Custom WordPress Website Design & Development. Hand-Coded, No Page Builders.
Most people who get in touch about a build already have a WordPress site. It's a few years old, it's slow, and updating it has become something nobody wants to do. They need one that does its job now. I build custom WordPress themes by hand, from your designs or from a blank page with you, and I look after them long after launch. No page builders. No shortcuts. No surprises.
Every build includes
Why it matters
Custom WordPress theme development. Three things that separate a good build from a great one.
Most people have had a site that looked fine at launch and fell apart six months later. These three things are why that doesn't happen with mine.
WordPress Without Page Builders, No Elementor, No Divi, Ever.
Page builders feel fast until they don’t. Bloated output, unpredictable updates, plugin dependencies, and performance that degrades over time. Every site I build is coded by hand, which means faster load times, cleaner markup, and no fragile third-party dependencies between you and your website.
- Pages load faster, typically 40–60% leaner than the same build in a page builder
- No plugin lock-in, and no compatibility roulette on update day
- Code that's clean enough to read, and to build on for years
- No licensing fees or subscriptions passed on to you
Performance built in, not bolted on
Your site should load fast on a phone, on a bad connection, first time. Google measures this (Core Web Vitals), and so do your visitors. I set speed targets at the start of every project and build toward them, rather than running a speed test the day before launch and scrambling to fix the score.
- Speed targets agreed at kickoff, with the main content on screen in about a second on decent hosting (LCP target ~1–1.5s)
- Modern image formats, critical CSS and deferred scripts as standard
- Only the plugins the site needs, nothing loading for the sake of it
- Performance kept up after launch, not just at handoff
An editor you and your team will actually use
The handoff is where most WordPress projects fall down. Either nothing can be changed without breaking the layout, or you’ve been handed a page builder with far too much rope. I build the editing screens with ACF (Advanced Custom Fields): fields for the things that change, like a headline, an image or a list of services, and a layout that stays put. Enough control to manage your content, not enough to break the design.
- Fields that match the actual page design
- Guardrails that stop layout-breaking changes
- Documentation and short walkthrough videos on request
- Updates that take minutes, not a support ticket
What I build
Three types of project,
one standard of work
A new site, a rebuild of one that's had its day, or a move from another platform. The quality bar doesn't move.
Custom WordPress
design & build
A bespoke WordPress theme built from scratch, either from your designs, or worked out together if you need design as well. Every decision is made for your site. Nothing is reused from a template.
When the current site is the problem
If your WordPress site is slow, fragile, hard to edit, or built on a page builder that has become a liability, rebuilding it on a clean foundation is usually faster and cheaper in the long run than patching it one more time.
Webflow, Squarespace & Wix to WordPress Migration.
Moving from another platform, pulling several sites into one, or getting onto better hosting. I handle the technical side so the move is clean, the content arrives intact, and your search rankings come with you.
A build process with no surprises
Kickoff & scope
A short call to pin down what's being built, when, and how we'll work together. I can take a finished Figma file and run with it, or work out the structure and layout with you from the start.
Build & check-ins
The site is built on a staging environment you can look at at any point, with regular updates from me. No black-box development, no surprises at review.
Review & refine
Structured rounds of feedback with clear change tracking. I'll flag scope changes early rather than absorbing them quietly and resenting you later.
Launch & handoff
I handle the launch, test across browsers, and hand over full admin access. Documentation and short editor walkthroughs are there if you want them.
"Page views are up by around 3k, average session duration up 13%, and bounce rate down by 15%. I can only assume the new design has everything to do with that."
Results after launch
Results are client-specific and depend on content, audience, and existing baseline. These figures reflect one client's reported outcomes post-launch.
Working at an agency? Most of my work is for agencies, white-label or client-facing, usually as the developer who runs their WordPress work rather than a contractor brought in for one job. Read how I work with agencies or get in touch and let’s see if it’s a good fit.
Things people usually askbefore a build
01 Can you build from our Figma designs with pixel-perfect accuracy?
Yes, and it’s how most of my work runs. I build from Figma, Sketch, XD, or even well-annotated PDFs. If your design has edge cases or responsive states that haven’t been thought through, I’ll flag them early rather than make assumptions and disappoint you at review.
02 What if we don't have a designer? Can you help with that too?
Yes. I can work out the layout and structure with you from the ground up, or take a loose direction and develop it into a full design. I’m not a dedicated designer, but I’ve been designing and building at the same time for 20+ years.
03 Do you work with existing WordPress sites, or only new builds?
My preference is new builds or full rebuilds, because patching a patchwork site tends to end badly for everyone. That said, I’ll always look at what you’ve got and tell you honestly whether a rebuild or a set of targeted improvements makes more sense.
04 How do you handle scope creep mid-project?
Transparently. If something falls outside the agreed scope, I’ll flag it with a quick note and a cost to include it rather than quietly absorbing it or billing a surprise invoice at the end. Clear change control is part of how I keep projects predictable for agencies.
05 Can my client see progress during the build?
Yes, staging access is standard. You, your team, or your client if you’re an agency, can review in real time. I’ll suggest when it makes sense to share access versus waiting for a proper review milestone, so feedback comes at the right point in the process.
06 What happens after launch?
You can take the site and run it yourself, or keep me on for managed hosting, maintenance and ongoing development. Several clients do exactly that on a monthly basis.
Got a build coming up?
Let's talk about it.
Whether you've got a full brief or just an idea, a short conversation is usually enough to know if we're a good fit and what the project looks like.