I don't recommend them and I don't build new sites with them. The block editor (Gutenberg) is mature enough now that page builders mostly cost you long-term maintenance and performance for short-term editing comfort. If you have an existing Elementor site, I can work with it or migrate it.
Freelance WordPress developer
WordPress Developer for Custom Themes, WooCommerce & Performance
I'm a freelance WordPress developer who builds real custom themes — not Elementor or page-builder mazes. PHP, the block editor, the REST API, and the parts of WooCommerce nobody wants to write.
What you'll get
How I work as a wordpress developer
Concrete deliverables, not a sales page. Here's what comes out of working together.
- Custom WordPress themes built from scratch (no page builders)
- Gutenberg block development with ACF + native registration
- WooCommerce extensions, custom payment flows, B2B features
- WordPress speed optimization (Core Web Vitals, real caching)
- WordPress REST API + headless WordPress with Next.js
- Migrations from page-builder bloat to maintainable code
What I actually do as a WordPress developer
Most WordPress projects I get called on are one of two things: (a) someone built a site with Elementor or Divi and now nobody can maintain it, or (b) a working site needs a real feature — a custom post type, a WooCommerce extension, a third-party integration — and the plugin marketplace doesn't have it.
I build custom themes from scratch using the block editor, ACF where it makes sense, and clean PHP. Themes I write don't ship with a page builder because page builders trade developer time for permanent performance and maintenance debt. If you're comfortable in the block editor, you don't need one.
WooCommerce work is a separate skill from generic WordPress. The schema, the order lifecycle, the checkout extensibility points, the subscription edge cases — there's a lot of surface area. If your store needs custom logic beyond what plugins ship with, that's where I come in.
How I approach a new WordPress project
Same starting point as any project: a free 15-minute call. I want to see the site, hear what's broken or missing, and figure out whether you actually need custom development or whether a well-chosen plugin would solve it for $50/year.
If it's a real engagement, I scope it on deliverables. For most builds, that's: theme architecture, custom blocks list, WooCommerce extensions, plugin integrations, performance target. I commit to the outcome, not to hours.
I work in a local environment, push to a staging site you can review, then deploy to production with a rollback plan. WordPress has too many ways to fail in production to skip the staging step.
WordPress and performance
Most WordPress sites are slow for one of three reasons: a bloated theme (usually page-builder), too many plugins, or no real caching. I work through them in that order. Switching from Elementor to a hand-built theme regularly cuts page weight by 60–70% — and the page is still fully editable in the block editor.
Real WordPress caching is more than installing a plugin and walking away. Object caching with Redis, full-page caching with the right exclusions, image delivery via a CDN, fonts loaded without blocking render. I set this up properly and document it so you can hand it to your next developer.
Headless WordPress and the REST API
WordPress makes a surprisingly good headless CMS — the REST API and WPGraphQL both give you clean access to content, ACF fields, and Gutenberg block data. I build a lot of marketing sites where WordPress is the editorial layer and Next.js renders the front.
It's not always the right call. If your team is comfortable in WordPress and your traffic doesn't justify the extra deploy pipeline, classic WordPress with a clean theme and proper caching beats headless on total cost. I'll be straight about which makes sense for your project.
Working with US-based WordPress clients
Most of the WordPress work I take on is for US-based businesses — agencies in New York and Chicago, DTC brands in California, B2B WooCommerce stores in Texas, content publishers across the country. I overlap US business hours so PRs, deploys, and content questions don't sit overnight.
Engagements run cleanly through US-friendly contracts and invoicing (Stripe, Wise, direct ACH). If you're working through an agency owner or an in-house marketing director, the communication cadence and the paperwork are not where this project is going to stall.
RelatedMore on this topic
Other pages on the site that go deeper into specific parts of this work.
FAQ
WordPress developer — frequently asked
Common questions about hiring a wordpress developer or booking sessions.
Freelance WordPress developers with experience usually run $60–$150/hr. I scope most work as deliverables — small custom blocks from $400, full WooCommerce extensions $1,500–$5,000, custom theme builds $5,000–$15,000.
Yes — both ACF blocks (faster, plugin-dependent) and native React-registered blocks (slower to build, no plugin dependency). I'll pick whichever fits your editorial workflow better.
Yes. Custom payment gateways, subscription edge cases, B2B/wholesale features, custom checkout fields, integrations with external order systems — all of it is in scope.
Yes. I do specialist engagements (performance, custom block development, WooCommerce extensions) for agencies whose generalist developers are stretched. Reach out and we'll structure it cleanly.
Next step
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