"Custom WordPress Website – How Much Does it Actually Cost? "

The article, by that name, showed up on a Linkedin group.  It was written by Emily Johns on July 8th, 2016, and posted at  WordSuccor.com...

The key take-away for me was this: 

"Simply put: It always depends on smaller, which is why no WordPress developer can ballpark it for you.

"According to Chris Lema, A majority of people often have budget 2-4x smaller than their actual expectations and desires. And if a developer ballparks anything, in particular, it is extremely unlikely for both of us to be happy on the proposed amount."

(...Italics and emphasis mine...)

In her article, Ms Johns compares and contrasts developers:

• Freelancers
• Agencies
• DIY (Do it yourself) ~ (yes, you can!)

She identifies hourly rates of Beginner, Intermediate,Good/experienced Freelancers. Of course Excellent, in-demand freelance developers and/or Specialist (best in industry) demand a higher premium.

She breaks down hourly rates for Agencies by Small, Medium, and Large markets by experience level.

And she illustrates her points with actual numbers!

In the DIY section she points out additional costs, such as domain names, web hosting, and premium themes.

At the end, she reminds the reader that there is continued maintenance after the website goes live.

I obviously recommend reading How much does a custom WordPress website actually cost by Emily Johns.

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What Ms. Johns doesn't discuss in depth is critically important: How sophisticated is the consumer? In other words, how much hand-holding will be required beyond the technical keystrokes the developer needs to put the words & pictures on the Internet. How much content editing/rewrite will be expected? Is there another in-between consultant?

PS: Found this on someone's linkedin profile. It appears to fit in this post:

Content is one of the biggest bottlenecks in the web design process. Whether it's:
- Endless client follow ups
- Digging through documents with awful formatting and inline instructions
- Gathering multiple series of emails with disjointed information
- Reformatting and deciphering content to get it ready for the actual website