small practice and a full platform with e-commerce, memberships, or booking are very different projects with very different price tags.
What I do instead is give you a real price range early, during the first conversation, before you commit to anything. On the Custom Builds & Redesigns page you’ll see what’s included: strategy and site planning, custom design, full development, SEO fundamentals, testing across devices, and training so you can manage your own content.
What makes a WordPress website cost more?
When two quotes for “a website” are far apart, it’s usually because of one of these:
- Custom design vs. an adapted theme. Original design takes more time than adapting a well-made starting point.
- Number of unique page layouts. Twenty pages that share three layouts cost less than eight pages that are each different.
- Functionality. Online stores, member areas, course delivery, booking tools, and integrations with your CRM or email platform all add scope.
- Content. If copy and photos are ready, the project moves faster. If they still need writing or organizing, that’s real work, whoever does it.
- Migration. Moving years of blog posts, products, or customer data takes care, especially when you want to keep your search rankings.
If you’re comparing quotes, ask each provider which of these they’ve assumed. It’s the quickest way to tell whether you’re comparing like with like.
What does a WordPress site cost after launch?
This is the part people forget to budget for. A website isn’t finished at launch; it needs a place to live and someone keeping it up to date. Here’s what PowerUp’s Care plans cost:
| Plan | Monthly | What’s included |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | $25/mo | Managed hosting for WordPress, SSL and security setup, daily backups, uptime monitoring |
| Maintenance | $50/mo | Core, theme and plugin updates, security monitoring, basic support, a monthly health report |
| Hosting + Maintenance | $60/mo | Everything in both, for $15/mo less than buying them separately |
| A la carte support | $150/hr | One-off fixes and changes, with no plan or contract |
Plans are month-to-month and can be cancelled anytime. You also own your site outright, so a Care plan is never required. Most clients pick one because it’s easier than keeping up with updates themselves.
On top of that, budget for your domain name (a .com typically costs somewhere around $10–$25 a year) and any premium plugin licences your site needs. Many small-business sites need none, or just one or two.
Is a cheaper website builder a better deal?
Sometimes, yes. If you need a simple page or two and you’re happy doing it yourself, an all-in-one builder like Squarespace or Wix can be the cheapest way to get online. The trade-off shows up later: you’re limited to what the platform offers, and moving away from it means rebuilding.
WordPress costs a little more up front, but you own the site and its content, you can take it to any host, and almost any feature you need later can be added without starting over. For businesses that expect to grow, that flexibility usually pays for itself.
How do I get an accurate price for my site?
The fastest way is a short conversation about three things: what the site needs to do, roughly how many pages and layouts it has, and whether you’re starting fresh or moving an existing site. From there I can tell you whether you’re looking at a conversion, a custom build, or something smaller like adding a feature to the site you already have, and give you a realistic range before anything is signed.
Tell me about your project and you’ll hear back from me, usually the same day.