When I first started using WordPress, a millennium ago, if you ask me, most websites were still done either in static HTML or PHP, or with other content management systems, such as Etomite, CMS Made Simple or the first one I ever used, Php Nuke.
After the WordPress revolution, people went far from these solutions, just like they deserted platforms that are still today: Joomla or Drupal.
As you can guess, as soon as people started using WordPress more and more, there was a need to find web designers to tweak the default theme, which made it important for these to start offering WordPress website design packages.
As designers became more proficient in WordPress, the platform itself made huge leaps forward. Back in the day the theme design was a pretty straightforward process, but a lot has changed in the past 15 years.
What Are WordPress Website Design Packages
Website design in general and WordPress theme design in particular are services that get used by millions of people from all over the world.
There are 2 elements in this process: the designer and the buyer.
As there are many types of clients (some with extremely small budgets, or those who can actually do some of the tweaks themselves) and websites that can range from the small 5 page website to huge portals with millions of pages, breaking up these services was a smart move.
How Does a WordPress Website Designer Break up the Plans?
A good rule in marketing is to give clients 3-4 options to choose from. This way, when the client sees your offering, they don’t debate between “to buy or not to buy”, but think “what to buy”.
Of course, giving them too many options might actually do the opposite and scare them away from buying anything from you.
WordPress designers (and not only) provide a cheap basic service and then build up on it providing 2-3 more expensive ones. I will show you 2 separate pricing options and you can see how it works.
Medical Website Design
On The Medically, you can see 3 pricing options for medical related websites. All websites are built on WordPress, as it’s the better solution.
There are 3 WordPress Website Design Packages
- BASIC – one page website – $4,500
- BROCHURE – multi-page website – $8,500
- PROFESSIONAL – medical portal + medical blog + appointments – $12,500
Another example:
Website Design New York
This is another example of WordPress Web Design pricing, with 4 separate plans, from very affordable to a premium solution, ideal for larger companies or e-commerce websites that need a lot of content.
- ONE PAGE WEBSITE – for very small companies that just need few details posted – $1,500
- BROCHURE WEBSITE – multiple pages, services description, company blog – $4,500
- E-COMMERCE – all previous options plus e-commerce, ideal for clients who want to sell online – $9,500
- CUSTOM – of course, there are clients who need way more features and customization, so the company offers a custom pricing option on a client by client basis.
Why are the prices so different?
If you ever wanted to find a WordPress theme developer, chances are you got at least 10-15 separate quotes and the prices were different.
There are WordPress designers who provide the service for 300 bucks, while others, as you noticed, ask for thousands of dollars.
There are companies charging even more.
Why is that?
WordPress Website Design Price Packages Depend on:
- designer’s location – someone in Chennai would probably ask for less money than a WordPress developer in New York City
- designer’s experience – a web designer with 20 years of experience will never charge as low as someone who has been doing this for 6 months. You will pay more in this case, but will benefit for a completely different experience.
- customization – BEWARE at the companies that just use a premium theme and make few tweaks. There are 2 ways to single out the ones who know how to properly design you a WordPress site:
- ask them how they build the front page (if they say Elementor or any other Visual Builder, run for the woods)
- request a mockup design – if they don’t know what that is or can’t provide, chances are they use ready-made designs and charge you for custom design.
- SEO – launching a website is useless, if you have no idea how to rank it. The 2 examples before, while they might seem steeper than other services, include initial SEO audits and planning. This allows you to start with a perfectly optimized website and see rankings within few months. This means clients and money back in your account.
- niche / industry – each niche has its own requirements – a medical website has to be way more complex, as its requirements are bigger (HIPAA compliant, should manage bookings, needs a medical blog etc.) and the competition is absolutely insane, while a small local business can get away with a simple website.
This is how WordPress website design packages are being planned, why the prices are so different and how to single out the pros from the companies that won’t be able to help you in your online work.
