WordPress
$115/hr
Standard dev work
I build, fix and extend WordPress sites for small businesses in Shrewsbury, Worcester, Boston and across New England, and remotely for anyone else. That covers everything from a stubborn plugin conflict to a custom theme. Hourly work is $115 an hour with a two-hour minimum, and defined builds can be a fixed-price package.
What I can help with
- Theme customization, custom child themes and Full Site Editing (FSE) themes
- Custom plugins and Gutenberg blocks
- Bug fixes and plugin conflicts
- WooCommerce setup and changes
- Performance tuning for Core Web Vitals
- Taking over an existing site: I audit what’s there first, then keep or replace what makes sense
Fixed-price packages
When the deliverables are clear, a package is usually simpler than hourly billing. Each one has a documented scope agreed before work begins and includes one round of revisions.
- Business Site, $3,500. Up to 8 pages, a custom child or FSE theme, on-page SEO, a contact form and basic security hardening. Delivered in 3 to 4 weeks with 30 days of support.
- Custom Platform, $7,500. Custom post types, up to two custom plugin features, an FSE theme with block patterns, performance work and team training. Delivered in 5 to 7 weeks with 60 days of support.
- Complex System, from $15,000. Multisite networks, WooCommerce with custom checkout, custom plugin suites and compliance work. Scoped and quoted, usually 8 to 12 weeks, with 90 days of support.
Full details are on the services and pricing page.
How it works
- Free 30-minute call. We talk through what you need and whether I’m the right fit.
- Written proposal. You get the scope, price and timeline in writing within 3 business days.
- Start. Work usually starts within 1 to 2 weeks of signing. Project work takes a 50% deposit, with the rest due on delivery.
- Delivery and support. You get the finished work, documentation of what changed, and the support period listed for your package.
Related work
- WordPress FSE Site Wizard: a tool that generates production-ready WordPress themes
- Security plugin for a research publisher: a modular WordPress security framework
- Distributed WordPress Maintenance Platform: multi-site infrastructure and automation
- How to Code a Custom WordPress Theme (blog post)
Built this way
- This site’s own custom FSE theme, made almost entirely of custom blocks (how I build themes like it)
- JAT Shell Scanner: a free security plugin submitted to the WordPress.org directory
- A maintenance platform that keeps about 60 WordPress sites updated, with snapshots and one-click rollback
What it costs
WordPress development is $115 an hour with a 2-hour minimum. Prepaying for 20 or more hours takes 10% off, and those hours stay valid for 90 days. Single features have their own fixed prices too, such as a custom Gutenberg block ($950).
How I compare
| Jeremy Anderson | Boston agency | Offshore freelancer | General freelancer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress custom development | $115/hr or fixed project | $150–$250/hr | $25–$60/hr | $60–$100/hr |
| Local Massachusetts presence | Yes | Yes | Remote only | Varies |
| WordPress, AI and security from one person | Yes | Separate specialists | Rarely | Rarely |
| 25+ years of experience | Yes | Depends on the team | Varies widely | Varies |
| Direct communication, no account manager | Yes | Account manager layer | Yes | Yes |
| Massachusetts privacy (MDPA) know-how | Yes | Some | No | No |
SEO, AEO and GEO
My WordPress packages include on-page SEO. I also offer search work as services of its own: a Technical SEO Audit, Local SEO Setup, Schema & AEO Markup and Performance Optimization. Together they cover traditional search engine optimization (SEO), answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO) for AI tools like ChatGPT. Read more about SEO and AI search optimization.
Packages and prices
- Custom Gutenberg Block: $950
- Site Migration: $750
- Performance Optimization: $650
- WordPress CMS Training: $350
Custom Gutenberg Block
$950
A custom Gutenberg block adds exactly the piece your site needs to the WordPress editor, with controls your team can use and no page-builder plugin. One fully custom block is $950, with editor controls, front-end rendering and full Site Editing (FSE) compatibility. Additional blocks are $650 each. I work in person around Worcester County, Boston and New England, and remotely for anyone else.
When a custom block makes sense
- You keep rebuilding the same layout by hand, such as a pricing table, team grid or project card
- Editors need to update content without being able to break the design
- A page builder is slowing your site down or locking you in
- You need content pulled from somewhere else, such as a custom post type or an API
What’s included
- Editor controls: sidebar settings and inline editing, so changing content is fill-in-the-blanks
- Front-end rendering: clean, fast markup that matches your design
- FSE compatibility: works in block themes, templates and patterns, as well as in posts and pages
Proof it works
This site’s theme is built almost entirely from custom blocks I wrote: the services sections, the project and post grids and the case study listings. Editors change them from the sidebar, and the design stays consistent. More on the approach: How to Code a Custom WordPress Theme and Custom WordPress Plugins vs Off-the-Shelf Solutions.
Book a free call about Custom Gutenberg Block
Site Migration
$750
Moving a WordPress site to a new host is easy to get wrong: broken links, lost email, a lapsed certificate or a weekend offline. I handle the whole move for a flat $750 with zero downtime, then keep watch for 30 days.
What’s included
- The full WordPress move between hosts
- DNS changes
- SSL certificate transfer
- Post-migration testing
- 30 days of monitoring after the move
When it makes sense
- Your current host is slow, expensive or ending your plan
- You’re consolidating several sites onto one account
- You’re moving off a page builder or agency hosting you don’t control
A move is also a good moment for a Security Audit or Performance Optimization ($650), since everything is already being checked.
How it works
- Free 30-minute call. We talk through what you need and whether I’m the right fit.
- Written proposal. You get the scope, price and timeline in writing within 3 business days.
- Start. Work usually starts within 1 to 2 weeks of signing. Project work takes a 50% deposit, with the rest due on delivery.
- Delivery and support. You get the finished work, documentation of what changed, and the support period listed for your package.
After the move
A move is a good moment to fix what the old host was holding back. Performance Optimization pairs well with a new host, and a Technical SEO Audit confirms Google sees the site correctly at its new home.
Protecting your search rankings
Moving a site can cost you rankings if URLs, redirects and page metadata are not carried over. If search visibility matters to your business, a Technical SEO Audit before or after the move will catch problems early.
Book a free call about Site Migration
Performance Optimization
$650
Performance optimization makes your WordPress site load fast and respond quickly, which visitors notice and Google measures. It’s $650 and covers a Core Web Vitals audit plus the fixes: caching, image optimization, CDN setup and asset delivery. The target is 90 or higher on Google PageSpeed for both desktop and mobile. I work in person around Worcester County, Boston and New England, and remotely for anyone else.
What Google measures
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): how long until the main content appears
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP): how quickly the page responds when someone taps or clicks
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): whether things jump around while the page loads
These Core Web Vitals are part of how Google ranks pages, and slow pages lose visitors before they ever see your offer.
What I do
- Audit: measure your key pages and find what’s slowing them down
- Caching: page and browser caching set up so repeat visits load almost instantly
- Images: modern formats like WebP, sized for where they’re shown, and lazy-loaded below the fold
- CDN: a content delivery network such as Cloudflare to serve files from close to your visitors
- Asset delivery: scripts and styles trimmed, deferred or removed where they’re not needed
I did the same work on this site: every image converted to WebP, card images served at the size they’re displayed, and a Cloudflare rule that caches static files for a year.
Book a free call about Performance Optimization
WordPress CMS Training
$350
WordPress CMS training is a 2-hour live session for your team on running your own site: editing content, managing media and handling basic maintenance. It’s $350, held remotely or in person in the Worcester and Boston area, and built around your actual website rather than a generic demo.
