WordPress Development
I build and fix WordPress sites — custom themes, plugins, speed and security work, and ongoing maintenance — without the plugin stack that makes sites slow and fragile. 8+ years working with WordPress across 200+ projects.
Most WordPress problems aren't WordPress problems. They're the result of twenty plugins doing what should have been built once, properly.
Send me your URL. I'll send back what's slowing it down and what's leaving it exposed.
The problem
WordPress powers a very large share of the web, and it earns that position. The problems people blame on WordPress are almost always decisions made during the build.
The five most common
Each one adds scripts, database queries and another thing that can break on update. A site running thirty plugins to achieve what a well-built theme would have handled is slow, fragile and expensive to maintain — and that's the single most common situation I'm called into.
Builders make editing easy and output far more markup than the page needs. That markup is what your visitors download and what Google measures.
Multipurpose themes ship the code for every demo layout, including the forty you'll never use. You pay for all of it on every page load.
Outdated core, plugins and PHP. It works until a vulnerability in one of those plugins is exploited, and WordPress's popularity makes it a constant target for automated attacks.
The developer who built it has gone, there's no documentation, and nobody knows which plugin does what. Every small change becomes a risk.
What this costs you
If your site is running a reasonable plugin count, is updated, and loads acceptably, you don't need a rebuild. You probably need a few hours of cleanup and a maintenance plan. The audit will tell you which situation you're in, and I'd rather sell you the smaller thing.
Recognise your site in at least two of these? The free audit shows which ones apply.
Get a Free WordPress Audit →What I build
Six kinds of work. Most enquiries are the first or the third.
Built on a custom theme rather than a purchased multipurpose one — only the code your site needs, with an admin your team can actually use.
Custom fields set up so editors fill in clear labelled inputs instead of wrestling with a page builder, which means content stays consistent and nobody can break the layout.
A theme built to your design, on your existing content — for businesses whose site works but looks dated, or who are moving off a bought theme.
The most common request. Taking an existing site that's slow, bloated or half-broken and making it fast and maintainable without a rebuild.
Plugin audit and consolidation, database cleanup, image and asset optimization, caching, PHP and core updates, fixing whatever the last developer left behind.
When you need something specific — a booking system, a calculator, a portal, an integration with your CRM or accounts — built as a proper plugin rather than assembled from four off-the-shelf ones.
One custom plugin routinely replaces several commercial ones, removes the recurring licence costs, and eliminates the compatibility problems between them.
WordPress-based online stores: product setup, checkout, payments, shipping, inventory, and the performance work WooCommerce specifically needs as a catalogue grows.
WordPress kept as the editing interface, with the front end rebuilt in Next.js for speed. Your team edits in the admin they know; visitors get a front end that loads far faster than a conventional theme.
Worth it when speed and search performance genuinely matter and your content team won't accept leaving WordPress. Not worth the added complexity for a standard business site.
Not sure which of these you need? The free audit tells you whether it's a cleanup or a rebuild.
Get a Free WordPress Audit →My position
Elementor, Divi, WPBakery and the rest solve a real problem: they let non-technical people change layouts without a developer. That's genuinely valuable, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
The cost is markup. A builder generates far more HTML, CSS and JavaScript than the same page needs, because it has to support every layout option you might use. Your visitors download all of it.
My position: if your team rebuilds page layouts regularly, keep the builder and I'll optimize around it. If they mostly edit text and images inside layouts that rarely change, a custom theme with proper content fields gives you an easier admin and a much faster site. Most businesses are in the second group and were sold the first option.
Plugins aren't the problem. Plugin count is. Each one is code written by someone else, loaded on every page, updated on their schedule, and capable of conflicting with the others.
A rough guide: under ten well-chosen plugins is normal and healthy. Twenty and up usually means several are doing jobs that should have been handled once in the theme. I audit what's installed, consolidate what overlaps, and build custom what's worth building — usually removing more than half.
These are mature, well-maintained tools solving problems you shouldn't rebuild. The bloat comes from the other twenty-five.
Multipurpose themes from marketplaces ship code for every demo they advertise. You use one layout and load the assets for all of them. A custom theme is more expensive initially and cheaper for the rest of the site's life.
Security & maintenance
WordPress's popularity is exactly why it's targeted. Automated bots scan constantly for known vulnerabilities in outdated plugins and core. They aren't targeting you specifically — they're targeting every WordPress site that hasn't been updated.
A WordPress site is not a one-time purchase. Core, plugins and PHP all update on their own schedules, and a site left alone for a year becomes a liability regardless of how well it was built.
You can handle this yourself if someone on your team will genuinely do it monthly. Most businesses intend to and don't. That's what the maintenance plan is for — updates tested on staging, backups verified, security monitored, and a person to call when something breaks.
