Architecture and scoping
We map your content model, pick REST or WPGraphQL, choose frontend stack and hosting, and define preview and caching strategy. You get a written specification and a fixed quote before work begins.
Headless WordPress Development for UK Businesses
Built for UK SMEs, charities, professional services firms and distributed teams around London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh and teams working nationwide. A fast, structured publishing platform with clear boundaries between content and presentation. We account for plain UK English with accessible, task-focused content, cards, Direct Debit and regulated Open Banking or Pay by Bank providers where they fit the journey, and practical delivery in GMT/BST.
Our approach
Decoupled for speed and scale .
UK organisations do not need a generic overseas template. They need headless WordPress development shaped around a competitive market where credibility, accessibility and a low-friction enquiry or checkout journey strongly affect conversion, internal ownership and the tools their customers already recognise. We design the content schema, preview flow, cache invalidation, authentication and deployment ownership together because headless failures usually happen between systems.
Done right, headless gives you edge caching, faster builds, cleaner code and a smaller security surface. Done wrong, it doubles your bill. We build the architecture that pays back.
- Next.js or Nuxt frontend wired to WP REST or WPGraphQL
- ISR and edge caching so content updates in seconds
- Preview mode for editors and draft workflows
How it works
From monolith to headless in four steps.
A practical delivery process for UK teams, with decisions documented in GMT/BST and local operational requirements agreed before build work begins.
WordPress backend setup
We configure WordPress as a pure content API. Custom post types, ACF or Gutenberg blocks, WPGraphQL schema, auth, CORS and hardening so the backend never ships HTML to your users.
Frontend build
WordPress engineers build your Next.js or Nuxt app from scratch. Routing, ISR, preview mode, SEO primitives and performance budgets. Clean code your team can extend.
Launch and handover
We deploy the frontend to the edge, tune the backend host, wire monitoring and hand over docs, a walkthrough video and editor training. Your choice of ongoing support plan.
Built for the United Kingdom
How headless WordPress development works in the United Kingdom
UK SMEs, charities, professional services firms and distributed teams operate in a competitive market where credibility, accessibility and a low-friction enquiry or checkout journey strongly affect conversion. We shape the headless WordPress development around those buying habits, plain UK English with accessible, task-focused content, straightforward proposals, sensible estimates and pricing in pounds, and the systems already used by the team. The result is a practical service plan for teams building trust and sustainable growth across the UK.
Examples
Multi-channel publishing
Model content once for websites, apps, campaign screens or partner channels without copying it into separate systems. For teams around London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh and teams working nationwide, we define the local audience, ownership and follow-up route before implementation and account for cards, Direct Debit and regulated Open Banking or Pay by Bank providers where they fit the journey.
Product-led front end
Use a React or Next.js experience while keeping familiar WordPress workflows for editors.
Regional content delivery
Serve country or business-unit content through structured APIs with predictable preview and release processes.
Considerations
Privacy and responsible data
We minimise unnecessary collection and document forms, analytics, processors and retention choices with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, with security and privacy-by-design guidance from the ICO in mind. Technical implementation supports your compliance work; it does not replace legal advice.
Local operations and integrations
The delivery plan can account for cards, Direct Debit and regulated Open Banking or Pay by Bank providers where they fit the journey, pricing in pounds sterling, plain UK English with accessible, task-focused content, and a UK region when contracts, latency or organisational policy make local hosting preferable. We only add local integrations that serve a real customer or operational need.
Delivery in your working day
Planning, reviews and support are organised around GMT/BST. We design the content schema, preview flow, cache invalidation, authentication and deployment ownership together because headless failures usually happen between systems. Handover is written for the people who will publish, approve and support the site locally.
Local regulatory references are implementation context, not legal or regulatory advice. Your organisation remains responsible for confirming the obligations that apply to its sector and use of personal data.
What's included
Everything for a production headless build .
- Next.js or Nuxt frontend coded from scratch
- WordPress backend configured as a headless CMS
- WPGraphQL or REST API layer tuned for performance
- Incremental Static Regeneration and edge caching
- Editor preview mode with draft and revision support
- SEO parity with traditional WP: sitemaps, schema, hreflang
- Image pipeline optimised with next/image or Nuxt Image
- Search, forms and comments routed through WordPress
- Authentication and protected content where needed
- 30 day post launch support included
How we compare
Why teams choose us for headless builds.
Most agencies outsource the React side. Most freelancers skip the SEO parity work. Here is how we stack up.
WP Pro Devs
Freelancer
Traditional agency
WordPress and React engineers
✓
—
—
WPGraphQL schema tuning
✓
—
—
ISR and edge caching
✓
—
—
SEO parity audit at launch
✓
—
—
Editor preview out of the box
✓
✓
—
Typical turnaround
4 to 14 weeks
Varies
4 to 8 months
Starting price
£7k
£1k
£30k+
Post launch support
30 to 90 days
None
Retainer only
WP Pro DevsRecommended
- WordPress and React engineers✓
- WPGraphQL schema tuning✓
- ISR and edge caching✓
- SEO parity audit at launch✓
- Editor preview out of the box✓
- Typical turnaround4 to 14 weeks
- Starting price£7k
- Post launch support30 to 90 days
FreelancerCompare
- WordPress and React engineers—
- WPGraphQL schema tuning—
- ISR and edge caching—
- SEO parity audit at launch—
- Editor preview out of the box✓
- Typical turnaroundVaries
- Starting price£1k
- Post launch supportNone
Traditional agencyCompare
- WordPress and React engineers—
- WPGraphQL schema tuning—
- ISR and edge caching—
- SEO parity audit at launch—
- Editor preview out of the box—
- Typical turnaround4 to 8 months
- Starting price£30k+
- Post launch supportRetainer only
What clients say
Pricing
Transparent pricing, no surprises .
