How to use WordPress for free

Since it is open source, the code for the popular content man­age­ment system, WordPress, is free to use and customize. There are also free options available for other versions, like the WordPress.com website builder — though these come with certain lim­i­ta­tions. Continue reading to learn about the costs that might typically arise when building a WordPress website.

Why is WordPress free in the first place?

The original WordPress code is available under an open-source license and can be down­loaded free of charge from WordPress.org. Anyone can then modify and use the code as desired. The licensing model — WordPress uses GPLv2 — allows agencies, for example, to use the code for client projects and sell the finished WordPress site for a fee. If you use the code to create your own WordPress website, it is nearly free. “Nearly” because certain aspects, such as hosting, will in­evitably incur costs, even though the open-source code itself is free.

How to create a free WordPress website

On the WordPress.com website, which is managed by the WordPress de­vel­op­ment team at Au­tomat­tic, a variety of WordPress plans are available. With the “Free” plan, you can create a fully func­tion­al WordPress website at no cost —though with sub­stan­tial lim­i­ta­tions. For instance, you won’t be able to choose a custom domain or modify the code or design. Support is also limited, and WordPress ads will appear on your site. Using WordPress for free in this way is best suited for setting up a basic WordPress blog for personal use.

If you want to remove ads, use a custom domain or access ad­di­tion­al features, plugins and themes, you’ll need to choose a paid plan. These start at $4 per month, with the e-commerce plan priced at $45 per month. However, to truly unlock its full potential and reap all the benefits of WordPress, we recommend using the open-source version.

The table below compares the costs of WordPress.com and WordPress.org, showing the current prices for domains, storage, themes, plugins, and other features. The prices for WordPress.com plans range from free to monthly fees, while WordPress.org offers free and paid options, with costs for hosting and ad­di­tion­al features depending on your needs:

What aspects of WordPress are free?

If you’re using the open-source code to create a website with WordPress, the following features — as well as the code itself — are available or can be used for free:

• Themes
• Plugins
• Support
• Updates

Free themes

The official WordPress Theme Directory offers over 8,000 free design templates for you to customize the look and feel of your website. Both vol­un­teers and pro­fes­sion­al de­vel­op­ers regularly create new themes, which undergo rigorous testing for quality and security before being released. Alongside free WordPress themes, premium templates are also available.

Free plugins

Similarly, more than 50,000 plugins are available for free in the official WordPress Plugin Directory — all of which have been checked for both quality and security. The directory continues to grow as de­vel­op­ers and agencies share their solutions. Depending on the features and the de­vel­op­ment team, some WordPress plugins might require a fee.

Free updates

WordPress itself, as well as its themes and plugins, is updated regularly. These updates are displayed in the admin area of your WordPress site and are free to install. For paid themes and plugins, costs for updates may also be involved.

Free WordPress support

WordPress fosters a strong community: Thousands of de­vel­op­ers around the world work on the code itself, create plugins and themes and share their knowledge in forums. You can find help on pretty much any WordPress topic through the WordPress forums or support pages — all com­plete­ly free of charge.

When do costs apply with WordPress?

Now that we’ve covered ways to use WordPress for free, let’s explore the main costs that can apply with WordPress. Here we dif­fer­en­ti­ate between features or services that need pur­chas­ing and time costs for im­ple­men­ta­tion, such as op­ti­miza­tions. You can either handle these tasks yourself or hire de­vel­op­ers or agencies. The main cost factors are:

• Hosting and domain
• In­stal­la­tion and setup
• Themes and plugins
• Per­for­mance and search engine op­ti­miza­tion
• Main­te­nance

Hosting and domain

If you use the free WordPress code, you’ll need a web server to host it. Web hosting companies generally offer various plans that can host one or more websites, provide different sized storage space and sometimes even include ad­di­tion­al services like a free domain or an SSL/TLS cer­tifi­cate. If these services are not included, you may need to purchase them. Many providers also offer discounts when combining offers. Web hosting plans are available for just a few dollars per month, and most domains cost only a few cents or dollars per month.

In­stalling and setting up WordPress

If you handle the in­stal­la­tion and setup yourself, WordPress is es­sen­tial­ly free at this point — unless you assign a monetary value to your time. Ex­pe­ri­enced users can usually complete the initial setup in about half a day, depending on how many plugins need to be in­te­grat­ed and the type of website you’re building. A basic WordPress blog is, of course, faster to set up than an e-commerce store. Free­lancers and agencies typically charge between $500 and $1,000 for this first step.

It’s also a good idea to invest some time on topics like security and GDPR. Plugins and (text) templates are for these as well. WordPress also offers a wide range of cus­tomiz­able settings that you should spend several hours adjusting.

Themes and plugins

While there are thousands of free themes and plugins for WordPress, pur­chas­ing paid add-ons can be worth­while, es­pe­cial­ly for more complex designs and functions. Many plugins are available in a freemium model: free for basic functions and paid in a premium version that offers ad­di­tion­al features. Payment is made either upfront or through an annual sub­scrip­tion. Prices vary from a few dollars to several hundred, with the latter typically being the exception.

Per­for­mance and search engine op­ti­miza­tion

Improving load times and other per­for­mance metrics requires a sig­nif­i­cant in­vest­ment of either time or money, whether you handle it yourself or hire a pro­fes­sion­al. There are several free plugins available for per­for­mance op­ti­miza­tion but setting them up can take time. Search engine op­ti­miza­tion is another important aspect to consider. Although the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress is free, further op­ti­miza­tions often need to be performed manually, which adds to the time required.

Main­tain­ing your WordPress website

If you’re not com­fort­able keeping WordPress, themes and plugins up to date, you can hire free­lancers or pro­fes­sion­al services. Depending on the scope of the work, main­te­nance plans typically cost between $200 per year and around $50 per month. Ideally, the pro­fes­sion­als will also handle routine backups and manage caches and databases.

In summary, you can expect to spend a modest amount each year on hosting and domain, plus a few hundred dollars on website main­te­nance (if you hire an external pro­fes­sion­al). For the initial set up and im­ple­men­ta­tion, a simple WordPress site built by pro­fes­sion­als generally starts at around $1,000 to $2,000 — with potential for higher costs depending on your needs.