Who it’s for
- Teams who just got a new WordPress site and need to run it day to day
- Staff who inherited a site and are afraid to break it
- Business owners who want to stop paying someone for every small text change
What we cover
- Content editing: pages and posts in the block editor, drafts, scheduling, revisions and undoing mistakes
- Media management: uploading images at the right size, writing alt text and keeping the media library organized
- Maintenance basics: what updates are, when to run them, how to tell if a backup is working and what to do when something looks wrong
We spend the time on the tasks your team will actually do, on your site, so the steps are familiar the next day.
Book a free call about WordPress CMS Training
Common questions
Can you work on my existing site, or do we need to start over?
Either is fine. Most clients come with an existing site that needs improvements, custom features or security work. I’m comfortable stepping into any WordPress codebase.
Do you meet in person?
Yes. For clients in Greater Boston and the Worcester area, discovery sessions and kickoff meetings can be in person, and there is no travel surcharge within 50 miles of Shrewsbury. Ongoing work is usually remote.
Is there a discount for ongoing work?
Prepaid blocks of 20 or more hours get 10% off the hourly rate and stay valid for 90 days. For regular updates and fixes, the Watchdog care plan starts at $350 a month.
How much does WordPress development cost?
$115 an hour, with a 2-hour minimum.
How is hourly work billed?
Invoices go out every two weeks, or at the end for engagements under 10 hours. Prepaying for 20 or more hours takes 10% off the rate, and those hours stay valid for 90 days.
Is there a fixed-price option?
Yes. Defined projects fit the packages: Business Site ($3,500), Custom Platform ($7,500) and Complex System (from $15,000).
Why not hire a WordPress agency?
You can, but you’ll often pay $150 to $250 an hour and talk to an account manager. With me you pay $115 and talk directly to the developer doing the work.
Why not a cheaper offshore developer?
A lower rate can still cost more if you spend your own time explaining and checking the work. I’m based in Massachusetts, bring more than 25 years of experience, and handle the security and performance side as well as the code.
Can you work on our existing site, or do we need to start over?
Either. Most clients come with an existing site that needs fixes or new features. I audit what’s there and keep what works.
How much does a custom Gutenberg block cost?
$950 for the first block and $650 for each additional block.
Will it work with my theme?
Yes. Blocks work in classic and block themes. In a block theme they can also be used in templates and patterns.
Can my team edit the content?
That’s the point. Editors change text, images and settings from the editor without touching code.
Will my email be affected?
Email often depends on the same DNS records, so it’s checked as part of the plan before anything is switched.
Can you help choose a host?
Yes, that’s a good use of the free 30-minute call.
How much does a WordPress migration cost?
$750 for the migration.
Will my search rankings be affected?
Keeping the same URLs avoids most problems. If URLs change, each old address needs a redirect to its new one, and Search Console needs to know about the move.
How much does performance optimization cost?
$650 for the audit and the fixes.
Is a 90+ PageSpeed score guaranteed?
It’s the target, and most WordPress sites can reach it. Some things, such as heavy third-party chat widgets or ad scripts, can hold a score back. If that’s the case, I’ll show you exactly what’s costing you points so you can decide.
Will you change how my site looks?
No. The work happens behind the scenes. If an image or feature is the cause of a slow page, I’ll talk to you before changing it.
How much does WordPress training cost?
$350 for a 2-hour live session for your team.
Remote or in person?
Either. In person is available in the Worcester and Boston area.
How many people can attend?
It’s a session for your team, so bring the people who will actually edit the site.
Can you train us on a site someone else built?
Yes. The session is built around your actual website, whoever built it. If the site needs fixes before your team takes it over, WordPress development covers that at $115 an hour with a two-hour minimum.
Is there a travel charge for in-person training?
No. Training at your office is billed at the normal rate, with no travel surcharge within 50 miles of Shrewsbury. That covers Worcester County and Greater Boston.
What if two hours isn’t enough?
Book a second session for the topics you didn’t get to. If you would rather have someone handle updates and backups for you, the Watchdog retainer covers them.