Web Development Services
by James Whayman

Freelance WordPress Developer in London

Building Custom WordPress Websites for Small Businesses and Creative Agencies
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120 businesses have already trusted me with their websites

Build your next website

Custom WordPress Development

Are you looking to build your next WordPress website? Is your current site outdated, underperforming, or lacking key functionality?
Have you tried building your website yourself using a page builder, theme, and plugins, but found that it's not as customisable as you want, doesn't have the functionality you need, or isn't appearing on Google?

Then you need a freelance WordPress developer in London who knows how to build you a custom WordPress website that it works for your business; bringing you new business and leads, integrating with your existing business processes, as a showcase and marketing tool for your products and services.

For 9+ years I have been offering custom WordPress development services as a freelance WordPress developer in London. My clients are small businesses (SMBs), creative agencies, and third-sector organisations, primarily based in London and the UK.
It works well for me as I like the fact I am speaking direct to James who is building the site rather than speaking to a junior account manager which you get at many agencies. After the initial build was completed, James is managing our site and helping with a lot of changes we're doing as we grow.

The WordPress CMS

Why use WordPress to power your website?

WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS), powering over 65% of all CMS-based websites.
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS), powering over 65% of all CMS-based websites. It's no wonder that there are thousands of WordPress themes, plugins, and software integrations available to choose from.

But is a cheap hosting package, off-the-shelf WordPress theme, a few plugins, and attempting to mash them together enough?

No.

You will find your WordPress website becoming more difficult to customise, bloated, slow, and more fragile as time goes on. Additionally, without technical knowledge, it's easy to misconfigure a website, leading to poor performance on search engines, missed messages on contact forms, lost sales, slow load times, and security breaches.

If you need a web developer with extensive experience to build your WordPress website from a solid foundation - a website that will be online working for you for many years to come - then you need to hire a hard working freelance WordPress developer like myself.

WordPress is Ubiquitous

Key WordPress Statistics for 2022
Sources: BuiltWith, W3Techs, & WordPress.org

43%

WordPress Holds a 43% Market Share of the CMS Market

6.6M

WooCommerce Powers >6.6 Million eCommerce Websites

59,000+

Over 59k Plugins Built by the WordPress Community

My Process

Get Your Business Online with WordPress Development Services

I worked with an eCommerce client called The Cocktail Society - helping them to build an eCommerce platform on WordPress for their drinks subscription service.
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Phase One

Website Consultation for The Cocktail Society

In the first phase of the project, I spoke with the key stakeholders at the company, to determine what functionality they needed, their specific requirements unique to their business, and what design requirements would be needed for consideration.

I provided an in-depth analysis outlining initial cost brackets for a new WordPress website with varying levels of functionality, estimates for on-going management and maintenance fees, approximate delivery dates for each milestone, and potential roadblocks which could be addressed early on.
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Phase Two

Web Design

Working alongsite another freelance web designer and the client, we scoped out the key pages and functionality needed, based on the information gathered during Stage 1.

Working as a team, each page was created as a high fidelity mock-up by the designer, showcasing the client's branding, page structures, and key elements.

This stage was crucial, as it identified issues with initial assumptions about how visitors would navigate through the checkout process, manage their subscriptions, and interact with the site.
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Phase Three

Web Development

I built the website using the mockups created during the design phase. Each page was built using the Elementor page builder, with heavy customisation across the board. We leveraged the WooCommerce and WooCommerce Subscriptions plugins for the subscription functionality.

Due to the client's unique requirements, a significant amount of time was spent doing plugin development. I was coding a custom plugin to extend the functionality offered by the off-the-shelf eCommerce plugins.

This custom development, alongside the custom designs, really helped to streamline the client's business back-end processes, and visitor's flow through the site, making it easy for them to manage subscriptions as they began to scale up.
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Phase Four

Website Manager Training

Once a majority of the development had been completed, the website managers & content eidtors began a series of one-to-one training sessions.

The focus was to educate the non-technical website managers about how they can create/update pages, products, blog posts, and how to extract key reports and data related to the subscription metrics.

