How Much Does a WordPress Website Cost?

A WordPress website can cost anything from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars per month to run. The cost depends on a lot of factors, including how much you need. The good news is you can get a WordPress website up and running for less than $5 per month. Keep reading for more information on how you can get a WordPress website up and running for less than $5 per month.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

WordPress is a great option for bloggers who want to keep their sites independent of advertising. Having your own blog to control the content you put out is invaluable. You can use your blog to talk about anything you want and control the amount of money you make from ads on your site.

However, running a WordPress site is not always as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of things you have to consider and work through to keep your site up and running smoothly. Some of these things include the following:

Advertised or Non-Advertised

Do you want to monetize your site through ads or do you want to try and sell products on your site? The decision is up to you, but there are pluses and minuses to each method. If you go with ads you will need to learn how to work with a paid administrator to get your site set up correctly (this will cost you $125 per month plus the cost of the product).

On the other hand, if you choose to have product sales on your site you can set up a shopping cart with a payment processor like Stripe or Square. You then just need to work through some basic email marketing to start making money (which is a lot more straightforward and does not require a lot of expertise).

CAMPAIGN CALENDAR

Do you want to run ads or do you want to try and sell products on your site? The decision is up to you, but there are pluses and minuses to each method. If you go with ads you will need to learn how to work with a paid administrator to set up your site correctly (this will cost you $125 per month plus the cost of the product).

On the other hand, if you choose to have product sales on your site you can set up a shopping cart with a payment processor like Stripe or Square. You then just need to work through some basic email marketing to start making money (which is a lot more straightforward and does not require a lot of expertise).

CONTENT CREATOR

Do you want to create content for your site or do you want to just use pre-written content from elsewhere? The decision is up to you, but there are pluses and minuses to each method. If you go with creating content for your site you can use any of the various writing platforms (like WordPress.com) to do so. You then just need to work through some basic SEO techniques to get your content ranked on the first page of Google searches (which can greatly increase your website traffic and revenue).

On the other hand, if you choose to use pre-written content from elsewhere you can simply buy the content from a freelance writer (who will charge you based on how many hours of work you need).

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Do you want to have your site easily found through organic or paid search? The decision is up to you, but there are pluses and minuses to each method. If you go with organic search you can use free tools like Google Search Console to manually optimize your site (which will take some time).

On the other hand, if you choose to have your site optimized through paid search you can use Google AdWords to do so (which will require you to have a credit card on file to set up an account).

Once you have set up AdWords you just need to establish a payment method (like Google Checkout or Venmo) and enter in your credit card information to get started. You can then use the Google AdWords interface to define your campaign goals and set your bids (which are the amounts you are willing to pay per click).

To learn more about how to set up and use Google AdWords, visit the following resources:

• Google AdWords Guides
• Google AdWords Help Center
• Google AdWords Help Forum
• YouTube SEO Tutorials
• SEO FAQs

UNIQUE SALES PAGE

Do you want to have a simple sales page that collects e-mails from potential clients (or buyers of your products)? You can have a single page for simplicity, or you can add in extra fields for extra information (like your website’s URL). The decision is up to you, but there are pluses and minuses to each method. You can use WordPress’ various plugins to create a unique sales page, or you can use a pre-made template like ZenStore’s Amazing Sales Page to get started (which will cost you $125 plus the cost of the product).

If you go with a unique sales page you will need to learn how to navigate PayPal (or another payment processor) to collect payments (which can be a complex process).

SSL SECURITY

Do you want to ensure that your blog or site is safe and secure for online transactions? Most free blog hosting platforms like WordPress.com offer some sort of SSL security for your site (which is a layer of encryption that adds an additional level of safety to your credit card transaction). To learn more, visit the following resources:

• SSL: Everything You Need to Know
• What is SSL?
• How to Enable SSL on Your Website
• FAQs About SSL
• Why Should You Secure Your Website With SSL?
• How to Verify the Identity of a Merchant Using SSL
• How To Install a Trustworthy SSL Certificate On Your Website
• How SSL Works In Conjunction With Other Security Mechanisms

MONITORING TRAFFIC

Do you want to know the traffic to your site and whether or not your efforts are paying off? You can use free tools like Google Analytics to easily and accurately track your site’s traffic (and conversions).

You can use the Google Analytics interface to create custom dashboards and get real-time information on your site’s performance (or the performance of selected campaigns).

To learn more about how to use Google Analytics, visit the following resources:

• Google Analytics Help For
• Getting Started With Google Analytics
• Analytics FAQs

MONETIZATION OPTIONS

Do you want to make money from your site? You can do so through advertisements or you can try and sell products on your site (like affiliate marketing or dropshipping).

You will first need to learn how to work with a paid administrator to get your site set up correctly (this will cost you $125 plus the cost of the product). Once you are ready to monetize your site you can use one of the various payment processors (like PayPal or Stripe) to accept payments from your clients.

To learn more about how to monetize your site visit the following resources: