Bespoke WordPress Sites, Zero Template Debt
Custom WordPress website development from Davao City, Philippines. I build fast, SEO-optimized WordPress sites with custom themes, Elementor/Gutenberg builds, and full technical setup — no page builders hacked together, proper code.
Template Themes Make Every Business Look the Same
Premium WordPress themes like Divi, Avada, and OceanWP are built to sell to every industry at once. The result is a baseline design that fits no one well — your brand ends up fighting the template rather than expressing itself. Every competitor who bought the same theme is your neighbor in a sea of visual sameness.
Beyond aesthetics, template themes ship with thousands of lines of unused CSS and JavaScript for features you will never enable. That weight shows up as slower load times, more complex updates, and a page builder interface that locks your content into a proprietary shortcode format no other theme can understand.
A Website Written for Your Brand, Your Content, Your Team
Custom WordPress development starts from a blank canvas — your design system, your content types, your editorial workflow. The output is a lean, documented WordPress site with a Gutenberg block library your editors can use confidently without developer support.
- Zero legacy shortcodes — pure Gutenberg block architecture
- ACF-powered flexible content fields for structured data
- Custom post types and taxonomies matching your content model
- WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility from the first component
- Design token system (colors, spacing, typography) as CSS custom properties
Custom WordPress website types
Business Website
Professional multi-page business sites — services, about, team, case studies, contact — with a custom theme, Gutenberg block library, lead capture forms, and on-page SEO foundations built in from day one.
Portfolio Site
Project showcase sites for designers, photographers, agencies, and developers. Custom CPT-based portfolio architecture, filterable galleries, case study templates, and a CMS your team can update without a developer.
Landing Pages
High-conversion landing pages and campaign microsites — focused layouts with a single CTA, A/B test-ready structure, fast load times, and tracking pixels (Meta, Google Ads, LinkedIn) configured at build time.
Blog and Content Sites
Content-driven sites built for publishing velocity — custom post types for authors, categories, series, and pillar pages. Schema markup, RSS feed configuration, newsletter integration, and editorial workflow tooling.
Membership Sites
Gated content sites with user registration, role-based access control, drip content scheduling, and payment integration for one-time or subscription access. Built on MemberPress or a custom implementation.
Directory Sites
Searchable directory sites for businesses, listings, or professionals — custom CPTs with ACF field sets, front-end submission forms, map integration (Google Maps or Mapbox), and advanced filtering by taxonomy.
Custom WordPress Pricing, built not bought
one-time project fee
Ideal for: small business, personal brand, up to 6 page types
- Custom WordPress theme (up to 6 page templates)
- Mobile-first responsive design
- 6 custom Gutenberg blocks
- ACF basic field groups
- On-page SEO (meta, Open Graph, XML sitemap)
- Lighthouse 85+ target
- 2 weeks post-launch support
one-time project fee
Ideal for: content-driven brands, service businesses, membership or directory sites
- Everything in Starter
- Up to 12 page templates
- 12 custom Gutenberg blocks with InnerBlocks
- ACF flexible content for variable page layouts
- Custom post types and archive templates
- Design token system via theme.json
- Lighthouse 95+ target
- 4 weeks post-launch support with content editing walkthrough
scoped per project
Ideal for: large-scale content sites, REST API builds, headless WP front ends
- Everything in Professional
- Unlimited page templates and block types
- WordPress REST API custom endpoint development
- Multisite network theme management
- Custom Gutenberg sidebar panels and meta boxes
- Figma-to-code pixel-perfect fidelity review
- Ongoing retainer for block library expansion
Custom Site Build Process
Brand and Content Audit
Review of existing brand assets — logo, colors, typography, imagery — and an inventory of content types: how many page templates are needed, what repeating components exist, and what editorial workflow your team uses.
Component Map and Wireframes
A visual map of every block and component before a line of code is written. Gutenberg block types defined, ACF field structures planned, CPTs documented. Approved in Figma before development starts.
Block Development
Blocks built one at a time on staging, with each batch reviewable as soon as it is ready. You are not waiting for the full site to be complete to see progress.
Content Assembly and QA
Real content loaded into the staging site — not lorem ipsum. Cross-browser and cross-device QA run against a 20-point checklist covering accessibility, performance, and editorial usability.
Editor Training and Handover
A recorded walkthrough of the WordPress block editor using your actual content — how to use each block, how to update ACF fields, how to add new pages. Your team can self-serve from day one.
What Custom Development actually buys you
No Vendor Lock-in
Your site is vanilla WordPress PHP. No page builder proprietary format, no shortcode dependency. Any WordPress developer can pick it up and continue work — you are never stuck with one vendor.
Editors Can Work Independently
Custom Gutenberg blocks with clear labels and constrained options mean your content team can build new pages without a developer. Fewer support tickets, faster content velocity.
Performance That Reflects the Investment
Custom themes ship without 400KB of unused CSS from features you are not using. Baseline page weight is typically 60-70% lower than a theme-builder equivalent, which shows up in Lighthouse and in bounce rate.
Design System Consistency
theme.json design tokens mean your brand colors, type scale, and spacing are defined once and applied everywhere — no rogue inline styles or hardcoded hex values scattered across template files.
SEO-Ready Architecture
Semantic HTML5 structure, proper heading hierarchy, Schema.org markup baked into templates, and Open Graph tags on every page type — SEO foundation is part of the build, not an afterthought.
Accessibility by Default
WCAG 2.1 AA compliance checked at the component level during development. Keyboard navigation, focus management, ARIA labels, and sufficient color contrast verified before launch — not patched on after.
What Custom Site Clients Say
"We had a very specific visual identity and three agencies told us to just use Elementor. Johnbert built the theme from scratch in Figma-to-code and it matches our brand exactly. Our editorial team loves the blocks."
"Our old Divi site was taking 8 seconds to load. The custom site Johnbert built loads in 1.4 seconds on the same server. Bounce rate dropped 22% in the first 30 days. The performance delta alone paid for the project."
"We needed a bilingual content site our non-technical team could maintain. The custom block library Johnbert built means our staff can add programs and news posts without touching a developer. That was the whole goal."
Custom WordPress Site Questions
Johnbert Oñez
AI Solutions Engineer & Full Stack Developer · 6+ yrs · 50+ projects
Based in Davao City, Philippines. Specialises in production AI systems, full-stack web applications, and WordPress. Remote-first, async-friendly, fixed-fee projects.
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AI systems, SaaS platforms, WordPress solutions — whatever the scope, I bring craftsmanship and precision from day one.