Giving the client the confidence and knowledge to manage their own website is a key success factor for me.
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Phase Five

Ongoing Support, Maintenance, and Management

Once the site was online and customers were signing up for subscriptions, we moved to the management and maintenance phase.

The client needed to add tools to integrate with their marketing suites, distribution and fulfilment partners, and ad campaigns, which I was able to support them with.

Additionally, as subscriptions grew, new products and features were requested for the site, which I helped scope, design, and build. Allowing the company to grow and experiement with new channels.
I've said this to other people, but James is very smart. He's not just a developer, he's good at problem solving. He can come up with a few solutions and talk them through with me. Some developers I've worked with need total direction. I like that James can get on with it without being told exactly what needs to be done, particularly with the more complicated builds.

The WordPress CMS

WordPress Development Services

The process to build a custom WordPress website is not much different than any other website, the main difference is the CMS - how the site, content, themes, and plugins are managed - and the huge community built around WordPress, striving to make it better.
Most businesses consider that an online presence is essential to their strategy - with their website being a key marketing and sales asset. However, just having a website doesn't necessarily lead to more business.

Without a solid foundation, a well-defined page structure, performant infrastructure, and the ability to easily extend it yourself - by adding content, marketing integrations, and sales funnels - you are putting yourself at a disadvantage. It'll be hard to rank organically on search, hard to convert visitors to customers, and hard to keep on top of managing your site. Making it more of a liability than an asset.

WordPress has its own unique set of challenges and quirks, as does every theme and plugin. As an industry expert based in London, I am here to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your WordPress projects.

WordPress Services I Offer

Modern websites are not built just to exist. They power your marketing and sales efforts - working as multiplier for your business.

As a WordPress consultant - not just a developer - there are many more services that I offer besides just WordPress website development. I have outlined a few of them below.

New WordPress Websites

Custom WordPress website development - a site built to power your business.

Consulting Services

WordPress consulting services from a WordPress developer with over 9 years experience.

eCommerce Development

eCommerce solutions for your business. Become a Direct-to-consumer (DTC) powerhouse.

White-Label Services

Resell my WordPress development services as part of your creative agency's offering.

Overhauling Existing Sites

Improve upon your existing WordPress website with new features and updates.

Custom PHP Integrations

Custom WordPress plugins to integrate with your in-house systems or 3rd-party tools.

WordPress Training

Custom training for non-technical website managers. Save time and money by managing your website.

WordPress Care Plans

Monthly maintenance and support packages. I will keep your site performant, secure, and updated.

Gutenburg Block Coding

Development of custom Gutenburg blocks to meet your design requirements.

Front-End Development

Custom-built React, Vue, and JavaScript front-end modules to handle your unique requirements.

Search Engine Optimisation

Websites built to rank, with SEO as a key factor during design and built. SEO audits for existing sites.

Page Speed Optimisation

WordPress websites built with solid foundations and optimised for speed.

Analytics Integrations

Stay on the pulse and set-up key metrics and conversions to help your marketing and sales teams.

GDPR Compliance

Ensure your WordPress website is GDPR compliant and easy for users to set their preferences.

Website Audits

A thorough website health check to identify issues, perfomance bottlenecks, and more.

Multilingual Integrations

Support multiple languages with the WPML multilingual plugin, set-up and fully configured.

Plugin Integrations

Need to integrate a plugin with your WordPress theme or external service? I can help.

Accessibility Compliance

Meet WCAG and ADA accessibility standards to support people with disabilities.

In-Person Meetings

I offer in-person consultations in London, either at your offices or somewhere Central.

Own Your Platform

Why choose WordPress for your website?

WordPress continues to be my go-to for all website development, allowing me to offer my clients an infinitely scalable and practical solution for fully integrated and sales-focused website designs.

WordPress is my preferred platform for several reasons:

Open Source

It's open-source, which means I can do anything I like with it without being restricted to a particular vendor (e.g. Shopify, Wix, Squarespace).

