Freelance Craft CMS developer (UK)

Custom Craft CMS development, rescue projects and ongoing maintenance. Sites that are fast and straightforward to manage.

What I do for Craft CMS sites

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.

Craft CMS rescue projects

Common problems

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

My solutions

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

How I build Craft sites that last

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. These are the areas 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.

Craft CMS work across the UK

I work with Craft CMS clients across the UK, including businesses in London, Manchester and Birmingham. Whether it is white-label agency work or a direct rescue project, the approach is the same.

If you are weighing up Craft CMS against WordPress, I have written a practical comparison covering content modelling, editor experience, performance and cost.

Need Craft CMS help?

Whether it is a new build, a rescue project, or ongoing support, describe what you need.

Get in touch View services

Craft CMS case studies

All case studies →

Craft CMS redesign for expanding estate agent

Monkey vs Owl needed their rental-focused site updated to reflect new branding and support property sales. The existing Craft CMS installation was reskinned and extended over four weeks.

Monkey vs Owl · Estate agency

Craft CMS malware removal and security hardening

A family mediation service discovered their Craft CMS site had been compromised by an SEO spam attack. The cleanup involved removing hidden malicious content, closing multiple backdoors, migrating to secure hosting, and restoring the site's search engine reputation.

South East London Family Mediation · Family mediation services

Craft CMS MVP for decision-based learning platform

An EdTech startup needed a working MVP to demonstrate their decision-based learning concept to universities and investors. I built a fully editable platform in Craft CMS within six weeks on a tight budget.

Edutain · EdTech