Many people who want to create a website with WordPress may have questions about why the development costs vary so greatly, from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of baht or more. The difference in prices is due to the diverse web development processes, which result in varying costs and work durations. This article will explain the popular methods of WordPress website development today, and clarify the reasons why the prices for each model differ.
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Creating with pre-built themes from the market
The use of pre-made themes is a convenient and cost-effective way to build a WordPress website. Users can get a professional-looking site up and running quickly without the need for extensive development. However, the level of customization and unique features may be limited compared to building a fully custom theme from scratch.
The advantages of using pre-made themes for building a website are their low cost and short development time. Most pre-made themes are priced between 30 − 100, or even free in some cases, making them suitable for those with limited budgets. Additionally, the development time is minimal, as pre-made themes are already designed and developed. Users only need to customize the content and styles to suit their needs, allowing them to use the website right away. Therefore, they are ideal for those who want a simple website without spending time on design and development themselves.
The disadvantages of using pre-made themes include limited flexibility in customization when the theme does not support the specific changes or customizations required. Furthermore, pre-made themes are not suitable for websites that require specialized functionality or unique and complex designs, as they may not meet specific aesthetic or functional requirements. However, the key benefit is that pre-made themes offer the lowest cost and require the least amount of development time.
Price: Starting from a few thousand baht to several tens of thousands of baht ($)
Creating with Page Builders
Using page builders like Elementor, WPBakery, Beaver Builder, or Divi greatly enhances flexibility in creating and customizing websites. Page builders are tools designed to allow users to create website layouts without the need for coding. Users can utilize a drag-and-drop system to simply drag and drop different elements to customize the design and functionality according to their needs.
The obvious advantage is ease of use. Even without any coding knowledge, users can create uniquely designed websites with much more flexibility compared to using only pre-made themes. Additionally, there are numerous plugins and additional features available to support further website development needs.
However, there are also drawbacks to using a Page Builder. For instance, excessive use of plugins and features can slow down the website's loading speed or consume too much server memory. That said, there are now several modern page builders based on Gutenberg that have improved performance, allowing websites to load faster. Examples include Kadence, GreenshiftWP, and Stackable.
Price: Starting from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of baht ($-$$)
Creating a custom theme from scratch
Custom Theme Development is the process of designing and developing a theme specifically tailored to a website. It begins with gathering information and analyzing the customer's requirements, followed by designing the structure using tools like Figma—starting from wireframe creation to UI design.
The design is then developed into a custom theme by writing all new code, utilizing tools such as Underscore, Underscore Tailwind, Seed Themes, or Sage, which are popular choices among theme developers. These tools structure the theme according to WordPress' Template Hierarchy, ensuring the development and customization adhere to standards and deliver a website that meets the customer's needs. This process is suitable for developers with expertise in programming, as it requires full code management and a deep understanding of development best practices. Custom Theme Development is an ideal option for projects that demand a highly specific and unique design or functionality.
The main advantage of custom theme development is that you get a unique website tailored entirely to the specific needs of the client, both in terms of design and functionality. A custom theme offers 100% customization and meets the client's requirements perfectly. Additionally, the final result is highly efficient because there is no unnecessary code or elements included. In the long run, maintaining the theme is relatively straightforward—if the code is written following proper standards, the website will be secure and durable for long-term use. Updates are minimal, limited to maintaining compatible plugins and the WordPress core.
The downside of custom theme development is that it can take significantly longer, as every element of the site must be developed and tested from scratch. Additionally, it requires a highly skilled developer with expertise in programming and WordPress development.
Price: Starting from tens of thousands up to hundreds of thousands or even millions of baht ($$$-$$$)
Creating with a Headless CMS, using WordPress only for data storage
Developing using WordPress as a Headless CMS involves separating the content management system (CMS) from the front-end of the website. WordPress functions as the backend for managing content, while the front-end is developed using JavaScript frameworks such as Nuxt.js, Next.js, or Astro. This method is ideal for projects requiring high performance, especially large-scale websites, such as those that need to accommodate a large number of users. These frameworks help in achieving fast page loading speeds, and the separation of the CMS from the front-end allows for greater flexibility and freedom in customization and development.
The key advantage of this development method is the ability to optimize website performance. JavaScript frameworks improve page loading speeds and provide a seamless user experience. Additionally, because the CMS (WordPress) and the front-end are separated, development teams have the freedom to design and customize the website without being constrained by WordPress's built-in features or structure. This makes it highly suitable for projects requiring specific functionalities or unique designs.
On the other hand, this approach requires a development team with diverse and specialized technical expertise, as it involves coding across multiple areas, including managing APIs to connect the CMS with the front-end. Moreover, the cost of development using this method is higher than other approaches due to the need to maintain both the CMS and the front-end. Long-term maintenance can also be more complex, especially when updates or structural changes to the website are needed.
Starts from hundreds of thousands to millions of baht ($$$$$-$$$$)
What other factors can cause the price to increase or decrease further?
In addition to the factors mentioned earlier, there are several other factors that can affect the cost of developing a WordPress website either positively or negatively, as follows:
- Custom Design
If you want a unique, custom website design that stands out from pre-made themes, this will require the time and skills of a designer, especially if you’re looking for a design that is visually striking or complex. - Number of Pages on the Website
The more pages a website has, such as content pages, blog articles, or category pages, the more time will be required for planning, designing, and developing, which can increase the cost. - Multilingual Capabilities
Websites that support multiple languages (Multilingual), such as those using plugins like WPML or Polylang, or websites with custom multilingual systems, can incur additional development costs. Furthermore, there may also be translation costs associated with creating content in multiple languages. - Specialized Systems (e.g., E-Commerce or E-Learning) and Plugin Usage
Websites requiring specialized systems, such as e-commerce platforms, e-learning functionalities, or booking systems, are inherently more complex to develop and maintain due to the need for advanced functions. Examples of required features include product management, shopping carts, online payment systems, membership systems, or learning management systems. Plugins such as WooCommerce, Tutor LMS, LearnDash, and others are often used in these cases, which can increase cost based on the complexity. - Team Size and Expertise
The size and expertise of the development team play a direct role in the quality and cost of the project. A larger team that includes UX/UI designers, Front-end and Back-end developers, and SEO specialists can expedite the process and result in a higher-quality website. However, increasing the number of expert personnel involved also raises the overall development cost.
Deciding on the method for developing a website with WordPress should be based on your budget, requirements, and project scope. If you need a simple website with a limited budget, using a pre-made theme or a page builder may be the most suitable option. However, if you require full customization or high performance, creating a custom theme or using frameworks such as Nuxt.js or Next.js might be the better solution, despite the higher costs involved. That being said, the development method is not the only factor that determines the price. There are many other aspects that can influence the overall cost, such as design complexity, the number of pages, multilingual requirements, and the project's technical demands.
