WordPress Website Designer
Custom WordPress sites since 2011, easy for you to edit
About 4 in 10 websites run on WordPress, and it suits a small business well. It grows as you add services, and you can change your own text and photos. As a WordPress website designer for small businesses, I do the whole job myself, including the plan, the words, the design, the build, and the search setup on every page. Your site fits your business, loads quickly, and stays easy to edit.
Why WordPress works for a small business
It grows with you, you can edit it yourself, and it gives search room to work.
A website platform is the software a site runs on. It decides what the site can do, who can edit it, and how far it can grow. WordPress is free, open-source software, which means anyone can use it and a worldwide community of developers keeps improving it. It runs everything from local shops to national news sites.
It grows with your business
Most small businesses start with a few pages and add more over the years, like a new service, a second location, a blog, a gallery of finished jobs, an online store. WordPress takes all of it on the same site. A ten-page site can grow to fifty pages without starting over, and the design and the search work carry forward with it.
You can make changes yourself
New hours, a new photo, or a news post shouldn't have to wait on a developer. On the sites I build, you edit a page on screen, as visitors will see it, with no code involved. Some owners make changes every week. Others send me a request. The site works either way.
Search has room to work
Search engine optimization, or SEO, depends on details a visitor never notices, like each page's web address, its title and summary in Google's results, the structured data that describes your business, the sitemap Google uses to find your pages, and the redirects that send an old address to a new one. WordPress gives me control over every one of them.
A plugin for most jobs
Plugins are add-ons that give a WordPress site new features, like forms, booking calendars, online stores, event listings, pages for members only. Tens of thousands exist, so most features a small business needs already have a well-tested option. Every plugin is one more piece to keep updated, so I use a few good ones and leave out the rest.
It needs regular care
WordPress and its plugins release updates often, for new features and for security fixes. A site that goes years without them slows down, starts to break, and becomes an easy target for hackers. Keeping up with updates is part of running any WordPress site, and a website care plan handles it.
What I build with
The same short list of proven tools, on every site I build.
As a WordPress web designer, I build every site from the same short list of proven tools. I use them on every project, so I know how they work together and how they handle updates.
Forms
Contact and quote forms that ask the questions you need answered, then send every request straight to your inbox.
Sent to your inboxSEO plugin
It manages each page's title and summary in Google, plus the sitemap, redirects, and structured data for search.
Titles, sitemap, redirectsPage builder
I design every page in Elementor Pro, an editor that shows the page as visitors will see it. You use it for your own changes.
Elementor ProTheme
The base layer that sets the site's layout and styles. Mine is built for speed, so phones have little extra code to load.
Light and fastHosting
Servers set up just for WordPress sites, with caching for speed, daily backups, and a secure connection on every page.
Built for WordPressOther plugins come in only when a feature calls for one, like a store or a booking calendar. I pick each one for how well its makers keep it updated. A short plugin list loads faster, breaks less often, and keeps every update simple.
A design made for your business
Each page gets a layout made for its job.
Thousands of ready-made WordPress themes promise a finished site in an afternoon. Add a logo and some photos, and the site looks like the theme’s demo with a new name on it. The layout was drawn up before anyone knew your business, and other companies are using the same one.
I design each site around what it has to say. First comes discovery, where I learn your business, your customers, and what they search for. Then comes the site plan, which sets out the pages you need, what each one covers, and what a visitor should do next. Then each page gets a layout made for its job. A service page opens with photos of that work and a button to request a quote. An About page puts you and your story up front. A page of common questions is laid out so people can scan it for theirs.
The look comes from your business, drawing on your logo, your colors, your photos, and the way you talk to your customers. Fonts and colors are set once for the whole site, so every page matches, including the pages you add years from now. Each layout is designed for phones and desktops together and tested at real screen sizes before launch.
If you need a logo, I can design it in the same project, so the two share one look from the start.
"Josh built our site from the ground up. We had an outdated site that we scrapped and started completely over. He was very knowledgeable and assisted every step of the way with the design of our site. He came up with designs based off of our suggestions and needs and added input when asked. I would recommend him to anyone looking to update or start a website."
Speed and security, built in from the start
Fast and secure on launch day, then kept that way.
A slow site loses visitors before the page appears, and Google favors pages that load quickly. A hacked site can send your customers to spam pages or sit behind a red warning in their browser. Both problems are far easier to prevent during the build than to fix later.
How the site stays fast
How the site stays secure
Security keeps moving after launch. New weak spots turn up in popular plugins every week, and their makers release fixes. On a care plan, I apply those updates and keep the backups current. Hardening, cleanup after a hack, and the rest of the security work have a page of their own.
Want a site built this way?
Tell me about itMoving from Wix or Squarespace to WordPress
No button moves a site, so I rebuild it on WordPress, step by step.
Wix and Squarespace make it easy to put up a site yourself, and plenty of businesses start there. As a business grows, its owner may want more than the builder offers, like more control over search, a feature the platform can’t add, a design that stands apart from the templates, or someone to handle the website for them.
No button moves a site from either platform to WordPress. Wix has no export tool, and Squarespace exports only part of a site. So moving means rebuilding the site on WordPress, which makes the move a good time to improve it.
- Every page listed
- Old addresses redirected
- Domain pointed
- Forms tested
- Old plan canceled last
A record of the old site
I list every page on the old site and its web address, and note which pages bring in visits from Google.
A plan for the new site
Services that shared a page can each get their own, and anything missing gets a place. You approve the plan first.
Your content, carried over
Words that work are kept and edited, and the rest is rewritten. Photos move over, named and sized for the web.
