WordPress development & design, Melbourne
WordPress Developer & Web Designer in Melbourne
I'm a Melbourne WordPress developer and designer with more than ten years of experience. Most of the 100+ sites I've launched run on WordPress, for small businesses in Melbourne and across Australia. You deal with me directly, and you end up with a site you can update yourself.
- 10+ years building on WordPress
- 100+ websites launched
- From $1,500, fixed quote
Why people hire me for WordPress
Ten years as a WordPress developer, from new builds to rescue jobs
I started building WordPress sites for small businesses more than ten years ago, and it's still most of what I do. In that time I've built new sites from scratch, redesigned old ones, set up WooCommerce stores, moved businesses off Wix and Squarespace, and cleaned up sites that were slow, broken or hacked.
That second half of the work has shaped how I build. Most WordPress problems I get called in to fix come from the same few causes: cheap hosting, twenty plugins where five would do, a theme nobody has updated in years, and no backups. So every site I build starts on decent hosting, with a short plugin list, and with backups and updates set up before launch.
You also won't be locked out of your own website. You get full admin access, the hosting and domain are in your name, and I show you how to edit pages, swap photos and publish blog posts before we launch.
WordPress development services
- New WordPress websites
- Designed for your business, built on WordPress, with your content loaded and tested on phones before launch.
- Redesigns
- A new look and structure for an outdated WordPress site, keeping your URLs and Google rankings in place.
- WooCommerce stores
- Product pages, payments, shipping rules and order emails set up for small online shops.
- Speed and repair work
- Slow pages, broken layouts after an update, plugin conflicts and malware clean-ups.
- Moving to WordPress
- Pages, blog posts and images moved from Wix, Squarespace or an old CMS, with redirects so you don't lose traffic.
- Care after launch
- Updates, backups and small changes through website management.
How I set up a WordPress site
The parts most people never see, done properly
Hosting that suits the site. I'll recommend Australian-based hosting where it makes sense, set up SSL and email properly, and make sure your domain is registered to you.
A short plugin list. Each plugin is another thing to update and another way in for attackers. I only install what the site needs, usually an SEO plugin, a forms plugin, a backup tool and a security tool.
Editing that makes sense. Pages are built so you can change text and images without breaking the layout. I avoid setups where one wrong click wipes out a section.
SEO basics from day one. Page titles, meta descriptions, headings, image alt text, a sitemap and Google Search Console, all set before launch rather than bolted on later.
Speed. Compressed images, caching and a lean theme, so the site loads quickly on a phone over 4G.
How a project runs
From first call to a live WordPress site
- Day 1
Call and fixed quote
We talk through what the site needs to do and what you want to manage yourself. You get one fixed price in writing.
- Week 1
Design
I design the homepage and one inner page first and send them to you directly. We adjust until you're happy.
- Weeks 2–3
Build and content
The rest of the site is built in WordPress, your content goes in, and everything is tested on phones, tablets and desktop.
- Launch
Training and go-live
I walk you through editing your site, then we launch. A five-page site usually takes 2–3 weeks once your content is ready.
Hiring a WordPress developer in Melbourne
Freelance WordPress developer or an agency?
Melbourne has plenty of good WordPress agencies. If you need a team of designers, developers, SEO specialists and a project manager running several workstreams at once, an agency is the right call, and you'll pay for that team.
Most small businesses need something simpler: one experienced WordPress developer who designs the site, builds it, launches it and picks up the phone afterwards. That's what I do. There's no account manager in the middle, you're not paying agency overheads, and the person you briefed is the person writing the code.
What to check before you hire anyone
- Who does the work?
- Ask whether your site is built in-house, by a junior, or sent offshore.
- Who owns the site?
- Your domain, hosting and WordPress admin should be in your name, not the developer's.
- What happens after launch?
- Find out who does updates and backups, and what it costs.
- Can you see live examples?
- Look at real sites they've built and check them on your phone.
More on this in 7 questions to ask before hiring a web designer in Melbourne.
Pricing
What a WordPress developer costs
All prices are one-off, in AUD, and fixed before work starts.
BASIC
$1,500
5-page WordPress site with blog set up
ADVANCE
$2,000
Up to 8 pages, contact forms, maps and SEO set-up
PREMIUM
$3,000
Up to 12 pages, bookings or WooCommerce
See everything included in each package or read what web design costs in Melbourne.
FAQ
WordPress developer FAQs
For a small business site, expect roughly $1,500 to $3,000 with a freelance WordPress developer, and more with an agency. My packages start at $1,500 for five pages. Smaller jobs like fixes and updates are quoted separately.
WordPress gives you more control over SEO, design and features, and you own the site outright rather than renting it from a platform. Wix and Squarespace are fine for very simple sites. I've compared them in detail in WordPress vs Shopify vs Squarespace vs AI builders.
No. If you can use Word or Facebook, you can edit a WordPress page. Every build includes a training session so you know how to change text, images and blog posts.
Yes. A lot of my work is on existing WordPress sites: speed fixes, broken layouts, plugin conflicts, hacked sites and full redesigns. Send me the address and I'll tell you what I'd do.
Yes, when it's set up and kept up to date. Most hacked WordPress sites were running old plugins with no backups. Website management takes care of updates and backups for you.
Yes. Pages, blog posts and images come across, and I set up redirects from your old URLs so you keep your Google rankings. See website migration.
Fixed-price packages start at $1,500 for a five-page site. Larger sites and WooCommerce stores are quoted on scope. The Melbourne pricing guide has a full breakdown.