Fixed quotes before work begins. Pick the tier that fits your scope or request a bespoke estimate.
Starter £7k to £12k
Single language headless marketing site powered by Next.js or Nuxt.
- Up to 10 pages
- Next.js or Nuxt frontend
- WP REST integration
- ISR with edge caching
- 30 day post launch support
Studio £12k to £20k
Content platform with custom post types, GraphQL schema and editor preview.
- Up to 25 pages
- WPGraphQL schema tuned
- Custom post types and ACF
- Editor preview mode
- Performance budget enforced
- 60 day post launch support
Scale £20k to £39k
Multi-locale or commerce headless build with advanced caching and search.
- Unlimited pages
- Multi-locale with hreflang
- Headless WooCommerce option
- Search and forms wired to WP
- Staging and preview environments
- 90 day support plus 1 training session
Enterprise £39k+
Dedicated team, SLA and migration from a legacy WordPress monolith.
- Everything in Scale
- Monolith to headless migration
- Dedicated WordPress engineers
- SLA with priority response
- Ongoing retainer available
- Custom handover and onboarding
Quality standards
Every build ships production ready .
A headless build is only done once the frontend, backend and caching all pass our internal checklist. No shortcuts.
Lighthouse 95+ score
Performance, accessibility, SEO and best practices all scored and documented on the live frontend before launch.
Core Web Vitals pass
LCP under 2.5s, CLS under 0.1, INP under 200ms. Verified on real device emulation and field data.
WCAG 2.2 AA compliant
Keyboard navigation, semantic HTML, ARIA labels and contrast checked against the latest standard.
Backend hardened
WP admin locked down, CORS tight, REST and GraphQL rate limited. Your backend stops serving HTML to the public web.
SEO parity verified
Sitemaps, JSON LD schema, Open Graph, robots and hreflang mirrored from WP to the frontend and audited before go live.
Edge cache strategy documented
ISR, on-demand revalidation and purge webhooks wired so editors see updates in seconds, not minutes.
Clean, documented code
TypeScript on the frontend, PSR on the backend, inline docs and a README your team can read.
Preview mode tested
Editors can preview drafts, scheduled posts and password-protected content on the live frontend before publish.
Backed by real QA
Two pairs of eyes on every build. Functional QA, visual QA and performance QA before handover.
For agencies
Your clients. Our code. Your brand.
We are the silent development team behind dozens of design and marketing agencies shipping headless WordPress. Your client sees your work, your invoice and your brand. Our name never appears.
- 01
Fully branded delivery
Staging links, documentation and handover materials carry your brand, not ours.
- 02
Dedicated partner PM
One point of contact for all your headless builds. Shared Slack channel, weekly syncs, fast replies.
- 03
Transparent partner pricing
Retainer rates, bulk discounts and priority scheduling for agency partners.
- 04
Your process, not ours
We plug into your Figma, ClickUp, Notion or Linear. No tool switching, no friction for your team.
How it works
01
Step 1
Brief the project
You share your client's requirements in your stack. Figma, ClickUp, Notion, wherever you already work.
02
Step 2
Scope and partner quote
We write a detailed spec and send you a partner rate quote. Never shown to your client.
03
Step 3
Add margin, quote your client
You mark up, brand the proposal and present it on your letterhead at your price.
04
Step 4
Client approves the scope
Your client signs off on your terms, with your brand, and pays you directly.
05
Step 5
We build under NDA
Silent build on branded staging. No logos, no footer credits, no email signatures from us.
06
Step 6
Deliver as your own
You review, accept handover and deliver the finished site to your client under your agency name.
Common questions
What teams ask us before going headless.
Do you support UK teams during local business hours?
Yes. Planning, reviews and support can be organised around GMT/BST. We agree response expectations, meeting windows and escalation contacts before the project or care plan starts.
How do you account for UK GDPR?
We apply data minimisation, secure handling and privacy-by-design practices to forms, analytics, integrations and hosting decisions. We document the technical choices clearly, while your legal or data-protection adviser confirms the obligations that apply to your organisation.
Does headless hurt SEO?
No. A well built headless site matches or beats a monolithic WordPress site on Core Web Vitals, sitemaps, schema and hreflang. We ship all SEO primitives on day one and verify with Search Console before handover.
Can editors still preview drafts?
Yes. We wire Next.js preview mode or its Nuxt equivalent so editors see draft content on the live frontend before publish. Revisions, scheduled posts and locked-down staging all work as expected.
How long does a headless build take?
Small marketing sites take 4 to 6 weeks. Content heavy builds with GraphQL, ISR and multi-language take 8 to 14 weeks. You receive a firm timeline in your written estimate.
What does hosting look like?
Frontend on Vercel, Netlify or Cloudflare Pages. Backend on a lean managed WordPress host. We separate the two so traffic hits the CDN, not your WP server, and scale costs stay predictable.
Can you migrate our existing WordPress site to headless?
Yes. We audit your current theme, content model and plugins, map them to the new frontend and migrate without losing URLs, SEO equity or editor workflows.
Start your project
Tell us what you need built.
Share your requirements and a WordPress engineer will respond with a written estimate and timeline within one business day.
- Free scoping call and written estimate within 24h
- Fixed quote before any work begins
- WordPress engineer on your project from day one