Custom development
WordPress Development
Custom themes and plugins built to WordPress standards, so the next developer can actually read the code. No page-builder lock-in, no private framework, and no licence you have to keep renewing to edit your own site.
Send a URL, or just describe what you need built. You get a written scope back with the approach, what it involves, and one fixed price — before you commit to anything.
What you end up owning. Every layer is standard WordPress, and every layer is yours.
$900
Starting price, fixed before any work begins
You own it
Code handed over outright, with no framework licence
Standards
Written to the WordPress coding standards, not a house style
30 days
Support after handover, at no extra charge
Sound familiar?
When a WordPress site needs actual development
Most WordPress sites never need a developer, and we will say so. These are the situations where plugins have genuinely run out of road, and where continuing to stack them costs more than building the thing properly once.
- A plugin does eighty per cent of what you need and there is no way to reach the rest
- You are renewing eight licences a year to achieve one thing
- A change that should take an hour takes a developer three days
- Nobody can edit the site without a builder licence that is about to expire
- The last developer left and nobody can read what they wrote
- Your designer has a build ready and every quote so far has been “just use a builder”
- Content editors keep breaking the layout because nothing stops them
- You need something that genuinely does not exist as a plugin
The work itself
What we build
All of it in PHP, JavaScript and CSS that a competent WordPress developer can open and understand — because one day somebody who is not us will have to.
Custom themes
Block themes and child themes built from your design, not from a template with the colours changed. Templates, template parts and global styles set up so the site stays consistent when somebody adds a page you did not plan for.
Custom plugins
Business logic belongs in a plugin, not a theme — so it survives the day you redesign. Custom post types, admin screens, calculators, booking logic, reporting: the things your business does that nobody has written a plugin for.
Blocks and the editor
Custom blocks and patterns so your team can build pages without a developer and without breaking the design. Locked where it matters, editable where it does not. This is what replaces a page builder, and it costs nothing yearly.
APIs and outside data
Pulling data in, pushing data out, webhooks, scheduled jobs and the retry logic that stops a third party’s bad afternoon becoming yours. Built to fail visibly rather than silently, because a silent integration failure is the expensive kind.
Standards and handover
WordPress coding standards, escaped output, sanitised input, nonces on anything that writes. Comments that explain why rather than what. A handover document your next developer can follow without phoning us.
Taking over an abandoned build
A developer disappeared, or was let go, and you have a half-finished site and no documentation. We read what is there, tell you honestly what is salvageable and what is not, and finish it. This is a large share of the work we take.
Before you commission anything
Plugin, custom code, or leave it alone?
Custom code is a liability as well as an asset — somebody has to own it for as long as the site exists. This is the reasoning we apply before quoting, and we apply it the same way when the answer costs us the job.
| The situation | What we recommend | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A well-maintained plugin already does exactly this | Use the plugin | Custom code you pay to maintain is worse than free code somebody else maintains. We will tell you this rather than quote for it. |
| A plugin does most of it and offers a documented hook | Extend the plugin | A small custom layer on top, so plugin updates keep working. Usually the cheapest real answer. |
| A plugin does most of it, but only if you edit its files | Replace that part | Editing plugin files means the next update quietly destroys your work. This is the single most common thing we are called in to undo. |
| It takes six plugins to achieve one outcome | Custom plugin | Fewer moving parts, fewer licences, fewer update conflicts, and a page that loads what it needs instead of six of everything. |
| The requirement is genuinely specific to your business | Custom plugin | This is what custom development is actually for, and where it earns its cost back. |
| You want a rebuild because the site feels slow | Fix the speed first | Rebuilding is the most expensive possible way to fix a load time. Start with speed optimization at $349 and rebuild only if that genuinely cannot get there. |
Included as standard
What comes with every build
Not tiers, not upsells. These apply to a $900 plugin and a $20,000 build equally.
- A written scope before any money changes hands. What we will build, what we will not, and what it costs. Yours to keep whether or not you hire us.
- Code you own outright. No framework licence, no subscription, nothing that stops working if you stop paying us.
- WordPress coding standards. Escaped output, sanitised input, nonces on anything that writes. Reviewable by any WordPress developer.
