Freelance Craft CMS Developer (UK)
Custom Craft CMS development, rescue projects, and ongoing maintenance. Sites that are fast, flexible, and straightforward to manage.
I am Billy Patel, a freelance Craft CMS developer based in the UK. I work remotely with businesses and agencies that need an experienced specialist to build, maintain, or rescue Craft sites. If you are looking to hire a Craft CMS developer who understands content architecture and long-term site health, I can help.
Craft CMS support and maintenance
New builds
Custom Craft sites designed around your content model. Entry types, Matrix fields, and templates structured for how your team actually works.
Rescue projects
Sites that have become difficult to maintain. Poor performance, confusing entry structures, or template problems that need sorting out.
Craft 4 and 5 upgrades
Migration from older Craft versions. Plugin compatibility testing, template updates, and safe deployment to production.
Plugin development
Custom plugins when the existing ecosystem does not have what you need. Built to Craft standards, documented for maintenance.
Performance optimisation
Eager loading, query optimisation, caching configuration. Craft can be fast, but it requires attention to get there.
Ongoing support
Updates, security patches, and changes as your content needs evolve. Someone who understands your site.
Why choose Craft CMS?
Craft CMS is built for projects that need structure and flexibility. It handles complex content models, multilingual sites, and large-scale content operations better than WordPress. Where WordPress relies on plugins to solve specific problems, Craft provides a consistent content architecture from the start.
This makes Craft particularly suitable for publishing platforms, membership sites, ecommerce catalogues, and any project where content needs to be presented differently across multiple templates or frontends. The control panel is designed for editors who manage content daily, not just administrators configuring settings.
However, Craft requires a developer who understands its architecture. Field layouts, Matrix blocks, eager loading, and entry relationships need careful planning. Getting this right early prevents performance problems and editor confusion later. An experienced Craft CMS developer ensures your site is built to last.
Craft CMS rescue projects
The problem
- • Site loads slowly, especially on listing pages
- • Control panel is confusing for editors
- • Previous developer used an unusual approach
- • Craft 3 site needs upgrading before end of life
- • Plugin stopped working after update
- • Need new features but worried about breaking the site
The solution
- • Identify N+1 queries and implement eager loading
- • Restructure entry types and simplify field layouts
- • Refactor towards Craft best practices
- • Plan and execute migration with staging testing
- • Find alternatives or build custom replacement
- • Test changes in staging before production deployment
Best practices I follow
Entry types designed around editorial workflow, not developer convenience
Matrix and entry relationships structured to prevent circular dependencies
Eager loading implemented from the start, not bolted on later
Template code that other developers can understand and modify
Content migrations scripted and version controlled
Staging environment that mirrors production
Craft CMS performance optimisation
Craft can achieve excellent Core Web Vitals scores with proper implementation. I focus on:
Static caching where appropriate
Image transforms configured for responsive delivery
SEO fields integrated into entry types
Structured data output for rich search results
Sitemap generation with proper priority and change frequency
White-label Craft CMS for agencies
I work with agencies as a white-label Craft specialist. You stay as the client contact. I handle the technical implementation. Clean handovers, documented code, and no client poaching.
If your team designs but does not develop Craft sites, or if you need overflow capacity for a large project, I can slot into your existing workflow.
Common questions
When should I use Craft CMS instead of WordPress?
Choose Craft when your content model is complex, when you need tight control over output across multiple templates, or when editors manage structured content daily. WordPress is simpler for straightforward sites where plugins solve most requirements. Craft requires upfront planning but delivers cleaner architecture for the long term.
Do you offer ongoing support and maintenance for Craft sites?
Yes. I offer monthly retainers covering Craft updates, security patches, and a set number of hours for changes or fixes. Retainer clients get priority response when issues arise. I also handle one-off projects and rescue work for sites that need attention.
Can you take over an existing Craft site from another developer?
Yes. I regularly take over Craft sites that have become difficult to maintain or need performance improvements. I audit the current build, document what needs fixing, and provide a clear plan for getting the site stable. Most rescue projects involve template refactoring, query optimisation, or Craft version upgrades.
What is involved in a Craft CMS project?
Typical projects start with content modelling based on your editorial workflow. I structure entry types, Matrix fields, and relationships to match how your team works. Templates are built to deliver fast page loads and clean markup. Staging and production environments are configured for safe deployments. I document the build so other developers can maintain it.
Need Craft CMS help?
Whether it is a new build, a rescue project, or ongoing support, describe what you need.