WordPress is popular—people like popular because popular is comfortable and easy. Its popularity has driven the growth and adaptation of the behemoth CMS. With almost 40% of the active internet using WordPress, it's often the first option considered when building a website. It's the Kleenex of the CMS world. Some don't even know there are alternatives.
I've built or worked on dozens of marketing websites — hospitality, financial, industrial, communication. There is a commonality in any industry that WordPress is a mystical tool able to subvert one of nature’s universal constants.
There are some unbreakable and universal laws in nature:
- A body in motion tends to remain in motion.
- The speed of light in a vacuum is 299,792,458 meters per second.
- A website can be built fast, cheap, or nice with only two of these qualities present.
The last one refers to the iron triangle. If you don’t want to click on the link, the iron triangle generally states that any project can only have two of the three: fast, cheap, or well-built. This principle applies to almost any endeavor, but here we apply it to website design and development. Specifically of the WordPress variety.
As a tool, it's not a magic bullet allowing you to circumvent this rule. WordPress is free, and many are under the impression this means a less expensive website. That WordPress is the panacea allowing a high-quality product a developer can create quickly for much less than any other alternatives.
WordPress does do a lot of heavy lifting when building a site, and I'm not targeting the platform’s capabilities. My focus is on the unexpected costs of building any website, and many organizations are surprised to find additional charges that countering their understanding that WordPress is cheap.
Below are frequent cost surprises to clients and solutions to help manage client expectations. Each solution has in common the importance of including these unexpected costs before signing a contract.
Hosting
Problem
It costs money to put the site somewhere. The data (pictures, text, functionality) has to live somewhere. Many clients don't know about hosting, and the developer or agency is explicit about that cost or risk an uncomfortable conversation asking the client for more money.
Solution
Have a hosting solution in mind. Find a hosting provider that you trust, providing excellent service, and familiar to you. A decently priced, managed WordPress solution is ideal. My favorite host for smaller sites/clients is Flywheel. They are a part of my favorite host for larger clients/sites, WP Engine.
With a host in mind, the client will see you as an expert consultant knowledgeable in delivering a website.
Domain:
Problem
Unless the company already has a domain name, they will be surprised that this costs money. Domains aren't expensive, but if your client has already laid out a budget without this additional cost, it will come as a surprise they'll have to pay an additional fee if they even know they need one in the first place.
Even if they already have a domain name, unexpected costs could arise from the need to transfer it to a new domain registrar.
Solution:
Just as with hosting, discuss this early on as well. Ask if they have a domain and if not, you have an opportunity to work with them on finding a domain.
If they already have a domain, it’s essential to be sure you have all of the details to point the DNS to the hosting provider you’ve already discussed. Do you have the login details for the registrar? Does the client want to handle the domain and DNS settings on their side?
Design:
Problem
Design is an entirely differnt article. Whether using a theme or a professional designer, the site's design will cost more money. Again, clients don't know this and are often under the assumption that "WordPress is free" means the design is as well.
Solution:
This is a non-negotiable topic to discuss with the client. More important than both the domain and the host, you need to understand how the site will look. Are you using a theme? Ok. That might cost money. Does the client expect you to make all of the design decisions? Are you even a designer?
If the client is providing a design, can it be duplicated with a theme? Or will it need to be developed as a custom theme? If it’s a custom theme, how are your coding chops? The answers to these questions all impact how long the site will take, how well built it is, and how much it’s going to cost.
It’s easy for either side to assume the other side has a plan for the site design. That is not the case.
Content & Copywriting:
Problem
I am frequently surprised to find clients not having a plan for the site's content. They often assume it's just part of the website; letting them know they need to provide the content comes as a total shock.
What usually ends up happening is that a site is near completion and the developer of the site is ready for content. But the client expects you to enter the content. But if you aren’t also a copywriter. You probably wouldn’t even know where to begin writing content about your client’s industry.
Solution:
Find out who will be providing the content, who will be entering the content, and who, if need be, will be updating the content? Where is the content coming from, where is it going, and what is its source will be the questions you need answering.
The almost-bullet-proof solution to this is to get the content before any detailed conversation about design is shared. The content is the foundation of the site. Not having the content before starting construction is like asking a contractor to build a house for your family without mentioning that your family has 25 people.
Maintenance:
Problem
OK. WordPress as a platform IS free. It is open source, and anybody can go to WordPress.org and download it. A tradeoff requires someone to ensure the site, theme, and plugins are up to date. Just recently, WordPress made an extremely rare, breaking change. Overnight, hundreds of thousands of WordPress sites were rendered useless. That means hundreds of thousands of organizations needed to find someone to repair their site. I know from firsthand experience this issue cost companies money for repairs and will cost money for long-term fixes.
Solution
You must make clear the client understands the importance of keeping the site up to date. Not to do so is irresponsible. Set it and forget it WordPress development is far too common, and many clients suffer in the long term. You don’t necessarily need to be responsible for the maintenance, but you are responsible for informing your client that it will be required moving forward. If the client wants to handle the site’s maintenance themselves, be sure to give them the information and resources on how to do so.
This IS a great opportunity for recurring income, which is a beautiful segue into the next point.
Ongoing Costs:
Problem
The client should be accounting for ongoing costs in their budget, but many small companies do not even think about them when seeking a developer to build their site. Small companies or during rush-jobs can easily forget to create a budget for the short term. Maybe the client expects a web-site to be a one-time expense. It’s not at all uncommon. Hosting & domains always have an ongoing cost. Items like maintenance, content creation, or even content management will all likely add to the client’s long-term budget.
Solution
In the early conversations, you need to be sure you know what it is the client wants and their expectations. This one is all about communication and, if you’ve covered the points before this one, you’ve hopefully addressed all of the elements that will continue to cost money.
What often happens is that the topics we’ve already covered get discussed, but as developers, we forget that clients don’t know that a .com domain costs $12 a year. They don’t know that they are paying for a hosting service, that it’s not a one-off.
Wrapping up, it's important to remember thet when building a WordPress website, you are still building a website. It’s easy to lose sight of the end-user of the product you deliver. That user is not your client. It’s their clients or customers, and they only care that there is a website at all. Approach the project like you are building a website first and WordPress is the tool you are using to acheive the goal.
WordPress isn’t a manifestation of the whole project management Trinity. But by understanding the project’s full scope, managing the client’s expectations, and delivering a project that meets (or exceeds) those expectations, the client will walk away having had a great experience in a field notorious for anything but.
If the client is happy with their product, the limitations set by the iron triangle are moot. Nothing beats excellent customer service. It wins every single time.
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