Active, Diverse Community

It has a rich community and lots of plugins, allowing you to extend common functionality (e.g. event management, ecommerce, CRM integration) without having to write it from scratch.

Low Barrier to Entry

It's low barrier to entry means clients often already have experience using it and don't need to reskill to learn a new platform.

Cheap to Host & Maintain

It's cheap to host and maintain, meaning less overhead for clients and myself.

Flexible and Extensible

It's very flexible, it can be used for almost any type of website, from a small blog, to eCommerce shops, to large scale international news/media sites, to multi-vendor marketplaces, etc.

My Services

Your Full Service Freelance WordPress Developer

WordPress continues to be my go-to for all website development, allowing me to offer my clients an infinitely scalable and practical solution for fully integrated and sales-focused website designs.

New WordPress Website Builds

A new custom site build typically takes a minimum of 30 hours development time, with the calendar duration varying according to project complexity, scope, and stakeholders involved.

My 6-Step Process

The full process is broken down into six key stages:

  1. Project scoping

  2. Web design and copywriting

  3. Web development

  4. Manager training

  5. Deployment

  6. Ongoing support and maintenance

At the end of these stages, you will have your fully functional, stable, performant website online and ready to work for you.

At this point, you can work with your in-house or agency marketing/sales teams to add content, generate backlinks, grow sales, and run campaigns.

“James has been a precious partner for the past 5 years. I have rarely found someone so professional, dedicated, kind and responsive.”
Francesca Moresi - Private Therapist London
A builder working on a construction site wearing a hardhat with a tiger graphic on it

White-Label & Outsourcing Services for Creative Agencies

A significant percentage of my time is spent working with creative agencies in London.

If you don't have an in-house web developer, need a London-based WordPress expert for an ad-hoc project, or simply have too much work to handle - I can help.

WordPress Specialist

My specialist WordPress knowledge means I am able to help you with theme development, plugin development, custom builds and complicated integrations, while quickly getting up to speed alongside your in-house team.

I will make your job easier, letting you focus on the client, while I produce the deliverables - on schedule and to industry standards.

Plus, because I work remotely for most of my projects, I'm fully equipped and experienced when dealing with remote work challenges. I'm also available to work on-site in London.

“James worked incredibly quickly, producing code of a very high standard that was meticulously organised. He was a pleasure to work with. He's someone I'd strongly recommend for any WordPress build-outs.”
James Finlayson - Verve Search
A high-tech blueprint of a cyber tiger

WordPress Theme Development

A web designer can design your perfect theme for your company, but it still needs to be built. Think of the designer as the architect, and the developer as the construction company.

I have been developing websites for over 20 years, and have been working as a freelance web developer in London, building WordPress themes with WordPress since 2013. I have the skills needed to deliver your custom design as a unique WordPress theme.

Once your theme is ready, you can be confident that you'll have a beautifully designed, responsive, and extensible front-end to your site, which will work for you for many years to come.

WordPress Theme Features

Every WordPress theme I build has the following features:

  • Responsive design, suitable for mobiles, tablets, and desktops

  • Lightweight CSS, JavaScript, and HTML, to improve load times for visitors

  • Integration with plugins to improve SEO, add contact forms, implement caching, etc.

  • Easily extensible if you require further features or pages in the future

  • The ability for non-technical managers to make updates to theme settings

  • On-going support and training services for managers

“Just dropping another line to let you know that basically everyone at King's is in love with the CSGS website, from the faculty in our department to the higher up deans. There is a sense of relief that now King's has a serious, beautiful website to match its research reputation.”
Irena Schnider - CSGS, King's College London
A hipster tiger wearing glasses

WordPress Plugin Development

WordPress plugins are part of what make WordPress so popular. There are literally thousands of WordPress plugins available, most of which are free to use.

However, you may have a unique use case, which is too niche, or relates to a specific area in your industry. There may be a plugin out there that covers 80% of what you need, but the remaining 20% is crucial to your success. There may be no plugin out there at all right now!

