WordPress websites
WordPress is widely used for a practical reason: the editor is straightforward, developers who know it are easy to find, and no single company controls your site. Vanilla Rain designs its websites in Newbury, West Berkshire, builds them in WordPress and sets each one up so the people in your office can change text, add pages and publish news without calling anyone.
The other half of a WordPress site is what happens after launch. Plugins need updating, hosting has to be sound and someone must notice when something stops working. The studio gives straight advice on each and helps you put sensible arrangements in place, whether the work sits with your hosting company, your IT supplier or someone in-house.
The work
Running a WordPress site well
Editing your own pages
Layouts are built from reusable blocks with sensible limits, so staff can update content and add pages without breaking the design or calling a developer for routine changes.
Plugins kept to what is needed
Every plugin is code that someone has to maintain. Sites use as few as the job allows, chosen from well-supported options, which keeps updates simpler and leaves fewer things to go wrong.
Hosting advice
Underpowered shared hosting causes many of the problems blamed on WordPress. You get a plain recommendation on hosting that suits your traffic and budget, and help moving the site across.
Updates and backups
WordPress core, themes and plugins all need regular updates. The studio explains what needs doing and how often, and checks that backups are in place before the site goes live.
Security basics
Strong passwords, a limited number of administrator accounts, two-factor sign-in and a host that keeps its servers patched. None of it is complicated, but all of it is set up before launch.
Care after launch
Once the site is live, someone has to look after it. Vanilla Rain sets out what ongoing care involves so you can arrange it knowingly, rather than discovering the need when something breaks.
Relevant work
WordPress at work
Spode
Spode’s online store runs on WordPress and was designed to take in thousands of supplier line items, mark them up and manage ordering and delivery, B2B needs included.
WordPress development
Selected work
A selection of recent projects. The full portfolio has more.
Where the work happens
Newbury, West Berkshire and further afield
WordPress projects for businesses in Newbury, Hungerford and Marlborough can begin with a meeting on site to see how your team updates the current website and what gets in the way. Training at handover can be in person or over a shared screen. Clients in Swindon, Oxford and across the UK work remotely from the start, with the same editing set-up and the same advice.
Questions
Common questions
Our current site is on WordPress but hard to edit. Can you fix it?
It depends on why. If the theme or page builder has been stretched beyond what it handles well, a rebuild on cleaner templates is usually the sensible answer. Vanilla Rain looks at the site first and says which applies before quoting anything.
Who should host our website?
That depends on your traffic, budget and who will look after the site. Vanilla Rain recommends suitable hosting, helps set it up and moves the site across at launch. The advice is always to keep the hosting account in your company’s name, so you are never tied to a supplier.
Who looks after the site once it is live?
Decide that before launch, not after. It might be your IT supplier, a capable person on your own team or a separate written arrangement. Vanilla Rain explains what each option involves, so the choice is an informed one.
How many plugins will the site need?
As few as the job allows. A brochure site may need only a handful, for forms, search settings and backups, while an online shop needs more. Each is chosen for its track record and support, and listed in the handover notes.
Services
Related to WordPress development
Website redesign
Existing websites redesigned without losing hard-won rankings, with content, URLs and redirects planned before launch so the new site performs from day one.
Online shop systems
Online shops planned and built around how you operate, with stock, product updates, orders and accounts connected so the shop runs smoothly every day.
Brand identity design
A complete identity system: logo, typefaces, colour, photography style and layout rules, with guidelines that keep every future piece unmistakably yours.
Ask about WordPress
Tell the studio whether you already have a WordPress site, who edits it now, and what gets in their way when they try. Or call Alistair on 07585 263824.
Design studio in Newbury, West Berkshire. Brand, design, visual production and digital marketing, handled by one studio from the first brief to the finished work.
Services
Studio
Contact
- ag@vanillarain.co.uk
- 07585 263824
- Newbury, West Berkshire
Vanilla Rain Ltd is registered in England and Wales, Company No. 14099028. Copyright © 2026 Vanilla Rain Ltd. Client work shown on this site remains the property of the clients concerned.