WordPress rescue from a failed agency: a senior developer checklist
Rescuing a WordPress site from a failed agency starts before any code is touched. This is the checklist a senior developer works through to take over an inherited site cleanly.
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WordPress
Practical WordPress articles on plugin sprawl, performance, security hardening and emergency rescues — written by a UK developer.
WordPress runs a big share of the websites I look at, and a bigger share of the broken ones. These posts come from real client work: plugin sprawl that nobody dared touch, performance that fell off after a theme update, an emergency at 9pm on a Friday because a payment plugin started failing silently.
The pattern that keeps repeating is small. A site gets built, the agency moves on, the in-house team adds a plugin every few months to solve a one-off problem and three years later there are forty plugins, none of them documented, and an update is too risky to attempt. That is not a WordPress problem, it is an ownership problem, but WordPress amplifies it because the plugin ecosystem makes adding code so easy.
Posts here cover what to do about that. How to spot a site that is on the edge before it falls over. What a proper site rescue actually involves. How to harden a WordPress install without breaking the editor experience. How to find a developer you can trust with the keys. When to keep patching and when the rebuild is the cheaper option.
If you are running a WordPress site and something feels off, start with the hidden cost of plugin sprawl or what a WordPress site rescue actually involves. If you need someone to actually look at it, the site health report gives you a fixed-price written assessment within five working days.
What makes WordPress hosting good or bad
WordPress hosting reviews date fast. The principles do not. Here is what separates good hosting from bad, regardless of which vendor is fashionable this year.
WordPress maintenance cost UK 2026: what you should be paying
WordPress maintenance pricing in the UK ranges from £15 a month to £2,000 a month for the same described service. The difference is what is actually being done.
Best WordPress hosting UK
An opinionated developer view of the WordPress hosts I keep coming back to in 2026. What each one is actually good at, where they fall short and who they suit.
WordPress accessibility and the UK legal position
Where UK law actually puts WordPress accessibility in 2026, how the European Accessibility Act caught a lot of UK businesses, and why overlay plugins do not create legal cover.
What you are actually paying for when you buy WordPress maintenance
WordPress maintenance plans look similar on the sales page. They behave very differently when something breaks. Here is the tier-by-tier breakdown of what you actually buy.
WordPress to Craft CMS migration guide
A planning-level walkthrough of moving from WordPress to Craft CMS in 2026. Content modelling, URLs, assets, SEO, custom code and the cutover plan, written from the perspective of a developer who has done this several times.
Managed vs shared WordPress hosting: the real trade-offs
Managed hosting and shared hosting solve different problems. Here is what you actually trade between them, beyond the marketing.
Why where your WordPress site lives matters for UK businesses
GDPR, latency, jurisdiction and recovery. The real reasons hosting location matters for UK businesses and when it genuinely does not.
The hidden risks of cheap WordPress maintenance plans
The cheapest WordPress maintenance plans skip the work that prevents real incidents. What you save in pounds you pay in risk.
WordPress maintenance for agencies: what white-label should actually include
A practical guide for digital agencies hiring a white-label WordPress maintenance partner. SLAs, branded reporting, escalation, technical depth and the bits to get in writing.
Why accessibility overlay plugins do not make you compliant
Overlay widgets promise WCAG compliance in one line of JavaScript. The technical and ethical case for why they do not deliver it and what they often make worse.
Accessibility is cheaper when you build for it than when you bolt it on
Retrofitting accessibility costs several times what it costs to build it in from the start. A developer read on where the money actually goes and which decisions save the most later.
Why the cheapest CMS is rarely the cheapest website
Free CMS is not the same as a cheap website. A look at the real shape of total cost across WordPress, Craft and Squarespace and the one question that decides which is actually cheaper for you.
WordPress to Craft CMS: what actually changes for the business
A non-technical look at what changes for the business when you move from WordPress to Craft. Editor experience, training, maintenance posture, security, performance, hiring, lock-in and the honest trade-offs.
Squarespace vs WordPress: when the move is worth it
A senior developer view on when moving from Squarespace to WordPress is worth it. Who Squarespace genuinely suits, where the wall hits and the diagnostic questions to ask before you rebuild.
Squarespace to WordPress migration UK
A planning-level walkthrough of moving a Squarespace site to WordPress in the UK. Honest about the export limits, the rebuild work and where the time actually goes.
Wix to WordPress migration UK
A planning-level walkthrough of moving a Wix site to WordPress in the UK. Honest about Wix being harder to leave than Squarespace and where the time actually goes.
Leaving Statamic: the real trade-offs on where to go next
If the Statamic price hike has shifted your maths, here is how the realistic destinations read in 2026. WordPress, Craft, Sanity, Astro, Laravel custom: an honest comparison from a developer who works in all of them.
Headless WordPress: when it actually makes sense and when it does not
Headless WordPress is a sensible choice for a narrow set of projects. For most marketing sites it adds cost and pain. Here is how I decide.
Headless vs monolithic CMS: the trade-offs that do not change
The headless vs monolithic debate keeps cycling because the underlying trade-offs do not move. Here is the analysis at the architectural level, not the marketing one.
WooCommerce vs Shopify: the architectural trade-offs
Most WooCommerce vs Shopify comparisons compare features. The real differences are architectural and they do not change. Here is how I think about the trade-off.
Why WooCommerce fits some UK businesses and misfits others
WooCommerce works brilliantly for some UK businesses and fights with others. Here is how I tell which shape a business is, before they commit.
When Laravel beats WordPress and when it is overkill
Laravel is the right answer for some projects and the wrong answer for others. Here is how I decide between custom Laravel and WordPress when a client asks.
Multi-site in Craft vs WordPress: which is less painful
Running several sites from one install sounds simple until you do it. Here is how Craft and WordPress actually handle multi-site and which one I would pick for which job.
How to find a reliable WordPress developer in the UK
Most problems with WordPress developers appear after the project, not during it. Knowing what to look for before hiring reduces that risk considerably.
What a WordPress site rescue actually involves
Taking over a WordPress site from another developer is not the same as starting fresh. Most rescues begin with an audit of a system no one fully understands.
WordPress security hardening: a practical checklist
Most WordPress security incidents are preventable. They happen on sites that have not been through a basic hardening checklist.
WooCommerce performance optimisation: what actually works
WooCommerce performance is not just about caching. Dynamic content, cart sessions and payment gateways require a different approach to standard WordPress optimisation.
When to call an emergency WordPress developer
A site going down is not always an emergency. A checkout failing on a WooCommerce store is. Knowing the difference saves time and money.
How to de-risk CMS updates
CMS updates break things. Not always, but often enough to make people nervous. Here is how to reduce the risk without avoiding updates entirely.
The hidden cost of plugin sprawl
Each plugin solves a problem. Many plugins create new ones. The costs of plugin sprawl are hidden until they compound into real problems.