One developer, 20+ years

WordPress and WooCommerce development

If you hire me, you deal with the developer. Not an agency's front desk - the person who will actually open your site's code.

First Ideas is a one-developer Wiltshire studio with over twenty years of building for the web behind it. I work with businesses whose site has outgrown its theme, whose plugins fight each other, whose shop needs features no off-the-shelf solution has - and with businesses starting from scratch who want it built properly the first time.

Everything is quoted fixed, in writing, before work starts.

Start with the problem Browse the work

What I do

Builds, rescues, speed and the shop - all by the same pair of hands.

Custom WordPress builds. Themes built for your business, not bought templates. Clean, fast, and editable by you afterwards.

WooCommerce development. Shops, product builders, checkout customisation, payment and shipping logic. Bigger ecommerce jobs have their own page.

Fixes and rescues. The site a previous developer left behind, the plugin update that broke everything, the page builder that's ground to a halt. I untangle WordPress sites for a living, and I'll tell you honestly whether yours is worth untangling or better rebuilt.

Plugin work. Custom plugins for the feature you can't find, and surgery on the ones you have.

Speed. Core Web Vitals, image handling, caching, hosting that isn't the cheapest shelf of a reseller. Slow WordPress sites are nearly always fixable.

Hosting and maintenance. Updates, backups, security and day-to-day changes, covered properly on the website care page.

ToolkitStack Platform

Not just small sites

A fair question for any solo developer: can you handle something big? Here's the honest answer in projects rather than adjectives. I built and run ToolkitStack, an AI-assisted SEO and content platform operating across multiple live healthcare websites. I've built community platforms, directories with over a thousand listings, and launch sites for a global gaming project. The same hands build the village pub's site, and the big builds are why the pub's site is built well.

The full set is in the work gallery.

How I work

Tell me the problem.

A broken thing, a slow thing, or a blank page and an idea.

I look before I quote.

For fixes and rescues, I'll look at what's actually there first - diagnosis before prescription.

Fixed quote in writing.

Scope, price, what's included. Changes to scope are agreed in writing too.

Built on staging, tracked in git.

You can see work in progress on a test copy of your site; nothing is edited live and nothing is unrecoverable.

Launch and handover.

Tested, launched, documented. Stay for hosting and maintenance or take it in-house - your site either way.

Common questions

The answers every agency page dodges, answered. Got a different one?

Ask a question

How much does a WordPress developer cost in the UK?

Published UK rates run from around £60 an hour for experienced freelancers, with typical project work starting around £2,500 and going well beyond £5,000 for complex builds. I don't price by the hour on this page because every job is different - I price by the job, fixed and in writing, after I've seen what's involved.

Can you fix a site someone else built?

Yes - it's some of my most regular work. I'll tell you up front if a rebuild would be cheaper than a rescue.

Do I have to move my hosting to you?

No. I can work on your existing hosting. If it's part of the problem, I'll say so and you can decide.

Will my site still be editable by me?

Yes. I build so you can change your own content. If you'd rather never log in, my £30-a-month plan exists precisely so you can email changes to me instead.

Who owns the site?

You do - code, content and domain, and if we part ways they go with you, with a full copy of the files.

Do you use page builders?

Where they serve the client, yes; where they're the reason the site is slow, I'll say so. The choice gets made for your site, not by my habits.

WooCommerce or something else for my shop?

WooCommerce suits most UK businesses that want to own their shop outright. If your situation points elsewhere, I'll tell you rather than force the fit.

Where are you based?

Ogbourne St George, near Marlborough in Wiltshire. Most work happens remotely for clients across the UK; I'm happy to meet where it helps.

★★★★★

"It's always a pleasure to work with First Ideas Web Design Ltd. Gordon is a very patient, responsive and knowledgeable person there. I will always be happy to work with them."

Anjan · 5.0 on Google

Start with the problem.

Describe what's broken, slow or missing. You'll get a straight answer about whether it's worth fixing - even when the answer is "don't pay me to do this".

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