WordPress development pricing, with the actual numbers

Cheap freelancers ($50-$300 builds) skip the work that determines whether a site ranks, performs, or scales. Agencies ($5,000-$50,000+) include real strategy, project management overhead, and team coordination costs you may not need. Senior freelance pricing ($399-$5,999 per project) sits in the productive middle: production-quality output without agency overhead. The comparison table on this page covers specific differences across 10 dimensions.

Price reflects actual scope. Bug fixing on a single page takes 1-3 hours; that scope makes sense at $79. Custom plugin development with security hardening, REST endpoints, custom Gutenberg blocks, and WPCS compliance takes 40-80 hours; that scope makes sense at $1,499 minimum. Each service page covers tier breakdown so you can see exactly what is included at each price point.

Both, depending on the work type. Project work always gets a fixed quote upfront after scoping. Maintenance retainers are flat monthly subscriptions. Hourly billing applies for ongoing flexible work without monthly commitment. The decision is yours; I recommend the model that works best for your specific situation during the discovery call.

Free 30-minute discovery call to discuss your goals, current setup, and constraints. Within 48 hours, you receive a written proposal with fixed-quote pricing, scope breakdown, milestone timeline, and what is and is not included. No commitment until you sign off on the proposal. The quote is honored regardless of what comes up during the build, except for explicit scope additions you request.

The fixed quote covers the scope agreed in the proposal. If the work takes longer than I estimated, that is my problem, not yours. The exception is scope changes you request mid-project; those get quoted as deltas before any work begins on them. This means no surprise invoices and no incentive for me to drag projects on.

Yes. Standard structure for projects over $1,000 is 50% upfront, 50% on delivery. For projects over $3,000, three milestones are common: 33% kickoff, 33% midpoint review, 34% on launch. For projects over $10,000, four to five milestones tied to specific deliverables. Custom payment terms are workable; we discuss during the proposal stage.

Hosting is not included. You bring your own hosting account; I work with all major WordPress hosts (Hostinger, SiteGround, Cloudways, WP Engine, Kinsta, AWS, DigitalOcean). If you need hosting recommendations, I cover that during discovery based on your traffic, performance needs, and budget. Setting up a new host or migrating to a better one is a separate scoped engagement when needed.

Premium plugin licenses (Elementor Pro, Bricks Builder, Divi, ACF Pro, WP Rocket, Rank Math Pro, etc.) are not included in project pricing. You purchase the licenses for your site under your own account; this keeps ownership clean and prevents license tangles when our engagement ends. I tell you exactly which licenses are required during the proposal and approximate annual cost, so there are no surprises.

Yes, with a rush surcharge (typically 30-50% on top of standard pricing) for sub-standard timelines. Same-day Emergency Support is its own service starting at $199. Genuine emergencies on existing client sites get prioritized at no surcharge. Rush availability depends on current capacity; the discovery call confirms feasibility before quoting.

Project deposits are refundable if I have not started work yet. Once development begins, refunds for completed milestones are not standard practice; instead, I commit to revising the work until it meets the spec agreed in the proposal. If the disagreement is fundamental, I refund the unworked portion. This has not happened across 100+ projects, but the policy exists.

Maintenance Plus retainer hours do not roll over month-to-month; the structure assumes consistent monthly capacity. White-Label Agency retainer hours partially roll over: up to 25% of unused hours carry to the next month. This prevents the "use it or lose it" pressure while keeping pricing predictable. Detail in the retainer agreement.

Yes, that is common. Many clients start with a single project, move to occasional hourly work for small updates, then settle into a Maintenance Plus retainer once the site is established. Agencies sometimes start with project work and grow into the White-Label retainer as their volume increases. The buying mode adapts to your situation; the relationship continues.