Ajaxular - All Things AJAX

Today Jeff Chandler at Weblog Tools Collection published an interesting article discussing the cost of a WordPress installation. The comments that followed were quite interesting to read. A lot of developers agreed that $20-$70 for a raw installation was fine. Of course, there was a strong argument that it should be free.

So how much is a WordPress installation? If you want my services, I charge $35/hour for a basic WordPress installation (minimum one hour). Why would I charge by the hour? Clients want different things in an installation. Some just need WordPress installed straight up. Others need plugins downloaded and installed. And others need a database created, FTP set up, plugins downloaded, and a theme customized to their liking. By charging a flat, agreed upon hourly rate I’m able to adapt to the clients needs on the fly with out always requesting an increase in the bid.

What are you really paying for?

As you know, WordPress is free to download from WordPress.org. You are not paying for the software. You’re not paying for plugins or themes I may install unless they are professional (for-sale) items. So what are you paying for?

When you hire me you are paying for:

• my time
• my expertise and knowledge
• peace of mind knowing it will be done right
• nearly two years of WordPress experience behind me

Of course, I highly recommend learning to install and configure WordPress for yourself. I’d much rather you higher me in a month to develop a custom plugin! So how can you learn it for yourself? Here are some resources that will help you on your journey to basic WordPress self sufficiency:

Basic WordPress Guides

• Famous 5-minute Install: The official “how to” guide.
• Step by Step WordPress Installation: Just as the name suggests, a hand-held guide through the installation process.
• How to Install WordPress on Your own Server: includes a video guide to help you on your way. Walks you through FTP and database creation. A great guide for beginners.
• How to Install the Latest Version of WordPress: Another excellent resource with graphics that walks you through every step of a WordPress installation, includes an FTP guide and a guide creating a mySQL database.
• How to Install, Configure, and Use WP Plugins: a great guide by Lorelle on WordPress on installing plugins

To sum it up, WordPress is a great blogging platform that is easy to use and easy to configure, if you know what you are doing. Even with all the resources available, however, some users are just more comfortable with others installing and configuring it for them. If you’re one of those, I’m here to help you, as are other developers. But don’t expect it for free unless you can do it yourself.

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