See the maintenance package →No site is unhackable. What maintenance buys you is a much smaller attack surface and a tested backup, so a bad day is an hour of restoration rather than a week of rebuilding.
Performance
WordPress is not inherently slow. It's slow when it's asked to do too much on every page load. Most of the fix is removing work rather than adding tools.
What actually moves the number
Fewer plugins means fewer scripts, stylesheets and database queries per request. This is usually the largest single gain available, and it costs nothing but the audit.
Poorly built themes and plugins run dozens of queries per page. Object caching and fixing the worst offenders often has more impact than any caching plugin.
Modern formats, correct dimensions, lazy loading below the fold. Uploading a 4000px photo for a 600px slot is the most common single cause of a slow WordPress page.
Page caching, object caching, browser caching and a CDN each solve different problems. A caching plugin alone is not a strategy.
Scripts and styles from plugins used on one page are typically loaded on every page. Dequeuing them selectively is unglamorous work with a large payoff.
Cheap shared hosting caps what optimization can achieve. Beyond a certain point the constraint is the server, not the site, and no amount of tuning fixes that.
For a standard WordPress business site I target 85+ on desktop and 70+ on mobile after optimization. Sites on page builders or running many third-party scripts score lower, and I'll tell you what the ceiling is for your specific setup before starting rather than promising a number I can't hit.
Headless WordPress on Next.js reaches higher, which is the main reason to consider it.
Process
Send me your URL. I'll check plugin count, page speed, PHP and core versions, update status and obvious security gaps, and send you what I find. Usually within 2 working days, no call required.
One of three answers: cleanup and optimize what you have, rebuild the theme, or leave it alone and put it on maintenance. Whichever is genuinely right, with the price for it.
Everything happens on a staging copy first. Nothing goes near your live site until it's tested and you've seen it.
Deployment, speed verified after launch rather than assumed, admin training for your team, and documentation of what was changed and why.
Monthly updates tested on staging, backups verified, security monitoring, and support when something breaks.
Packages
| Package | Includes | From |
|---|---|---|
| Speed & Security Cleanup | Plugin audit, optimization, hardening, updates — no rebuild | [PRICE] |
| Custom WordPress Site | Custom theme, up to [N] pages, content fields, SEO setup | [PRICE] |
| WooCommerce Store | Store build, payments, shipping, up to [N] products | [PRICE] |
| Custom Plugin | Bespoke functionality built as a proper plugin | Quoted |
| Headless WordPress | WordPress admin, Next.js front end | Quoted |
| Maintenance | Updates, backups, security, support | [PRICE]/month |
Proof
[Intro line — add once four to six projects are confirmed, weighted toward rescue and optimization work]
[RESULT: traffic, enquiries or admin time saved]
[RESULT: traffic, enquiries or admin time saved]
[RESULT: traffic, enquiries or admin time saved]
[RESULT: traffic, enquiries or admin time saved]
"[Quote — ideally about speed, stability or having someone to call]"
Bigger than WordPress?
Some WordPress enquiries turn out to be a bigger problem. If one of these sounds closer to your situation, start there.
FAQ
Custom WordPress sites start from [PRICE] and WooCommerce stores from [PRICE]. Speed and security cleanup on an existing site starts from [PRICE], which is often the better first spend. Maintenance is [PRICE] per month. Every project is quoted at a fixed price after the audit.
Yes, for most business websites. It gives your team control over content, has a mature ecosystem, and is easy to hire for. It's the wrong choice when you need maximum speed and nobody internally edits content — a custom or headless build fits better there.
Usually plugin count, oversized images and a heavy theme or page builder, in that order. Most sites can be made substantially faster by removing work rather than adding a caching plugin. The free audit will tell you which of those is costing you most.
Elementor if your team regularly rebuilds page layouts themselves. A custom theme if they mostly edit text and images — you get a simpler admin and a much faster site. Most businesses are in the second group but were sold the first.
Under ten well-chosen plugins is healthy. Past twenty, several are usually doing work that belongs in the theme, and each adds load time, update risk and another potential conflict. I typically remove more than half during a cleanup.
You need someone doing the updates. Core, plugins and PHP update continually, and an unmaintained site becomes a security liability within months. If someone on your team will genuinely do it monthly, do it in-house. Most businesses intend to and don't.
Yes, and it's the most common request I get. I start with an audit of what's there, then tell you honestly whether it's worth cleaning up or rebuilding. Inherited sites with no documentation are normal, not a problem.
Yes. Migration includes moving files and database, updating DNS, reconfiguring SSL and caching, and verifying everything works before the switch. Done properly there's no downtime and no impact on your search rankings.
Free WordPress audit
I'll check what's slowing it down, what's leaving it exposed, and whether it needs a cleanup or a rebuild. Free, no call needed.
What the audit covers