WordPress and WooCommerce, built like software.

Custom themes, WooCommerce stores and the kind of maintenance that means you never hear the phrase "the site is down" on a Friday afternoon. Most of what we build runs on this stack.

Why Builds Rot

WordPress gets blamed for what plugins did.

WordPress is not slow, insecure or fragile. Sites become those things when twenty-eight plugins are installed to avoid writing any code, and nobody updates them for two years.

We build the functionality into the theme where it belongs, keep the plugin count low and deliberate, and document what each one is for.

What we inherit from other builds

  • A page builder inside a page builder, three layers deep
  • Twenty-eight plugins, six doing the same job
  • Theme edits made directly in the parent theme, lost on update
  • No staging site, so every change is tested in production
  • Admin accounts for four agencies who left years ago
  • Backups that nobody has ever tried restoring
What We Build

Everything on the WordPress side, in one place.

From a five-page brochure site to a WooCommerce catalogue with thousands of SKUs and a compliance layer.

Custom Theme Development

Built from scratch against your design, not a ThemeForest purchase reskinned. Fast, clean and free of the settings panels nobody uses.

WooCommerce Stores

Catalogue architecture, variable products, tax and shipping logic, payment gateways, and a checkout that survives on mobile.

Migrations & Replatforming

From Wix, Squarespace, Shopify or an ageing custom build, with URLs and search rankings carried across intact.

Speed Optimisation

Core Web Vitals work at the source: query optimisation, asset handling, caching strategy and object caching, not just a plugin install.

Security & Hardening

Least-privilege users, file permissions, WAF rules, login protection and automated offsite backups you can actually restore from.

Custom Post Types & Fields

Structured content modelled properly with ACF so your team edits real fields instead of fighting a wall of shortcodes.

Integrations & APIs

CRM, ERP, booking systems, payment providers and third-party feeds connected through the REST API rather than a nightly export.

Multilingual Builds

WPML or Polylang set up so translated pages are indexable, hreflang is right and the admin stays manageable for your team.

Care & Maintenance

Staged updates, uptime monitoring, monthly reporting and a person who answers when something breaks.

How A Build Runs

Six stages, and you always know which one you are in.

A typical WordPress build runs four to eight weeks. WooCommerce with a large catalogue takes longer, and we say so at quote stage rather than at week six.

Start With a Call
01

Discovery and scope

We map content, functionality and the way your team will actually maintain the site before anyone opens a design tool.

  • Content and functionality audit
  • Integrations and data sources documented
  • Fixed, itemised quote before work starts
02

Design

Wireframes then full design of the templates that matter, approved on mobile before a line of code is written.

  • Key templates designed and approved
  • Mobile layouts signed off first
  • Design system for future pages
03

Theme build

A custom theme with editable blocks, custom post types and fields, built so your team can publish without breaking layout.

  • Custom theme, no marketplace parent
  • ACF field groups for structured content
  • Plugin count kept deliberate and documented
04

Store and integrations

For WooCommerce: products, variations, tax, shipping and payments. Then whatever has to talk to whatever else.

  • Catalogue and variation structure built
  • Payments, tax and shipping configured
  • Third-party systems wired through the API
05

Test and harden

Cross-device QA, real test transactions, then the security and performance pass before anyone sees it.

  • Cross-browser and device QA
  • Security hardening and backup setup
  • Core Web Vitals brought into range
06

Launch and hand over

We migrate, redirect, verify and stay close for the first month. Then you get documentation and training.

  • 301 redirects mapped and verified
  • Analytics and tracking confirmed
  • Training session and written handover
Choosing A Platform

WooCommerce or Shopify? The honest version.

We build on both, so we have no reason to push you either way. This is what we tell clients on the call.