I have been coding custom WordPress plugins since the start of my WordPress career back in 2013. I have built custom events and ticketing plugins, back-ends for React, Vue, & Svelte SPAs via the WordPress REST API, custom WooCommerce tools, data syncing tools with CRMs, and more.

Once your plugin has been fully tested and deployed to your site, you'll have a unique plugin that is tailored to your specific business requirements.

WordPress Plugin Features

No matter what your requirements are, every WordPress plugin I deliver comes with:

  • A well documented codebase, allowing for ease of maintenance and extensibility

  • Code structure following the WordPress coding standards

  • Documentation explaining how the plugin works, and how non-technical website managers are able to use the plugin dashboard

  • Extensive testing, logging, and validation checks

  • Full support and testing with PHP7 and PHP8

  • On-going support and management services

“Our needs are often complex and a lot of customisation is required, but James is always happy to help. He is professional, friendly and always provides a detailed explanation of each stage of the process, including some really useful instructional videos. ”
Anna Paul - British Science Association
A neon cyber tiger

eCommerce Development

As a specialist WordPress developer, I also full eCommerce set-ups using WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads (EDD).

I can provide a completely custom solution for your online store, whether you are selling customisable products, subscriptions, license keys, downloadable media, memberships, or anything else.

If you have an existing eCommerce store on another platform, like Shopify, I'm able to help migrate your store across to WooCommerce.

eCommerce Features

As your WooCommerce developer:

  • I can build a shop front unique to your business

  • I can create custom products and services

  • I can build custom checkout flows and product customisation options

  • I can integrate your store with 3rd party tools and services for reporting, fulfilment, accounting, analytics, marketing, and advertising

  • I can help you set-up a subscription service or product

  • I can integrate your site with Stripe, Paddle, PayPal, Amazon, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and more

James is really good value, gets things done quickly and very good at what he does. James has not only built the back end of the website however also been instrumental in designing the front end to ensure looks good and us user friendly.
Founder - Beast Store
A baby tiger sitting in a shopping trolley

Hiring A WordPress Developer

Why Work with Me?

Because I am a highly experienced freelance web developer based in London, specialising in WordPress website development.

I build websites full-time and am passionate about the web and seeing my clients succeeed.

Since starting my career as a freelance web developer in London back in 2013, I’ve worked with hundreds of London & UK businesses, agencies and start-ups across a diverse range of industries and fields.

From eCommerce stores to technology start-ups and agency commissions, my experience spans a wide range of different areas of expertise.

I pride myself on the highest-standard results for WordPress development, working with my clients to deliver exceptional websites alongside designers, content creators and UX/UI specialists.

I am based in London, UK.

I work fully remotely, but am available for in-person consulting/development in London.

James Whayman working at a cafe on a laptop

Leverage the Power of Open Source

Tools Used to Build WordPress Websites

There are thousands of tools, including WordPress themes and plugins, which can be used to build a WordPress website.

The one major problem is that there isn't just one catch-all solution for everything built-in to the core WordPress CMS.

Novice WordPress website owners often fall into the trap of installing too many plugins, or downloading a cheap page builder or theme that has too many options they don't need.

The result is a bloated mess with unnecessary PHP, HTML, JavaScript and CSS; a slow site vulnerable to attacks due to poorly-coded or out-of-date plugins; and frustration trying to keep on top of random errors and layout glitches that aren't easy to fix.

I am all for using off-the-shelf plugins, page builders and themes when appropriate, but in moderation.

A well coded, well supported plugin may have thousands of hours of development time put into it, and the annual license costs of premium WordPress plugins are usually in the hundreds of dollars - a fraction of what you would pay a WordPress developer to build the same functionality from scratch.

Some of my go-to WordPress tools are:

Oxygen Builder

Oxygen Builder is a page builder, allowing web developers to create custom layouts.

Oxygen Builder a bit different from other page builders like Elementor, Divi, WPBakery, and Beaver Builder, in the sense that it gives the developer much more control and flexibility to create custom layouts - something that is a bit harder to do with the other page builders that only allow you to pick from a selection of pre-built components.

