Custom themes, plugins & site architecture

WordPress sites built to stay fast as they grow, not just at launch.

A fresh WordPress install is always fast. The real test is six months and twenty plugins later — that's where most of my WordPress work actually happens.

I build and maintain WordPress sites with a focus on clean structure: a sensible plugin stack, a theme setup that doesn't fight itself, and page speed that holds up as content and traffic grow. That includes both building new sites and untangling existing ones that have accumulated plugin conflicts or unused bloat over time.

SEO structure is part of the build by default — proper heading hierarchy, clean permalinks, image optimization, and schema markup — rather than something bolted on afterward with a plugin and hoped for the best.

Plugin conflicts are usually the real cause behind a 'slow WordPress site' complaint, more often than the hosting or the theme — a careful audit of what's actually installed usually finds the issue faster than a caching plugin will fix it.

Core competencies

What this covers

Theme setup & customization

Building or customizing WordPress themes to match a brand's design and content needs without unnecessary plugin dependence.

Plugin strategy

Choosing a minimal, well-maintained plugin stack and removing conflicting or redundant plugins from existing sites.

Performance optimization

Addressing image weight, caching, and Core Web Vitals issues so pages stay fast as content grows.

SEO-ready structure

Setting up clean permalinks, heading structure, sitemaps, and schema markup as part of the build, not an afterthought.

Site maintenance & security

Keeping core, themes, and plugins updated, with regular backups and basic hardening against common vulnerabilities.

Migrations & troubleshooting

Diagnosing and fixing issues on existing sites — broken plugins, hosting migrations, or DNS and email configuration around the site.

Tools & platforms

What I work with

WordPressElementor / GutenbergWooCommerceWP RocketYoast / RankMathphpMyAdmin
Services breakdown

What WordPress development covers, specifically

"WordPress development" covers a lot of ground — here's how that actually breaks down into individual pieces of work.

Theme setup & customization

Configuring a theme or building a custom/child theme so the design matches the brand without fighting the page builder later.

Custom themesChild themesElementor / Gutenberg

Plugin strategy & audits

Choosing a small, well-maintained set of plugins deliberately, and removing the ones quietly slowing the site down or creating conflicts.

Plugin auditsConflict resolutionUpdate management

WooCommerce store builds

Setting up product catalogs, payment gateways, and shipping rules for stores that need WordPress's flexibility more than Shopify's structure.

WooCommercePayment gatewaysShipping rules

Performance & caching

Configuring caching, image optimization, and CDN setup so load times hold up under real traffic, not just on a clean test environment.

WP RocketImage optimizationCore Web Vitals

Security hardening

Locking down login attempts, keeping core and plugins patched, and setting up backups before a vulnerability becomes an actual incident.

BackupsPatch managementLogin hardening

Migrations between hosts

Moving a site between hosting providers — including shared hosting like Hostinger — without breaking URLs, email, or SSL in the process.

Host migrationsDNS & SSLZero-downtime moves
Common pitfalls

Common mistakes — and the fix

Problem

A plugin update breaks the site without warning.

Fix

Test plugin updates on a staging copy before pushing to production, and keep a recent backup so a bad update is a five-minute rollback, not a crisis.

Problem

Page load times creep up over time.

Fix

Audit installed plugins regularly — stacked caching plugins, bloated page builders, and unoptimized images are the usual culprits, not the hosting itself.

Problem

Outdated plugins left unpatched for months.

Fix

Keep core, theme, and plugins on a regular update schedule — most WordPress security incidents trace back to a known, already-patched vulnerability.

Problem

A theme update wipes out custom CSS.

Fix

Keep custom styling in a child theme rather than the parent theme's files, so updates can't silently overwrite hand-written CSS.

Problem

WooCommerce checkout errors after a payment gateway update.

Fix

Test the full checkout flow in a sandbox after any gateway or WooCommerce core update, before customers hit a broken payment step in production.

How I approach it

From audit to ongoing measurement

The exact steps shift depending on the brand and the platform, but this is the rough shape every project follows.

01

Audit the existing setup

Review theme, plugins, and hosting environment to spot conflicts, bloat, or security gaps.

02

Plan the structure

Decide on a minimal plugin stack and content structure that will hold up as the site grows.

03

Build or rebuild

Develop the theme customizations and core functionality needed, with SEO structure built in from the start.

04

Optimize for speed

Address image sizes, caching, and render-blocking issues before launch.

05

Maintain & monitor

Keep core and plugins updated and monitor uptime and security on an ongoing basis.

Common questions

FAQ

Both — new builds as well as fixing or extending existing sites, which is often where the more interesting troubleshooting happens.

Yes, for stores that make sense on WordPress rather than Shopify — the right platform depends on the catalog size and how the business wants to manage it.

Minimal and deliberate. Every plugin is a maintenance and speed cost, so I'd rather solve something with clean code or theme functionality when that's realistic.

Want to talk through how this would apply to a real account or store?