WooCommerce suits you when

  • Your category is restricted and you need control of the processor
  • Pricing, quoting or B2B rules are complex
  • Content and SEO matter as much as the catalogue
  • You want to own the hosting, the data and the code
  • Transaction fees at your volume would outweigh hosting costs
  • You already run WordPress and want one system, not two

Shopify suits you when

  • You would rather not think about servers, updates or PCI
  • Selling across currencies, borders and channels matters
  • Your team will run the store without a developer
  • You need to launch fast with room to grow into Plus
  • Subscriptions, POS or marketplace selling are planned
  • Uptime should be somebody else’s problem, not yours
The Stack

What we build with on WordPress

Chosen because they are maintainable in three years, not because they are fashionable this quarter.

Custom themes, ACF & Gutenberg

Structured content with Advanced Custom Fields and block patterns, so editors get real fields rather than a blank canvas.

WooCommerce & extensions

Subscriptions, bookings, memberships and B2B pricing built on the official extension set where it exists.

Caching & hosting

Object caching, a CDN and hosting matched to the workload. We will tell you when your host is the actual problem.

Security & backups

Hardening, WAF rules, login protection and offsite backups that get restore-tested rather than assumed.

Staging & version control

A staging site and Git history, so changes are reviewed before they reach the people who buy from you.

Analytics & tracking

GA4, server-side tagging and eCommerce events set up so revenue reporting reconciles with what Woo actually recorded.

Ways To Start

Three shapes of WordPress project

Each begins with a call and a fixed, itemised quote.

Project

New Build

A custom theme and site built around your content and the way your team works.

  • Custom theme, no marketplace parent
  • Structured content with ACF
  • Speed and security built in
  • Analytics and tracking configured
  • Training and thirty days of support
Project

WooCommerce Store

A full store: catalogue, variations, payments, shipping, tax and the integrations behind them.

  • Catalogue and variation architecture
  • Payments, tax and shipping rules
  • ERP, 3PL or accounting integration
  • Checkout and conversion work
  • Test transactions before launch
Monthly

Care Plan

For sites that already exist. Updates handled on staging first, and someone who answers when it matters.

  • Staged core and plugin updates
  • Uptime and security monitoring
  • Offsite backups, restore tested
  • Monthly performance report
  • A set block of change requests
Straight Answers

WordPress questions worth asking

If your question is not here, ask on the call. We will tell you when WordPress is the wrong answer.

Ask Us Directly

Yes, when it is maintained. Almost every WordPress site that gets compromised was running an outdated plugin or a weak admin password. The platform is not the weak point; neglect is. That is exactly what a care plan covers.

For a simple brochure site, that can be a reasonable start. The problems appear later: builder markup is heavy, it slows the site down, and you end up locked into a tool that owns your content structure. We use Elementor where it genuinely helps and write code where it does not.

As few as the job allows, and each one documented with a reason. Most sites we take over have around thirty; most sites we build have under ten. Every plugin is a dependency that can break on update.

Usually. We audit it first and tell you honestly whether it is worth repairing or rebuilding. Sometimes the existing build is fine and just needs maintenance; sometimes patching it costs more over two years than starting again.

That is a design decision we make deliberately. Content gets real editable fields; layout stays locked so nobody accidentally breaks the page. You get a training session and written documentation at handover.

You keep everything. Your hosting, your domain, your code, your database. No licences tied to our account, no proprietary framework you cannot maintain elsewhere. We hand over documentation and credentials.

We will recommend and configure it, and we will tell you plainly when your current host is the reason the site is slow. Whether you buy hosting through us or directly is your call.

On a staging copy first, with a backup taken before anything runs. If something breaks, we roll back and investigate there instead of on your live store during business hours.

Yes, with the right architecture and hosting. Thousands of SKUs is routine. Where it struggles is when it is run on cheap shared hosting with no object caching, which is a setup problem rather than a platform limit.

Four to eight weeks for most sites. WooCommerce with a large catalogue or complex integrations takes longer, and you get a date at quote stage.

Need a WordPress build that lasts?

Book a free call. Bring your current site and we will tell you what we would fix, rebuild or leave alone.