HTML vs. Wordpress
HTML vs. Wordpress Cost Comparison
Tired of plugin roulette and surprise theme meltdowns? HTML doesn’t crash because it’s Tuesday. It doesn’t need 12 updates before breakfast. It’s clean, fast, secure and does exactly what you tell it to. Like a good website should!
| Features List | HTML Website | Wordpress Website |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Build | $199 | $3,000 |
| Managed Hosting | Included | $59/mo |
| Plug-Ins | Not Needed | $50-$200/yr |
| Maintenance | Included | $120/hr |
| Security | Included | $40/mo |
| ADA Compliance | Built In | $60/mo |
| Speed Score | 90-100% | 30-60% |
| Search Engine Optimization | Yes! | $500-$2,000/mo |
| Security Vulnerabilities | None | Multiple |
| Hidden Costs with Themes and Plug-ins | None | Multiple |
| Fully Supported by U.S. based Experts | Yes! | No |
| Mobile Responsive | Always | Updates Cause Bugs |
| Targeted by Hackers | No | Almost Exclusively |
| Design Limitations | No | Yes |
Frequently Asked Questions
If you add up the costs in the chart above, our services are very reasonable. Setting aside the upfront cost of design, the average Wordpress site will perform worse than our websites and cost you more. We are up front about the cost to develop a website. Wordpress has a lot of hidden costs that developers will not educate you about because they are trying to sell you a Wordpress site for thousands of dollars. When that site develops issues, that developer will then charge you an hourly rate to fix them.
These are average costs. For example, the hosting cost is for the most popular Wordpress hosting solution and the ADA compliance cost is for the most popular accessibility overlay. All other costs are reasonable industry standard, though upfront development costs can vary a lot. Very skilled developers are worth the cost.
The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that websites be accessible to individuals with disabilities, ensuring that everyone can navigate and interact with online content. In recent years, there’s been a sharp rise in lawsuits filed against businesses with non-compliant websites. These lawsuits can drive small business owners to bankruptcy. To learn more about accessibility, please read our ADA Compliance blog post.
Many developers offer what is called an accessibility "overlay" for non-compliant websites. This is usually because they don't know how to build an accessible site. These services are very expensive and have been the target of lawsuits themselves because they often make the website even less accessible than before.
Wordpress is the most used website platform on the internet making it a popular target for hackers. It relies on thousands of different themes and plug-ins that have vulnerabilities. Unless they are properly coded and then updated very frequently, even a secure Wordpress site will become a security risk within days or weeks of launch. Without on-going maintenance and support any Wordpress site is vulnerable.
The easiest way to secure a Wordpress site is through the use of a firewall. The security cost you see in the chart above is the average monthly cost of a firewall service that will secure your site and guarantee removal of malware if the website is infected.
Speed scores are important because if your website takes too long too load or it's too hard to find something, your prospect will just move on to a faster loading competitor website. However, it's also a ranking factor considered by google and other search engines.
According to analytics 60% of site visitors are visiting from a mobile device. In some industries that number is even higher. If your site doesn't work on a phone then you're aggravating at least 60% of your visitors.
You can! However, self-taught developers are often unaware of many best practices that are important to visitors and search engines. Additionally, they use drag and drop page editors. These page editors are the absolute worst way to build a website if you care about speed, search engine rank, mobile responsive design or security.
If you have remaining questions please contact us and schedule a free consultation. We can discuss your website goals and we will even audit your current website. We will be honest with you about how your current website is aligning with your needs and applicable laws.