Web Design & Development

Websites that
actually convert.

Custom WordPress, no page builders, no Elementor lock-in. Built for performance, conversion, and the kind of edit access that does not require an agency ticket every time you want to change a headline.

What is web design and development at Critical Marketing? We build custom WordPress websites with hand-written PHP templates, consolidated CSS, lean JavaScript, and full schema markup. No Elementor. No Divi. No WPBakery. No page builders. The result: 100/100 Lighthouse SEO scores, Core Web Vitals passing on mobile, 3-plugin stacks instead of 16-plugin stacks, and complete edit access via SSH + WP-CLI for the autonomous SEO routine. The same playbook we used to rebuild Critical Marketing's own site (Ygency + Elementor → custom theme, 16 plugins → 3, 50+ MB → 5 MB).

Why custom over page-builders.

The default WordPress build path uses page builders (Elementor, Divi, WPBakery, Beaver Builder). They are popular because they let teams ship faster without senior engineering on every page. The tradeoffs are real:

  • Performance. Elementor adds 21+ MB of unzipped JS / CSS overhead on every page load. Mobile Core Web Vitals fail predictably. INP > 200ms is the rule, not the exception.
  • Plugin bloat. Page builders require add-on plugins (Essential Addons, Crocoblock, etc.) that compound the performance cost AND increase the security surface area.
  • Edit-experience lock-in. Once a site is built in Elementor, the entire content lives inside Elementor's UI. You cannot autonomously edit it through code without breaking the UI's serialized data. We learned this the hard way on Critical Marketing's own old site.
  • Vendor lock-in. If you stop paying Elementor Pro, half your features stop working. The same applies to Divi, WPBakery, Crocoblock, and most "premium" plugin stacks.

We build the opposite. Custom PHP templates. Consolidated CSS. Lean JavaScript. WordPress core + minimum-viable plugin set. The result is faster, more maintainable, more SEO-friendly, and edit-accessible via code (which lets the autonomous SEO routine do its work without depending on a UI).

What we ship in a typical build.

01

Discovery + design

2-3 week design phase. Wireframes, then full design comps in Figma. We design the system (color, typography, spacing, components) not just individual pages. Each component documented for handoff.

02

Theme architecture

Custom WordPress theme with hand-written PHP templates. One `style.css` for the whole site. Lean `main.js` for interactivity. Full schema markup stack (Organization, LocalBusiness, Service, BreadcrumbList, Article, Person, FAQPage). Performance-budget enforced (LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1).

03

Page templates per content type

Homepage. Service pillar template. Location page template. Industry hub template. Case study template. Author bio template. Blog index + single. Default page. 404. Each template optimized for its specific purpose (service pillar ≠ location page ≠ case study).

04

Mailgun + WPForms (or similar)

WPForms for the contact form. WP Mail SMTP configured for Mailgun (or whichever transactional email provider you prefer). Tested end-to-end before launch. No silent form failures.

05

Hosting + CDN

Plesk hosting on the Critical Marketing server (where appropriate) or your hosting of choice. Cloudflare in front for edge caching + DDoS + SSL. Full backup strategy (full site + database, retained 30 days).

06

SEO foundation at launch

Semantic HTML5 markup. Full schema markup. Yoast SEO configured. XML sitemap submitted to GSC. GA4 + GTM event tracking. Core Web Vitals passing on launch day. Lighthouse 100/100 SEO score.

07

Handoff documentation

Editorial style guide. Brand guidelines. Component documentation. WP admin guide. Where to update what. How to add new content. How to roll back if something breaks. You own the source. You own the credentials. You can fire us anytime without losing the site.

Builds we'll walk away from.

  • Elementor / Divi / WPBakery / Beaver Builder sites. If you specifically want a page-builder build, we are not the right shop.
  • Shopify / Squarespace / Wix builds. Hosted platforms have a place but they are not what we specialize in.
  • Cheap brochure sites. We cannot do real custom work at fast-food prices. There are shops that can; we are not one of them.
  • Theme-flip-and-rebrand jobs. Some agencies sell "custom" builds that are actually purchased themes with the logo swapped. We do not.
  • Sites with no maintenance plan. Every site we build comes with a maintenance retainer for security updates, plugin updates, and SSL/DNS monitoring. If you do not want maintenance, hire someone else.

Frequently asked questions.

Single-page: 3-4 weeks. Multi-page custom: 8-16 weeks. Custom with integrations: 12-24 weeks. We do not rush builds because rushing produces tech debt that you pay for over the life of the site.

Yes. You can host on Bluehost, SiteGround, WP Engine, Kinsta, your own VPS, whatever you prefer. We will set up the hosting and document the credentials. For clients without strong hosting preferences, we host on the Critical Marketing Plesk server.

Yes, with WooCommerce. We have shipped product + service-booking + course-based e-commerce. Larger e-commerce projects scope separately.

Yes. Page-by-page migration is a specialty. Elementor → custom theme one page at a time, keeping the site live throughout.

Yes. Our builds use WordPress core editing (Gutenberg blocks for text content, Advanced Custom Fields for structured content). Less flexible than Elementor for visual editing; more performant; more SEO-friendly; more maintainable. We document what you can edit and how.

Accessibility is part of every build: semantic HTML, ARIA labels where needed, keyboard navigation, color-contrast checks, alt text on every image. Formal WCAG 2.1 AA certification (third-party audited) is a separate engagement that we scope on request.

Almost never for marketing sites. React / Next.js adds significant complexity and (often) hurts SEO without delivering visible user value for marketing content. We use them only when the project is genuinely an app, not a marketing site.

Related reading.

Get in touch

Let's design your
next site.

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