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WordPress design and development

WordPress runs a large share of the web for a good reason: you can edit your own content without ringing a developer. It also has a well-earned reputation for going wrong, and almost always for the same reasons — too many plugins, an abandoned theme, and nobody applying updates. Both halves of that are worth taking seriously.

WordPress

The plugin stack is what breaks WordPress

A typical troubled WordPress site has thirty-odd plugins, several unmaintained, doing jobs that overlap. Each one is code from a stranger running with full access to your site, and each is a thing that can conflict, slow the site down, or stop working when PHP is upgraded. We have seen a live business site return a blank error on every page — the front end and the admin login both — because one old plugin was fatal on a new PHP version.

So we build with as few plugins as the job genuinely needs, on a theme we can maintain, and we tell you what each one is for. That is a slower start and a considerably quieter three years. If speed and security matter more than self-editing, we will also tell you honestly when WordPress is the wrong tool and a static build would serve you better.

What you receive

Written down, not assumed

Everything below is part of the service rather than an upgrade, and each item is something you can hold us to.

  • A WordPress site you can edit without breaking it
  • A documented list of every plugin and why it is there
  • Tested backups, and a restore that has actually been run
  • Hosting, domain and admin accounts in your name
  • A written update and maintenance plan
  • Training on editing your own content

Why it matters

The plugin stack is what breaks WordPress

A typical troubled WordPress site has thirty-odd plugins, several unmaintained, doing jobs that overlap. Each one is code from a stranger running with full access to your site, and each is a thing that can conflict, slow the site down, or stop working when PHP is upgraded. We have seen a live business site return a blank error on every page — the front end and the admin login both — because one old plugin was fatal on a new PHP version.

So we build with as few plugins as the job genuinely needs, on a theme we can maintain, and we tell you what each one is for. That is a slower start and a considerably quieter three years. If speed and security matter more than self-editing, we will also tell you honestly when WordPress is the wrong tool and a static build would serve you better.

What's included

What wordpress development covers

Custom theme, not a bought one

Built for your content rather than a marketplace theme carrying features for twenty other industries and the page builder needed to hide them.

A lean, justified plugin stack

Every plugin has a written reason to exist. Fewer moving parts means fewer conflicts, a faster site and a smaller attack surface.

Editing that is genuinely usable

Content fields set up so your team edits text and images safely, without being able to dismantle the layout by accident.

Speed and Core Web Vitals

Caching, image handling and script discipline. WordPress is not inherently slow — it is usually made slow by what is installed on it.

Security and updates

Hardened configuration, real backups that have been tested by restoring one, and a plan for who applies updates and when.

Rescue and recovery

Sites that are broken, hacked, unbearably slow, or throwing a white screen after a PHP upgrade. Diagnosis first, then a fixed price.

How it runs

Four stages, agreed as we go

  1. Audit

    For an existing site: what is installed, what is out of date, what is actually causing the problem. You get the findings whether or not you use us to fix them.

  2. Plan and price

    A written plan separating what must be fixed now from what can wait, so you are not asked to approve one large undivided number.

  3. Build or repair

    Work happens on a staging copy, never on the live site. Nothing changes in public until you have seen it and agreed it.

  4. Handover and maintenance

    Training on editing your own content, and a clear answer to who applies updates from now on — including 'you do, and here is how'.

Deliverables

What you actually receive

Set out here so there is no ambiguity later about what was included in the price.

  • A WordPress site you can edit without breaking it
  • A documented list of every plugin and why it is there
  • Tested backups, and a restore that has actually been run
  • Hosting, domain and admin accounts in your name
  • A written update and maintenance plan
  • Training on editing your own content

Questions

WordPress Development: common questions

Should I use WordPress or something else?

WordPress if you need to edit content frequently yourself and want a large ecosystem behind you. Something static and code-based if speed, security and low maintenance matter more and content changes are occasional. We will recommend against WordPress when it is the wrong fit, which is more often than most agencies admit.

Our site went down after a hosting update. Can you fix it?

Usually, yes. A site that returns an error on every page including the admin login is almost always a fatal error while WordPress itself loads — most often an old plugin or theme that is incompatible with a newer PHP version. It is normally diagnosable quickly and fixable by rolling the PHP version back and then updating properly. We need hosting access to do it.

Do you take over sites somebody else built?

Yes, after an audit. Some are in good shape and easy to adopt; some have been so heavily modified that repairing them costs more than rebuilding. We will tell you which yours is, with reasons, before you commit either way.

Who keeps it updated after launch?

Whoever you agree — but agree it explicitly, in writing, before launch. Unapplied updates are the single most common reason WordPress sites get hacked, and 'we assumed the other party was doing it' is how it usually happens.

Also available

Our other services

Web Design

Websites that load quickly, read clearly on a phone and give visitors an obvious next step.

Learn more

Web App Development

Portals, dashboards, booking systems and internal tools — software rather than a brochure site.

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Mobile App Development

iOS and Android apps from a single codebase, released under your own store accounts.

Learn more

SEO

Technical fixes, content that answers real searches, and reporting that shows what actually brought enquiries.

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Digital Marketing

Search, content and social handled deliberately, with reporting that shows what is actually working.

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Graphic Design

Brand identity, print and digital artwork, supplied as source files you own outright.

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Video Editing

Footage edited for where it will actually be watched — captioned, correctly sized, ready to post.

Learn more

Thinking about wordpress development?

Tell us what you are working with and what you need it to do. You will get a straight answer and a fixed written price.

Get in touch