What Does a WordPress Website Cost in 2026?

If you’re looking for a new WordPress website, you’ve probably encountered these conflicting opinions. One moment you see freelancers offering websites for a few hundred euros, the next you’re getting quotes in the tens of thousands. The truth? Both are right, and both are missing an important nuance.

The Confusing Price Range

WordPress websites vary enormously in price. I’ve built websites for around €1,000, but I’ve also worked on projects that cost over €100,000. And both were worth the price for the client.

To understand why prices differ so much, we need to look at what you’re actually buying. It’s not just about a website—it’s about the expertise, approach, and control you get over your digital presence.

Agency vs. Freelancer: What Are You Paying For?

One of the biggest price differences lies in who works on your website. At an agency, you typically pay for an entire team of specialists:

• A designer who focuses entirely on visual design
• A UX strategist for optimal user experience and conversion
• A project manager who monitors planning and translates requirements
• A support team that’s always there for you
• A developer who perfects the technical side

A freelancer, on the other hand, is often a generalist with broader but less specialized knowledge. I fall somewhere in between. I’ve oriented myself broadly—from strategy to design and development—because I find everything incredibly interesting. I have certificates for all aspects of the process and have specialized in development, which earned me the title of senior developer.

But that doesn’t mean I’m as good as specialized designers in their field, or that I know as much about conversion optimization as experienced strategists. For most websites, my knowledge is more than sufficient. But I wouldn’t position myself as the best person for the UX design of, say, a Fortune 500 company.

Multiple specialists automatically make a project more expensive, but they can also provide more depth and quality in their specific area of expertise.

Templates vs. Custom: The Biggest Cost Factor

This is probably the most important aspect explaining price differences. With every website, you make the trade-off: do you use existing components, or build something from scratch?

Think about buying a laptop: you buy a ready-made product because it’s faster and cheaper than assembling all the parts yourself. But that also means less control over specifications, design, battery life, etc.

Websites work exactly the same way. You choose WordPress as a CMS—that’s already a considered choice, so you don’t have to build a complete content management system from scratch. But within that, you have more choices to make.

Budget Websites (€600-€2,000): Premium Themes & Page Builders

There are so-called “low-code” or “no-code” templates. These are premium WordPress themes with built-in page builders that let you create websites without code. They’re designed to be as flexible as possible.

The advantages:

• Quick to go live
• Low costs
• Less technical knowledge required
• Many ready-made designs available

The disadvantages:

• You often install a lot of code you don’t use, which affects your site’s performance
• Worse performance means lower SEO scores
• Less control over the end result
• Design is often created during building based on what the theme can do
• Dependent on the quality of the chosen theme (security, updates, WCAG compliance)

Custom Websites (€5,000+): Custom Theme Development

With custom development, you still use WordPress as a base (so not a completely custom CMS), but everything on top of that is built specifically for you.

The advantages:

• Fully custom design and design system
• Optimal performance—only the code you need
• Better SEO through faster loading times
• Complete control over functionality and expansion
• Custom integrations with external systems (without ads or unnecessary tracking)
• Certainty about code quality, security, and accessibility (WCAG)
• Scalable for future growth

The disadvantages:

• Higher initial investment
• Longer development time
• Updates require more technical knowledge

Additional Cost Factors to Consider

Besides the type of website, there are more factors that influence the price:

• Content and copywriting – do you write all the texts yourself, or have it done professionally? Good content can cost thousands of euros extra, but often makes the difference between a site that converts and a digital business card.
• Photography and video—do you use stock photos or have a professional do a photoshoot? Custom photography easily costs €1,000-€5,000 extra.
• Complex functionality—think webshop functionality, complicated search filters, user portals, or integrations with your CRM. This can significantly increase the price.
• WCAG compliance—since the European Accessibility Act (2025), digital accessibility is mandatory for many e-commerce and financial companies. A fully WCAG 2.1 AA-compliant website requires extra attention and testing.

Realistic Price Ranges for 2026

To make it concrete, here are typical price ranges based on my experience and the current market:

• Budget Website (€600-€2,000)
• Mid-Range (€3,000-€8,000)
• Premium Custom (€10,000-€30,000)
• Enterprise Solutions (€30,000+)

So, Are Expensive Websites Worth It?

Let’s go back to those conflicting statements from the beginning. Must websites be expensive? And are budget sites a waste of money?

Budget Websites Are Not Always Wasted Money

If you’re just starting out and simply want to be online as quickly as possible, a budget website is fine. As long as you’re aware of the trade-offs: you’re sacrificing performance, scalability, and control for speed and low costs.

It may well be that when your business grows, or SEO and performance become more important, you’ll “need” a new website within a year or two to realize your full potential. But by then you often have the income to invest in it.

Custom Websites Are Not Overpriced

On the other hand: custom websites are definitely worth the money, provided you have the budget available and your website is more than just a digital business card.

Especially with webshops, or sites where your website generates revenue and leads, investing in optimal code for your specific purpose is worth the investment many times over. A custom website that loads 0.5 seconds faster can increase your conversion by 10-15% – which quickly translates to thousands of euros in extra revenue per year.

About My Accessible Rates

I charge €75 per hour, which is on the low end for a senior developer with my experience. The average market rate is between €80-€115 per hour.

I do this because I believe quality should be accessible to a wide range of clients. Not everyone has the budget for a large agency, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a professional website.

Additionally, I deliberately work with both low-code templates and fully custom solutions. Many developers with my experience ignore budget websites because premium themes are “less sexy” to work with as a techie. But I think it’s important that startups and smaller businesses also have access to professional guidance—even if they choose a cheaper solution. This flexibility allows me to take on projects from €1,000 to €30,000.

For enterprise solutions (€30,000+), however, I recommend contacting Stuurlui. They have the capacity and specialized team you need for these kinds of complex projects.

As a freelancer, I can work more efficiently than an agency with overhead, and I pass those savings on to my clients. At the same time, through my broad experience—from strategy to design and development—I have enough knowledge to deliver a high-quality website that fits what you need.

Conclusion

The price of a WordPress website in 2026 varies from a few hundred to tens of thousands of euros—and both ends of the spectrum can be the right choice, depending on your situation.

There’s no “too expensive” or “too cheap” in absolute terms. What matters is whether the website fits what you need, what you want to achieve with it, and what your budget is. A budget site can be perfect for a startup that mainly wants to be found online. A custom site of €20,000 can pay for itself within a year if it leads to better conversions and more revenue.

The art is to have an honest conversation with yourself (or your developer) about what you really need, and then invest at the right level. Not too little, leaving potential untapped, and not too much, paying for things that add no value to your specific situation.

Questions about what fits your situation? I’m happy to help you make the right choice.