Pressing Space

Custom WordPress Development Services

I provide custom WordPress web development services for enterprise clients and agencies across the UK. From custom themes and plugins to full-stack solutions, I build WordPress sites using modern development tooling and practices.

I can help at every stage, from ideas validation, to choosing the right hosting environment, to building custom themes and plugins, setting up continuous deployment pipelines, and optimising your site for AI-driven search.

What is WordPress?

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that lets you create, edit, and publish website content without writing any code. It powers over 40% of all websites on the internet, from personal blogs to major news publishers and enterprise platforms. As open source software, WordPress is free to use, modify, and extend, which has fostered a global community of developers and an ecosystem of thousands of themes and plugins.

Why is WordPress Popular?

WordPress has become the world’s most popular CMS because it balances ease of use with flexibility. Content editors can manage pages, posts, and media through an intuitive admin interface, while developers can build sophisticated custom functionality. Its widespread adoption means finding skilled developers is straightforward, and the core platform is continuously improved by a dedicated open source community.

Themes

WordPress themes define the visual appearance of your site, including page layouts, typography, colours, and how the site behaves across different devices and screen sizes.

Custom themes let you express your brand identity precisely and can improve performance and SEO by including only what your site needs.

Plugins

Plugins let you extend your site with exactly the functionality you need, without touching WordPress core. The official plugin repository offers thousands of options, from SEO and security to e-commerce.

Custom plugins go a step further, providing bespoke features tailored to your business requirements and giving your site a unique, competitive edge.

Full-Stack WordPress Development

As a full-stack WordPress developer I use modern development tools and practices to build the frontend of your website, to customise the WordPress editor, and to integrate your site with third-party services and APIs.

WordPress Theme Development

My custom WordPress themes are built with Tailwind CSS, Interactivity API, and use enterprise CI/CD for testing and deployment.

WordPress Theme Development

WordPress Plugin Development

As a long-time open source plugin author, I build custom WordPress plugins to WordPress VIP standards using modern tooling, Composer for autoloading and dependencies, and enterprise CI/CD for testing and deployment.

WordPress Plugin Development

WordPress AI Optimisation

I optimise WordPress sites for AI using custom blocks, semantic HTML, JSON-LD schemas and MCP adapter integrations. This allows AI assistants to accurately cite, recommend, and even directly modify your content.

WordPress AI Optimisation

Internationalisation & Multilingual Sites

I build WordPress themes and plugins that work across languages. As an open source plugin developer all my code uses internationalisation (i18n) functions as standard, and I have experience working with WordPress Multisite/Network, WPML and Polylang to deliver large-scale multilingual projects.

My i18n Experience

Some of my largest WordPress projects have been multilingual sites for renowned global pharmaceutical and automotive brands. My i18n experience enables me to choose an approach that fits your project requirements.

Translation-Ready Code

I code my WordPress themes and plugins using i18n functions, so both the frontend and WordPress admin are ready to be translated. My sites are ready for translation from day one, not retrofitted later.

Third-Party Integrations

I integrate your WordPress website with external services, APIs and AI assistants to extend your site’s capabilities.

Service and API Connections

I can connect your WordPress website to third-party systems including CRMs, payment processors, email platforms, booking systems, and REST APIs.

Custom AI Abilities using MCP

My custom MCP abilities allow AI to access your WordPress site directly, so you can query and edit the settings and content of your website directly from your favourite AI assistant.

Enterprise-Scale WordPress Development

My WordPress sites are fast, secure, and fully compliant, with a proven track record at enterprise scale for leading global brands and major news publishers.

Performance Optimisation

I improve load times, search rankings and visitor experience using CDN, object caching, image optimisation, lazy loading, and Core Web Vitals.

Security Hardening

I harden security within WordPress and on the server, and I’m able to recommend when plugins or custom code should be used to secure your site.

Hosting & Environment Setup

I can help you choose specialist WordPress hosting that is fast, robust, supports modern development workflows, and doesn’t sabotage your visibility to AI.

AI-Friendly Environments

Some hosts and services block AI crawlers by default, making your site invisible to assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity.

I’ve worked with many specialist WordPress hosts, including WordPress VIP. Working together we can procure and configure environments that are ready for AI-search.

Simple Releases and Deployments

The CI/CD pipelines I create for my custom WordPress plugins and themes generate a ZIP file with a version number for every release.

These ZIP files are archived, always available for testing/rollbacks, and are ready to deploy automatically or manually to your environments.

Interactivity API

The Interactivity API is the official way to add interactivity to WordPress blocks without writing custom JavaScript. I use this in my themes and plugins to build stable, interactive components to WordPress core standards.

Declarative Interactivity for Custom Blocks

My custom interactive blocks – including tabs and modals – use core JavaScript instead of third-party libraries or custom code that is more difficult to write, test, and maintain.

Server-Side Rendering

My dynamic blocks created with the Interactivity API render complete HTML on the server. This approach provides fast initial page loads, and is SEO-friendly and GEO-friendly by default.

Stu’s ability to balance creative thinking with practical execution made a real difference in the success of our project

Frequently Asked Questions

No, I focus on development and prototyping. I can collaborate with your design team or recommend a designer from my network.

I do most of my work remotely from my Margate studio, with daily stand-ups and catch-ups on Slack, Teams, or your preferred platform. I’m available to work on-site across the UK and internationally when required.

I charge a competitive day rate, available on request, and if your development budget exceeds 10,000 GBP and you have known deliverables then I will consider a fixed project fee with discounts. Every project is scoped individually based on your specific requirements and includes proposed phases, deadlines and payment schedules.

It typically takes me 1-3 months to build a typical simple site from ready-to-build UX or high-fidelity designs, depending on the scale of the site and the complexity of any interactions. Complex custom sites – or projects with unknown designs/deliverables – can take 3-6+ months to build. I provide detailed timelines during the scoping phase so you know what to expect.

I write custom WordPress plugins for most of my projects because – within reason – I only include code that’s directly related to the styling of your website in WordPress themes. Most projects require code that isn’t directly related to styling, so I put this into a custom plugin. This separation makes it simpler for you to switch/update your theme at a later date without adverse effects such as pages or sections disappearing from your site.

No. I write the code for all my work personally, with no outsourcing or offshoring.

Yes. I have Professional Indemnity and Public Liability cover.

I hand over code that is clean, modular, well-documented and fully maintainable by any competent WordPress developer. I always include handover documentation, and I can provide knowledge transfer sessions to ensure your team can continue development independently if you wish to.

Say Hello!

hello@pressingspace.com