What should a WordPress web design company handle for you?
A WordPress web design company should build a site you own outright, on a setup someone other than them can maintain. That means your hosting, your domain and your admin login, a build method you understand before it starts, and a short list of plugins with every licence in your name.
The build is only half the job. WordPress keeps needing updates for as long as the site is live, so agree who does them before you sign anything.
- Ownership: hosting, domain, admin login and every paid licence in your name, not the agency’s
- A named build method: customised theme, page builder, block theme or custom theme, agreed in writing
- A short plugin list: each plugin chosen for a reason, instead of dozens layered on to patch gaps
- Editing you can do yourself: the pages you change often, editable without booking developer time
- An update owner: a named person or plan for core, theme and plugin updates after launch
- A path for enquiries: forms that land in a CRM and get a reply, not an inbox nobody watches
Four ways a WordPress site gets built
“We build on WordPress” describes the platform, not the work. Two companies can quote for the same site and mean very different things by it, and the method they choose decides who can edit the site later and how hard it is to hand over.
Ask which of these four a company plans to use, and why it suits your site.
| Build method | What it is | Who can edit it later | What to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customised ready-made theme | A theme bought or downloaded, then adjusted to your brand | You, within the options the theme offers | Is the theme still updated, and are changes kept in a child theme so an update does not wipe them? |
| Page builder | Pages laid out with a drag-and-drop plugin such as Elementor or Divi | You, visually, once you learn the builder | What happens to the pages if the builder is ever removed, and whose licence is it? |
| Block theme | A theme built for the WordPress Site Editor, where headers, footers and templates are edited as blocks | You, with the tools built into WordPress itself | Which templates and patterns will you set up for us to reuse? |
| Custom theme | A theme written for your site alone | Content yes, layout usually needs a developer | Do we receive the source code, and is it documented well enough for another developer? |
None of these is wrong. A block theme keeps you closest to WordPress itself, which the WordPress documentation on block themes explains. A page builder is easier for visual editing but adds a dependency, and a custom theme suits sites that need to behave in ways no theme does.
If you are still deciding whether you need bespoke design at all, custom design and a template compares the two on cost, time and fit.
Plugins, licences and who holds them
Every plugin is code someone else wrote, and every plugin is one more thing to update. A company that solves each request with another plugin hands you a site that is slower and harder to maintain than it looks on launch day.
WordPress itself is released under the GPLv2 (or later), and the WordPress licence page notes that plugins and themes built on it inherit that licence. What you pay for with a premium plugin is usually updates and support, and those stop when the licence lapses.
So ask for the plugin list before launch, with a line on why each one is there, and make sure every paid licence is bought in your name. A licence held on the agency’s account is an update you cannot get if you ever part ways.
Who keeps it updated after launch
WordPress looks after part of this itself. According to the WordPress documentation on automatic background updates, introduced in version 3.7, automatic core updates are enabled on most sites by default.
Plugins and themes are different. The plugin and theme auto-update documentation says that since WordPress 5.5 an administrator opts in theme by theme and plugin by plugin. Unless someone does that, or updates them by hand, they sit on old versions.
That is why the upkeep question matters more on WordPress than on most platforms. Agree who owns each of these before you sign.
| Task | Why it matters | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Plugin and theme updates | Not automatic unless switched on per item | Who applies them, and how often? |
| Testing after updates | An update can break a form or a layout without anyone noticing | Who checks the site and a test enquiry after each round? |
| Backups | The only quick way back after a bad update or a hack | Where are they stored, and has a restore ever been tested? |
| Hosting and PHP version | Hosts upgrade PHP, and old plugins can fail when they do | Who is told when the host changes something, and who responds? |
| Licence renewals | A lapsed premium licence stops that plugin’s updates | Which licences renew when, and on whose card? |
If the company offers a care plan, ask for the list of tasks it covers rather than its name. Our WordPress website launch checklist covers the steps before go-live, and what a WordPress website really costs puts the running costs alongside the build.
Does a WordPress company have to be US-based?
Not for WordPress work. The platform behaves the same wherever the developer sits, so judge a company on how quickly it responds during your business day, whether the scope is written down, and whether it understands US expectations such as accessibility.
What a responsive website project should deliver covers that US question and the full list of deliverables. For the questions to ask about the company, see how to choose a website design company.
What AI changes on a WordPress build
AI tools now draft page copy, suggest layouts and write small pieces of WordPress code quickly. That can shorten a build, and it should shift what you pay for toward decisions: what each page is for, and what happens to an enquiry.
It also creates a new question to ask. If a company uses AI to write a custom plugin or theme function, ask who reviewed that code and who will maintain it, because code nobody fully understands is the hardest kind to update later.
Where the enquiry goes after the form
A WordPress contact form usually sends an email, and that is often where the project stops. The email waits in an inbox, the reply goes out the next day, and the buyer has already asked someone else.
The fix is to send the form into a CRM that replies at once and follows up on its own. Connecting WordPress to a CRM shows the ways to do it, and our CRM setup and management service builds that side. Why a reply within five minutes matters sets out the reasoning.
If the site needs booking, portals or other custom features that plugins handle badly, that is AI web and app development territory. Our answers page covers cost, timelines and ownership in plain terms.
Common questions
What does a WordPress web design company do?
It plans, designs and builds your website on WordPress, then hands it over for you to run. A good one also agrees who handles updates, backups and plugin licences after launch, because WordPress keeps needing them for as long as the site is live.
Should my WordPress site use a page builder or a block theme?
A page builder is easier for visual editing but adds a plugin your whole site depends on. A block theme uses the editing tools built into WordPress itself. Ask the company which it plans to use and what it would take to move away from it later.
Who should own the plugin licences?
You should. Premium plugins usually need an active licence to keep receiving updates, and a licence held on the agency’s account can leave you without them if you part ways. Ask for every licence to be bought in your name.
Does WordPress update itself?
Partly. Automatic core updates are enabled on most sites by default, but plugins and themes only update automatically if an administrator switches that on for each one. Someone still needs to apply updates and check the site afterwards.
How much does it cost to hire a WordPress web design company?
It depends on the build method, the number of pages, the plugins involved and who supplies the content, so quotes vary widely. We quote per project once the scope is clear. Describe the site you have in mind and we will send a written scope and quote, with no obligation.