Redirects for old addresses
Each old address points to its new page, so bookmarks, links from other sites, and Google's records still work.
Your domain, pointed over
Your domain stays with the company where it's registered. On launch day, it starts sending visitors to the new site.
The old site stays live
Your current site keeps running while I build. Cancel your Wix or Squarespace plan once the new site is live.
Moving from Wix or Squarespace?
Send your web addressWordPress sites I've built
A wedding studio, a flooring store, a product sold online, and more.
Each of these businesses runs on a WordPress site I designed and built, including a wedding studio, a flooring store with two locations, a product sold online, a cabinet shop, a design-build contractor, and an insurance agency.
Love and Beauty Maui
+51%Inquiries versus the year before launchA page for each kind of booking, with search set up from the first day.
Read the case study
Troyer Transformations
2.1xQuote requests, 2025 against 2022A cabinet shop's WordPress site. Working together since 2018.
Read the case study
Family Value Flooring
1,000+Different searches that bring people to the siteA new name, a second store, and one WordPress site for both.
Read the case study
Therm-A-Guard
A product for electric utilities, sold online.
Read the case study
DR Miller Design Build
A design-build contractor, working together since 2015.
See the project
Maconachy Stradley
An insurance agency, same site since 2015.
Read the case studyQuestions about WordPress website design
Still have a question?
Ask me directlyIs WordPress good for a small business website?
WordPress is a good choice for most small business websites, because it grows from a few pages to hundreds, lets you edit your own content, and gives full control over search settings. About 4 in 10 websites run on it, so most features a small business needs already have a well-tested plugin. It does need regular updates, and a website care plan handles them.
What's the difference between a WordPress website and a custom-coded website?
A WordPress website runs on ready-made, open-source software that handles pages, editing, and search settings, while a custom-coded website is written from scratch for one purpose. WordPress usually costs less to build, it's easier for an owner to edit, and plugins add most features. Custom code makes sense for an unusual web application. Most small businesses are best served by WordPress with a design made for them.
Is WordPress or Webflow better for a small business?
WordPress is usually the better fit for a small business that expects to grow, because it can run on any host and has a well-tested plugin for most features. Webflow suits design-heavy marketing sites, but a Webflow site has to stay on Webflow's own hosting, and it has fewer add-ons for features like booking calendars or member pages. I build on WordPress, so your site can grow without changing platforms.
What's the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
WordPress.org is the free software you install on your own hosting, while WordPress.com is a separate company that hosts sites on its own plans. Some WordPress.com plans limit which plugins and themes a site can use. The sites I build run the free software from WordPress.org on hosting set up for WordPress, so your site can use whatever plugin or design it needs.
How often does WordPress need updates?
WordPress releases a few major updates a year, with smaller security updates in between, and most plugins update several times a year too. Skipping them leaves a site slow, broken, or easy to hack. On a care plan, I update WordPress, the theme, and the plugins, and the site is backed up before every update.
How much does a WordPress website cost?
The WordPress software is free, so the cost of a WordPress website is the work. That covers the plan, the words, the design, the build, and the search setup. The price depends on how many pages the site needs, whether it includes a logo or a store, and how much search work your market calls for. On our call, we talk through what your site needs, and I aim for the right blend of price and quality.
How long does it take to build a WordPress website?
Building a WordPress website takes longer with more pages, an online store, or a move from another platform, and it goes faster when the draft words and photos come back quickly. We set the timeline for your site on our call, once we know the page list and the features it needs.
Can I update my WordPress site myself?
Yes, you can update your WordPress site yourself. Log in, open a page, and click the words or the photo you want to change. The editor shows the page the way visitors see it, so you know how a change looks before you publish it. Adding a blog post or a finished project works the same way. If you want to make changes yourself, I walk you through how. If you'd rather not, send me a request.
Can you move my site to WordPress, or to new hosting?
Yes, I can move your site to WordPress or to new hosting. A site on Wix, Squarespace, or another builder is rebuilt on WordPress, with every old address redirected to its new page. A WordPress site moving to new hosting is copied over whole, including its files, its database, and its settings. I test the copy on the new server before the domain switches over, so the site stays up through the move.
Can you build an online store with WooCommerce?
Yes, I build online stores with WooCommerce, a free plugin that turns a WordPress site into a store with products, a cart, checkout, shipping, and sales tax. It takes payments through services like Stripe and PayPal. The site I built for Therm-A-Guard includes a store where buyers order its product for electric utilities. If you plan to sell online, include it in your request.
Can you work on a WordPress site someone else built?
Yes, I can work on a WordPress site someone else built, starting with a full backup and a look at how it was put together. I check the theme, the page builder, the plugins, and how far behind on updates each one is, and you get a plain summary. A dated look can often get a new design on the same site. If the theme or the plugins hold it back, rebuilding is usually better. Either way, any page address that changes gets a redirect.
Do you host WordPress sites?
Yes, I host WordPress sites as part of the website care plan, on servers set up for WordPress, along with updates, backups, and security. A question about the site or the hosting goes to the same person, and every site on a care plan runs on my hosting.
Can my WordPress site connect to the tools I already use?
Yes, your WordPress site can usually connect to the booking, scheduling, email newsletter, payment, and review tools you already use, through a plugin or a short piece of code. List the tools you use in your request, and the site plan includes them from the start, so nothing has to be added in a rush after launch.
Start your WordPress website.
Describe your business and what the new site should do. Say whether you’re starting fresh, moving from another platform, or working from a WordPress site you already have. I’ll reply to set up a short call. If we’re a good fit, I’ll walk you through how we get started. From there, you get a WordPress site you can update yourself, or one I look after for you. Send the form to begin.