The Baseline: Hosting And Domain
Because WordPress assembles every page with PHP and a database, it needs a server working for every visitor. Shared hosting runs $5–$15/month and is usually slow; managed WordPress hosting that performs well runs $25–$60+/month. Your domain adds $15–$25/year.
Baseline before the site does anything: roughly $80–$750 per year.
Making It Look Professional
The free themes are the “basic template” everyone recognizes. A premium theme runs $60–$100 (often per year for updates), and most business sites also add a page builder — Elementor Pro, Divi, or similar at $60–$250/year — to actually control the layout.
Making It Make Money
This is where “free” ends. The moment you want leads instead of just pages, each capability is its own plugin with its own subscription:
- Forms that do more than basics (WPForms/Gravity Forms): $50–$300/yr
- Email list building + newsletter service: $15–$100+/mo as your list grows
- Sliders and galleries (Slider Revolution etc.): $30–$100/yr
- Booking/appointments: $50–$300/yr
- Pop-ups and lead capture (OptinMonster etc.): $100–$500/yr
- Premium SEO plugin tier: $100–$200/yr
Keeping It Alive
WordPress is the most attacked CMS on the internet purely because it is the biggest target. Security (Wordfence etc.) runs $100–$200/year, proper offsite backups $50–$100/year, and a caching/speed plugin $50–$100/year.
Then the cost nobody budgets: updates. Core, theme, and every plugin update monthly — and sometimes they break each other. That is your time, or a maintenance plan at $50–$150+/month.
The Honest Totals
A basic brochure site, self-maintained: $300–$800/year. A business site that captures leads, with decent hosting and a maintenance plan: $1,500–$5,000+/year. An e-commerce or complex site: well beyond that.
And that is the cost when nothing goes wrong — no hack cleanup, no emergency developer, no plugin conflict eating a weekend.
What Migration Removes
A static rebuild keeps your design and content but removes the machinery: no database, no PHP, no plugin stack, no security patching, hosting measured in dollars rather than tens of dollars. Forms, booking, and lead capture are built in — not bolted on with subscriptions.
Depending on your current stack, that is hundreds to thousands saved per year, plus the speed jump Google rewards. The free analysis will show your exact numbers — your current costs and scores against what the rebuilt version delivers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run a business site on free WordPress?
You can start, but a purely free stack means slow shared hosting, a generic theme, and no lead capture — fine for a hobby, limiting for a business. Most owners end up paying for 5–10 components within the first year.
Are page builders like Elementor worth it?
They make editing easier, but they add significant page weight — often the single biggest drag on speed scores. You pay twice: the licence, and the rankings.
What does WordPress maintenance actually involve?
Core, theme, and plugin updates (usually monthly), compatibility testing, backups, security monitoring, and fixing whatever breaks. DIY costs your time; done-for-you plans run $50–$150+/month.
How much would migrating save me?
It depends on your current stack — that is exactly what the free analysis calculates. Typical content/lead-gen sites save hundreds to thousands per year after removing hosting tiers, plugin subscriptions, and maintenance plans.