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Site rescues
Taking on sites built by someone else: auditing what is installed, removing what is not needed, and getting updates back to being routine rather than risky.
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- WordPress Agency UK
United Kingdom
WordPress agency UK
Most WordPress problems are inherited. A site built by someone who has moved on, running plugins nobody chose, too slow on mobile and too fragile to update. We take those on, and we build new ones that your team can actually maintain.
Thanks — that’s with us.
A senior engineer reads every enquiry and will get back to you shortly.
Want to take it further now?
Book a time that suits you, or send a message and get an answer sooner.
- Rescues of sites built by someone else
- Performance and security treated as requirements
- UK-registered company, Companies House 16718403
2020
Building since
1,000+
Clients served
UK
Registered company
4.6/5
Rated on Clutch
Quick answer
Why WordPress sites decay
WordPress is not the problem; accumulation is. Plugins get added to solve one-off needs and never removed, a page builder adds weight to every template, and the theme is customised in ways that make updating it risky. Three years later the site is slow, nobody will touch it, and the agency that built it has moved on.
The rescue is usually unglamorous and effective: audit what each plugin is actually doing, remove the ones whose job is now done natively or with a few lines of code, replace the heaviest page builder templates, and get the site back to a state where updates are routine rather than frightening.
Security follows the same pattern. Most compromised WordPress sites we see were not targeted; they were running an abandoned plugin with a known vulnerability. Keeping the surface area small is both a performance measure and a security one.
For new builds the decisive question is who maintains it. WordPress is an excellent choice for a team that publishes regularly and a poor one for a site that will never change, where something simpler would cost less to run and less to secure.
What we do
WordPress work we take on
Eight areas. Rescues and speed work are the most common requests.
02
Performance
Mobile load time fixed at the cause: plugin weight, image delivery, render-blocking assets and page builder bloat, measured in field data.
03
Custom plugin development
Replacing several general-purpose plugins with one small piece of code that does exactly what you need, which is usually faster and far safer.
04
New builds
Built on blocks rather than a heavyweight builder where that suits, with templates your team can extend and content types that match how you actually work.
05
Security and hardening
Reducing surface area, removing abandoned plugins, sensible permissions, and recovery from compromise where it has already happened.
06
Migrations
Onto WordPress, off it, or between hosts, with URL mapping done properly and verified after launch rather than assumed.
07
Technical SEO on WordPress
Schema that matches the page, sensible taxonomy and pagination, and removing the duplicate URL spaces that archives and tags generate by default.
08
Headless WordPress
Keeping the editing experience and serving the front end separately, where that genuinely helps. Often it does not, and we will say so.
Why this matters
A site nobody dares to update
The common endpoint: slow, fragile, and maintained by nobody, with every change quoted by an agency you no longer work with.
What we inherit
- Thirty or more plugins, several abandoned upstream
- A page builder adding weight to every page
- A theme customised so it cannot be updated
- No staging, so changes are tested in production
- Core Web Vitals failing on mobile
What we leave
- A reduced, deliberate plugin set
- Templates that load quickly on a phone
- A theme that can take updates safely
- Staging and backups that actually work
- A site your team can change without fear
Inherited a WordPress site nobody understands?
That is most of what we are asked to look at. The review is free and will tell you whether it is worth rescuing or rebuilding.
How we work
Review, stabilise, improve
On an inherited site, stability comes before anything anyone wants to add.
1. Review
What is installed, what it is doing, what is abandoned, and where the time goes on a mobile load. Free, and the findings are yours.
2. Stabilise
Backups, staging and a safe update path first, so later work is not being done on a site that could break at any point.
3. Reduce
Remove what is not needed, replace the heaviest components, and get the plugin set down to things you would choose again today.
4. Improve
Performance, SEO and the features you actually wanted, on a site that can now take changes safely.
Clear scope · Regular demos · Full handover
Honest fit
When WordPress is the right platform
We will tell you when something else would cost less to run.
A good fit when…
- Your team publishes content regularly
- You need non-technical people to edit
- You have an existing site worth rescuing
- You want a smaller, deliberate plugin set
- Integrations with existing systems are needed
Not the right fit when…
- The site will almost never change
- What you actually need is an application
- You want the cheapest possible template install
- Nobody internally will own the content
Sectors
Who we work with
Businesses that publish, and need the site to keep working.
Professional servicesContent-led credibility sitesHealthcareMulti-location, accessible sitesRetailContent alongside a storePropertyListings and area contentB2B and SaaSMarketing sites beside a productTrades and localMulti-town service sitesCharitiesSites maintained by small teamsEverything elseIf it runs WordPress, we can look
FAQ
WordPress — FAQs
What UK businesses ask about WordPress work.
Still have a question?
Ask us directly — a senior engineer will get back to you.
Ask about your projectOur site is slow. Is WordPress the problem?
Usually not WordPress itself. It is normally plugin accumulation, a heavyweight page builder adding weight to every template, and images served far larger than they are displayed. Those are fixable without leaving the platform, and we would try that before recommending a rebuild.
Can you take over a site another agency built?
Yes, that is most of what we are asked to do. We audit what is installed, find what is abandoned, and get the site to a state where updates are routine. Occasionally the honest answer is that rebuilding is cheaper than rescuing, and we will say so with reasons.
How many plugins is too many?
There is no magic number, but the question to ask of each is whether you would choose it again today. Sites we rescue frequently run thirty or more, several abandoned upstream. Replacing a handful with a small custom plugin is usually faster and materially safer.
Our site was hacked. Can you help?
Yes, and the first job is finding the entry point, which is usually an abandoned plugin with a known vulnerability rather than anything targeted. Cleaning without closing the entry point means it comes back, so we do both.
Should we move off WordPress?
Only if there is a reason beyond fashion. If your team publishes regularly and needs non-technical editing, WordPress is doing a job that many alternatives do worse. If the site rarely changes, something simpler is cheaper to run and to secure.
Do you build custom plugins?
Yes, and often it is the better answer. One small plugin that does exactly what you need will usually outperform three general-purpose ones that each do a bit of it, and it leaves a much smaller surface area to maintain.
Will you handle hosting?
We can, or we will work with your host. For UK clients we default to UK regions. Either way the accounts stay yours rather than being held by us.
Can you fix the SEO side too?
Yes. WordPress generates a lot of duplicate URL space by default through archives, tags and pagination, and most sites have schema that no longer matches the page. Both are covered properly on our technical SEO page.
What does it cost?
It depends on the size of the site and the scope of the work, so we do not publish a fixed price: the honest range is wide. The first conversation and the audit are free, and the quote follows them, in pounds, once we both know what the work actually is.
Who do we contract with?
SpiderHunts Technologies Ltd, registered at Companies House under number 16718403, with an office at 182-184 High Street N, Office 14607, London E6 2JA. You are invoiced in pounds. The engineering team works from Lahore, which we state openly rather than implying a room full of desks in London.
Start here
Tell us about the site
What is wrong with it, or what you want built. We will look at what is installed, what it is costing you in speed and risk, and tell you whether it is worth rescuing or rebuilding. Free, and the findings are yours.
- You tell us what you needTwo minutes on the form, or a message on WhatsApp.
- A senior engineer reviews itAnd comes back with questions, a realistic range and an honest view on fit.
- Free 30-minute scoping callWe talk through scope, options and a realistic estimate — with no obligation.
Thanks — that’s with us.
A senior engineer reads every enquiry and will get back to you shortly.
Want to take it further now?
Book a time that suits you, or send a message and get an answer sooner.