Oxygen is great for building custom designs, but it also allows non-technical website managers to make copy and media changes with a little bit of training. While it has a bit more of a learning curve, compared to the other page builders, it allows WordPress developers to build very lightweight, performant pages.

Oxygen Builder Logo
Cloudways Hosting Logo

Cloudways

Cloudways is a managed hosting provider - meaning that they handle all the underlying infrastructure running your WordPress website.

Managed hosting means they actively support their clients' websites -vs. giving you a server and letting you do what you like with it - that includes keeping the servers up-to-date, running quickly, and secure, but also live chat with their knowledgeable technical support team.

Cloudways is my go-to hosting provider, but I can also develop, manage and support your WordPress website running on your own server or WP Engine, Kinsta, Flywheel, AWS, etc.

Rank Math

Rank Math is an SEO plugin, adding key features to help with Search Engine Optimisation.

Some of its features include page indexing, sitemap generation, adding schema data to pages and products, managing integrations with social sites, and a content evaluation tool to help you with your writing and organic rankings. All in a lightweight package.

Rank Math works best when paired with your marketing strategy. It requires a bit of SEO knowledge to set-up correctly, but I am able to help do this alongside your marketing/SEO team.

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Updraft Plus

UpdraftPlus is my go-to plugin for performing full-site backups and migrations.

Before I do anything on a WordPress site, I always take a full backup, stored securely off-site (i.e. not on the same server your WordPress website is hosted on). UpdraftPlus lets me do this quickly and - most importantly - reliably.

UpdraftPlus is the perfect tool to assist with site migrations as well, whether it's moving your existing site to a new domain, or copying over changes from the staging server to live or vice versa.

Lots of hosting providers, including Cloudways, offer their own backup solutions, so having two sets of backups may excessive, but when you need it, you need it.

Preventing data loss is something I take very seriously.

Atarim

Atarim is my plugin of choice for managing change requests for your website project.

Atarim allows your website managers to add comments directly to specific elements on your website. For example, need to change a contact form field? Just select the field and leave a comment with your request and Atarim will handle the rest.

No more lengthy back-and-forth with your web developer requesting screenshots, console logs, browser, and device details. Atarim will capture it all, so you can just flag an issue and I can handle it.

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Setting a Budget

How Much Does a Custom WordPress Website Cost?

A custom website is built to meet your business's requirements, while being performant and future-proof. There are a few things to consider when factoring the cost of a custom WordPress website:

Development Time

A senior-level WordPress developer - like myself - will bill more for their time than a less experienced developer. However, having a deep understand of WordPress, its ecosystem, and a proven development process will save hours of your time and frustration.

Don't go cheap and end up building your businesses website twice. It's there to be a revenue generator, not a constant source of headaches.

Number of Page Templates

Modern websites usually incorporate a "design language", where fundamental elements - like headings, buttons, text blocks, forms, menus, etc. - are defined and then combined to form different sections or blocks.

For simple websites, a designer will only need to define the fundamental elements and a few templates. Bigger sites often have more unique templates, which need to be designed and built.

Content Creation

One of the biggest hurdles to creating a new website is the time and effort spent during the content creation process. Copy needs to be written, media needs to be source or produced, and it all needs to fit into a well-designed page structure.

I don't offer content creation services, but I have trusted creative partners who can help with copy, photography, and research.

3rd-Party Integrations

Most businesses have requirements for 3rd-party integrations for things like lead generation, analytics, marketing, etc. For the more popular integrations, i.e. Salesforce, Hubspot, Google Analytics, etc. there are already off-the-shelf tools that can be installed.

But it's often the case that custom integrations or workflows are needed for your specific business requirements - usually something an experienced developer can set-up correctly.

Ongoing Hosting & Maintenance

A website isn't one-and-done. After it's built - like any other complex machine - it needs to be looked after. Without a maintenance plan in place, a website will slowly degrade as software becomes deprecated, content goes stale, and integrations stop working.

