WordPress, without the mess.
Half of Essex runs on WordPress, and a lot of it runs badly — slow themes, fifty plugins, updates nobody dares click. I build WordPress properly when it's the right tool, rescue it when it's gone wrong, and tell you honestly when you'd be better off without it.
I offer three WordPress services in Essex: clean bespoke builds (custom theme, minimal plugins, fast); rescue and repair for hacked, broken or abandoned WordPress sites; and ongoing care — updates, security, backups and support — for sites whose original developer has vanished. And when WordPress isn't the right tool for your business, I'll say so: my own site is hand-coded, and that option is always on the table too.
When WordPress is the right answer
If you genuinely need to edit pages yourself, run a serious blog, or use WooCommerce for a stock-heavy shop, WordPress earns its keep. Built properly — a custom theme designed for your business, a minimal plugin set, decent hosting — it's a perfectly good platform. The horror stories come from how it's usually done: a heavyweight theme bought for £40, thirty plugins patching gaps, and nobody maintaining any of it. Our audit of local business websites keeps finding exactly those sites, years into their decay.
Rescue: for when it's already gone wrong
Hacked site, white screen, updates that broke the layout, a developer who stopped answering — WordPress rescue is a steady stream of my enquiries. The process is unglamorous and effective: safe backup, clean-up, update everything in the right order, remove what shouldn't be there, then harden it so it doesn't happen again. If the site's worth saving I'll save it; if the honest answer is that a rebuild costs less than the repair, you'll hear that instead.
Care: for the orphaned sites
The commonest WordPress story in Essex: the site works, but the person who built it is gone, and nobody's touched an update in two years. My care service takes those sites on — updates, security, backups, monitoring, and a human who answers when something breaks. It starts with the free health check and an honest assessment of what you've got.
And when it isn't the right tool
Plenty of businesses on WordPress never edit their own site, don't blog, and don't run a shop — they're carrying the platform's weight and update burden for nothing. For them, a hand-coded site is faster, safer and cheaper to keep. I build both, so the recommendation is based on your actual needs — ask the person who sells both, not the agency that only sells one.
Common questions
Do you build new WordPress websites?
Yes — custom theme, minimal plugins, proper performance work, from £499.99 + £49.99/month on the Business plan. Not a bought theme with your logo swapped in.
My WordPress site is hacked or broken — can you fix it?
Usually, yes: backup, clean-up, ordered updates and hardening. If a repair would cost more than rebuilding properly, I'll tell you before you spend anything.
Can you take over a WordPress site someone else built?
Yes — that's one of my most common jobs. It starts with a free health check, then ongoing care covers updates, security, backups and support.
Is WordPress or a hand-coded website better?
It depends what you need: self-editing, blogging and WooCommerce favour WordPress; speed, security and low upkeep favour hand-coded. I build both, so you get the honest recommendation rather than the one-tool answer.
Related: Website care · Redesigns · E-commerce · Health checker
Whatever state it's in, start here.
Tell me what your WordPress site is doing — or not doing. Free health check first, honest plan within one working day.