What happens when a WordPress core update breaks the plugin?

It is far less likely if the plugin was built on documented hooks and filters rather than on core internals that were never meant to be stable, which is how we build. When something does break — usually a deprecation in a major release — a maintenance plan covers the fix. Without a plan we quote the fix as a small job. Either way you have the source, so you are not forced to come back to us.

Should this be a plugin or a change to my theme?

If it is functionality, it belongs in a plugin. Anything in the theme disappears the day you redesign. Presentation belongs in the theme. We will tell you which one your request actually is during scoping.

How long does a plugin take to build?

A focused single-purpose plugin is usually two to three weeks from kickoff. WooCommerce work touching checkout or subscriptions runs four to six weeks, most of that in testing rather than writing code. Integrations depend on the third-party API.

Can you work on a plugin someone else wrote?

Yes, and it is a common request. We start with a paid review of the codebase so we can tell you honestly whether fixing it or rewriting it is cheaper. Sometimes it is the rewrite, and we would rather say that at the start than three weeks in.

Do you build plugins we can sell?

Yes. That includes the parts people forget: licence key validation, activation limits, an update server so customers get new versions from within their dashboard, and a renewal flow. Those are scoped separately from the plugin itself.

Will the plugin slow my site down?

A custom plugin doing one job is normally faster than the two or three general-purpose plugins it replaces, because it loads only the code your site uses. We load admin code only in the admin, keep queries off uncached paths, and use custom tables when post meta stops scaling.

You do, on final payment. WordPress plugins inherit the GPL, and we hand over the full source and the repository. There is no licence from us that limits what you or another developer can do with it.

WordPress & WooCommerce

WordPress Plugin Development for Businesses That Outgrew Off-the-Shelf

Custom WordPress plugin development for teams who have installed every plugin in the directory and still cannot do the one thing their business actually needs. We build the missing piece — as a proper plugin, on WordPress' own APIs, so it keeps working after the next core update.

Get a Fixed-Price Quote See our plugins

The plugin directory runs out before your requirements do

The usual sequence: you find a plugin that does eighty per cent of what you need, then bolt on a second plugin to cover the gap, then a snippet in functions.php from a forum post, then a third plugin to fix what the second one broke.

Now the site loads a hundred kilobytes of code you do not use, two of the plugins fight over the same hook, and nobody wants to run updates because last time something in checkout stopped working for a day before anyone noticed.

The alternative is one plugin that does exactly your thing and nothing else. Smaller, faster, and — because you own it — updatable on your schedule rather than a vendor's.

If you are not sure which of the plugins on a site have been left behind, our free WordPress Plugin Risk Report scans any public site and tells you which of its plugins are abandoned, outdated or no longer listed in the directory.

What we build

We also publish our own plugins, which you can look through on the plugins page — the same standards apply to client work.

Custom WordPress plugins

Purpose-built functionality on the Plugin API: custom post types, admin screens, cron jobs, shortcodes and blocks. No theme lock-in, so switching themes later does not delete your features.

WooCommerce extensions

Custom product types, pricing rules, checkout fields, shipping and payment logic, subscription behaviour, and order workflows that match how you actually sell.

REST API and third-party integrations

Two-way syncs with CRMs, ERPs, accounting systems, fulfilment providers and internal tools. Queued, retried and logged, so a supplier's API going down for an hour does not silently lose orders.

Plugin licensing and update systems

If you sell your plugin, you need licence keys, activation limits, an update server and a renewal flow. We build that side too, so paying customers get updates and expired ones stop receiving them.

Gutenberg blocks and admin interfaces

Editor blocks and settings screens built with the block editor's own React components, so they look and behave like the rest of WordPress instead of a bolted-on iframe.

Rescue work on existing plugins

Inherited a plugin from a developer who has moved on? We take over undocumented codebases: fix the conflicts, bring it up to current PHP and WordPress standards, and document it so the next person is not stuck.

How we work

Scope
We go through the actual workflow, on your actual site, including the plugins already installed. Conflicts are cheaper to find now than after the build.
Fixed quote
A written scope and a fixed price before development starts. If something turns out to be smaller than expected, we say so.
Build and test
Development on a staging copy of your site, tested against the current WordPress release and the previous major one, plus your PHP version and your theme.
Handover
The full source, documentation for your team, and a written note on what to check after major WordPress or WooCommerce releases.