If you really care about keeping your up-to-date and working for you, then you should factor in costs for monthly maintenance, hosting, and miscellaneous costs, like license fees for premium plugins.

SEO & Marketing

Once a website is live, it's unlikely to immediately start ranking on search engine results pages for the search queries you are targeting. It requires considerable, sustained effort to rank your website, with many factors to consider.

If it's your goal to bring in traffic from search engines and social media, you need to have a well thought out, long-term strategy with measurable goals set-up to track performance.

Given my years of experience working with B2B clients, I am able to give initial estimates for new websites, features, and functionality - remaining competitive by offering an hourly rate for development and consulting services.

I am a highly experienced, results-driven WordPress specialist based in London UK, with a solid portfolio of websites for B2B clients that have delivered returns on their investments many times over.

I deliver no-nonsense, performant, custom WordPress sites for small businesses, creative agencies, and third-sector organisations that you can't just buy off-the-shelf. Each website is tailored to my clients' specific requirements to maximise their ROI.

Developing a WordPress website should be considered an investment. A well-thought-out website, should be one of your main sources of new online leads, sales, and growth for your business.

Once your site is ready, you will have a solid foundation from which to build your marketing and sales efforts on. Allowing your WordPress site to work for you, while you work on your business.

I work at a competitive hourly rate, which allows freedom for feature requests, and scope changes, while remaining transparent about costs. I always offer an initial estimate for any bits of work - as well as my technical advice and potential alternative solutions, which may be more cost effective - so you can get an idea of costs before getting started.

To discuss your WordPress project and get a free estimate, you can book an intro call today.

A cute tiger wearing a top hat, surrounded by gold coins

Case Studies

Results Delivered for Clients

The Cocktail Society

Personalised Subscription Boxes

James Whayman helped The Cocktail Society with the development of a WordPress website for a new subscription service. The subscription features their line of premium bottled cocktails, cocktail mixes and snacks.

The subscription service - powered by WooCommerce, WooCommerce Subscriptions, and a custom-built WordPress plugin - has seen an excellent subscriber growth and a high customer retention rate, partly due to a well architected, easy-to-use platform for subscribers to manage their subscriptions, accounts, and personalisations.

Recruitment Revolution

Custom ATS Integrations

Working with Recruitment Revolution, James Whayman built a custom WordPress recruitment website as a marketing tool, and real-time jobs board for job seekers.

The jobs board functionality was built from the ground up in order to interface directly with the client's in-house CRM, syncing job postings and updates in real time, as well as allowing job seekers to apply for roles.

The flexibility offered by the custom WordPress plugin, has allowed Recruitment Revolution to focus on their core business, while their internal CRM and jobs board plugin takes care of the admin for its clients and candidates.

Beast Bin Bags

As-You-Go Subscriptions

James Whayman worked with Beast Bin Bags to design and build a custom WooCommerce subscription service, shipping household consumables to subscribers at specific intervals unique to each customer.

Customers are able to manage their renewal dates and adjust product quantities and sizes, all from an easy-to-use interface, using the WooCommerce & WooCommerce Subscriptions plugins with lots of custom coding.

The custom checkout and subscription features reduced customer sign-up friction and subscriber churn, allowing Beast Bin Bags to focus on optimising other areas of their business and new subscription products.

Let's get started

Isn't it time you had a website that works for you?

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“Just dropping another line to let you know that basically everyone at King's is in love with the CSGS website, from the faculty in our department to the higher up deans. There is a sense of relief that now King's has a serious, beautiful website to match its research reputation. If you ever need any testimonials or reviews of your work, please don't hesitate to let me know, as there are about a million people over here ready to praise you!”
Irena Schneider
King's College London

Services

  • New WordPress Website Builds
  • White-Label & Outsourcing Services for Creative Agencies
  • WordPress Theme Development
  • WordPress Plugin Development
  • eCommerce Development

About

We are building custom WordPress websites for small businesses and creative agencies, since 2013.
​WildPress Ltd. Registered in England.
№ 08420158 — VAT № GB239983549
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