- A child theme, never core edits. Your site stays updatable, which is the whole point.
- Built so editors cannot break it. Layouts locked where they need to be, so a content update does not become a support ticket.
- Staging first. Built and tested on a copy. Your live site is never the experiment.
- Documentation in plain language. What was built, why it works that way, and what to be careful of.
- Thirty days of support after handover. If something we built breaks, we fix it. No charge, no argument.
How it works
Scope first, price second, work third
01 — Free written scope
You describe what you need, or point us at the site and the problem. We come back with the approach in writing, what is in scope, what is not, and whether an existing plugin makes the whole thing unnecessary. Yours to keep either way.
02 — Fixed price
One number in USD, agreed before anything starts. Most builds land between $900 and $5,000. Anything larger is split into stages you can stop between, so you are never committed to the whole project on day one.
03 — Built, tested, handed over
Built on staging with progress you can look at, not a reveal at the end. You get the code, the documentation, and thirty days of support. If you want to take it to another developer afterwards, everything they need is already written down.
Scope, honestly
Development work we turn down
We are a WordPress studio, not a general software shop, and the difference matters when you are deciding who to trust with a build. If your project is on this list we will say so on day one.
- Applications outside WordPress — Laravel, Node, bespoke PHP platforms
- Headless builds with a React or Next.js front end; we do the WordPress side well and will not pretend otherwise
- Rebuilding from scratch what a well-maintained plugin already does properly
- Modifying WordPress core files, at any price
- Nulled or cracked premium plugins and themes, under any circumstances
- Projects where the only brief is “cheaper than the last quote”
Common questions
WordPress development, answered
How much does custom WordPress development cost?
From $900. That is the floor for a defined piece of work — a custom plugin doing one job well, a set of custom blocks, a theme built from a finished design. Most projects land between $900 and $5,000. Larger builds go higher and are split into stages you can stop between. The free scope turns the floor into one real number before you commit.
How long does it take?
The written scope comes back within two business days. A single plugin or block set is usually one to two weeks. A full theme build from finished designs runs three to five. Larger projects are staged, so you see working software throughout rather than waiting for a reveal at the end.
Do I own the code?
Yes, outright, once the invoice is settled. No framework licence, no subscription, nothing that stops working if you stop paying us. You can hand it to another developer tomorrow and they will be able to read it — that is the point of building to the WordPress standards rather than to a house style only we know.
Will you use a page builder?
Not for a new build. Custom blocks and patterns give your team the same freedom to lay out pages without the yearly licence, the page weight, or the lock-in that makes a site expensive to leave. If you already have a builder site we will happily work with it — we just will not start a new one that way.
Can you work with my existing theme?
Usually yes, through a child theme so your updates keep working. We regularly extend sites built on Astra, Kadence, GeneratePress, Elementor and Divi. If the existing theme genuinely cannot support what you need, we say so and price the alternative rather than quietly building on sand.
Do you build headless WordPress with React or Next.js?
No. We could learn it on your budget and we would rather not. We do traditional and block-based WordPress properly, and for the overwhelming majority of business sites that is faster to build, cheaper to run and far easier to hand to the next developer. If headless is genuinely right for you, you want a studio that does it every day.
What if a plugin already does what I need?
Then we tell you to use the plugin, and we do not invoice you for finding that out. It happens regularly. Custom code is a liability as well as an asset — somebody has to maintain it for as long as the site exists — and taking your money to rebuild something maintained for free is a bad trade for you and a short-term one for us.
Can you take over a project another developer abandoned?
Yes, and it is a significant share of what we do. We start by reading what exists and telling you honestly what is worth keeping — sometimes the answer is most of it, sometimes very little. Either way you get that assessment in writing before you spend anything, including an estimate of what finishing it properly costs against starting again.
Do you work with clients outside India?
Almost all of our work is for clients in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and the EU. We are based in Rajpura, Punjab and keep hours that overlap US Eastern, UK and Australian business days. Prices are quoted and invoiced in USD.
Describe what you need built.
You get a written scope back with the approach and one fixed price — including an honest answer if an existing plugin makes the whole thing unnecessary. No sales call, no obligation.