What we build on

We build on WordPress' documented APIs rather than patching core or overriding another plugin's internals. It is slower to write and far cheaper to maintain. For anything outside WordPress, see web development.

Languages: PHP 8, JavaScript, TypeScript
WordPress: Plugin API, hooks and filters, WP-CLI, Gutenberg block editor
Commerce: WooCommerce, Subscriptions, payment gateway APIs
Data: MySQL, custom tables where post meta stops scaling, object caching
Quality: WordPress Coding Standards via PHPCS, PHPUnit, version-controlled in Git

What a plugin costs to build

What drives the number is how much of WordPress the plugin has to touch. A plugin that does one clear job behind its own settings screen is a different piece of work from a WooCommerce extension that sits in checkout, where payment, tax and refund paths all need testing against real orders rather than a demo store.

Integrations with an external CRM or ERP depend mostly on the other system's API, so we scope those after reading its documentation, not before — quoting one blind is how a two-week job becomes a two-month one. Plugin licensing and update infrastructure is scoped separately, because it is a product decision rather than a plugin feature.

Ongoing maintenance — compatibility checks against new WordPress and WooCommerce releases, fixes, small changes — is priced against the plugin once it exists, and is optional. Plenty of clients take the handover and maintain it in-house.

Send us what the plugin needs to do and which plugins you have already tried. Tell us about the plugin and you will get a written scope and a fixed price for it — not an hourly rate and an estimate that moves.

Why work with us

Core updates are a design requirement, not a surprise
Plugins break on update when they depend on things WordPress never promised to keep stable. We build against documented hooks and filters, avoid private functions, and test on the current release plus the previous major one before handover.
You get the source and the documentation
No obfuscation, no licence that stops another developer from working on it. It is your plugin, in your repository.
We check the plugins you already have
Half the bugs blamed on a new plugin come from an old one fighting it for the same hook. Finding that during scoping is part of the job.
You get a fixed price, not an hourly rate
We scope the plugin in writing and quote one number for it. If it turns out smaller than it looked once we have seen the site, we say so rather than billing the estimate.

Frequently asked questions

What happens when a WordPress core update breaks the plugin?: It is far less likely if the plugin was built on documented hooks and filters rather than on core internals that were never meant to be stable, which is how we build. When something does break — usually a deprecation in a major release — a maintenance plan covers the fix. Without a plan we quote the fix as a small job. Either way you have the source, so you are not forced to come back to us.
Should this be a plugin or a change to my theme?: If it is functionality, it belongs in a plugin. Anything in the theme disappears the day you redesign. Presentation belongs in the theme. We will tell you which one your request actually is during scoping.
How long does a plugin take to build?: A focused single-purpose plugin is usually two to three weeks from kickoff. WooCommerce work touching checkout or subscriptions runs four to six weeks, most of that in testing rather than writing code. Integrations depend on the third-party API.
Can you work on a plugin someone else wrote?: Yes, and it is a common request. We start with a paid review of the codebase so we can tell you honestly whether fixing it or rewriting it is cheaper. Sometimes it is the rewrite, and we would rather say that at the start than three weeks in.
Do you build plugins we can sell?: Yes. That includes the parts people forget: licence key validation, activation limits, an update server so customers get new versions from within their dashboard, and a renewal flow. Those are scoped separately from the plugin itself.
Will the plugin slow my site down?: A custom plugin doing one job is normally faster than the two or three general-purpose plugins it replaces, because it loads only the code your site uses. We load admin code only in the admin, keep queries off uncached paths, and use custom tables when post meta stops scaling.
Who owns the code?: You do, on final payment. WordPress plugins inherit the GPL, and we hand over the full source and the repository. There is no licence from us that limits what you or another developer can do with it.

Other services

Browse everything we build on the software development services hub, or see recent builds in our portfolio.

AI Automation Services

Chatbots, AI agents and workflow automation that remove repetitive manual work. Built on OpenAI, Claude, n8n and your existing tools.

Web Development Services

Fast, SEO-ready websites and web applications in Next.js, React and WordPress. Headless CMS, e-commerce, progressive web apps and API integration.

SaaS Development Services

Multi-tenant platforms with dashboards, subscription billing, user management and cloud deployment. MVP through to scale.

Tell us what WordPress will not do

Describe the thing your site cannot currently do, or the plugin stack that keeps breaking. We will tell you whether it needs a custom plugin, a fix to an existing one, or nothing at all — and what it would cost.

Get a Fixed-Price Quote