Custom Plugin Development

The plugin you need does not exist. We build it.

Bespoke WordPress plugins built to the same standards as our own — Arcio ships on the WordPress.org directory, so the code we write for you is held to a bar someone else already reviewed.

Starting at $500 starting
First response Within 48 hours
Scope Fixed, agreed upfront

Every workaround you have tried is one update away from breaking.

The functionality you need either does not exist, or exists inside a bloated multi-purpose plugin where you are loading forty features to use one. Neither is a good position.

So the usual workarounds appear. Snippets pasted into functions.php that vanish the next time the theme updates. A plugin abandoned by its author three years ago that still works, until it does not. Two plugins bolted together in a way nobody on the team fully understands.

Custom code has a reputation for being the fragile option. Done properly it is the opposite: a small, well-scoped plugin that does exactly one thing is far more stable than a large one doing forty, because there is simply less surface for WordPress to break.

Sound familiar?
  • Critical functionality lives in a snippet nobody documented.
  • You are running a plugin whose author stopped updating it years ago.
  • The plugin that does what you need also does thirty things you do not want.
  • A core or WooCommerce update breaks something and nobody knows why.
  • Your workflow has an obvious gap that no plugin on the directory fills.
Get a Quote

Every engagement delivers all six

No tiered feature lists. The scope below is the standard engagement — anything beyond it gets quoted separately and agreed before we start.

Scoped to one job

We define exactly what the plugin does and, more usefully, what it does not. Narrow scope is what makes custom code stable rather than fragile.

WordPress coding standards

Properly namespaced, hooked, and structured the way WordPress expects — so core updates are routine rather than an event you brace for.

Security done properly

Nonce verification, capability checks, input sanitisation and output escaping on every path. These are the exact items a WordPress.org review fails plugins for, and we have passed it.

Native admin interface

Settings screens built with WordPress admin components, so the plugin looks like part of the dashboard rather than something bolted on.

Documented and readable

Inline documentation and a written guide, so the next developer — us or anyone else — can extend it without reverse-engineering your business logic.

Yours outright

You own the code. No licence key, no phone-home, no per-site fee, and no dependency on us continuing to exist.

Four stages, no mystery

You know what happens at each point, what we need from you, and when.

1

Define the job

We work out precisely what the plugin must do and cut everything else. This stage saves more money than any other, because the cheapest feature is the one we agree not to build.

2

Build against standards

Development on a staging site with the WordPress coding standards and Plugin Check applied throughout, not bolted on at the end.

3

Test on your stack

Tested against your actual theme, plugins and PHP version — the combination that matters, rather than a clean install that proves nothing.

4

Hand over

Code, documentation and a walkthrough. If you want it on the WordPress.org directory, we prepare the submission too.

What's in the engagement

  • Fixed scope agreed in writing before any code
  • Built to WordPress coding standards
  • Nonce, capability, sanitisation and escaping review on every path
  • Native WordPress admin interface where one is needed
  • Tested against your live theme and plugin stack
  • Inline documentation and a written guide
  • Full code ownership — no licence, no lock-in
  • Optional WordPress.org submission preparation
  • 30 days of post-delivery support

A good fit if

  • Businesses whose workflow has a gap no existing plugin fills
  • Anyone depending on functions.php snippets or an abandoned plugin
  • Teams running a bloated plugin to use one of its features
  • Product owners who want to publish a plugin to WordPress.org

Probably not yet if

  • Requirements a well-maintained existing plugin already meets — we will tell you when that is the case and point you at it, because paying us to rebuild WPForms would be a poor use of your money.
from $500 starting

A single well-defined integration starts here. Multi-service, data-heavy, or ecommerce plugins are quoted on scope.

Every engagement is scoped and priced individually against your site — the figure above is where projects like yours typically start, not a placeholder for an upsell. You get a fixed quote in writing before any work begins.

Request Your Quote

No obligation · First response within 48 hours · Timeline scoped to your project

Questions people ask before booking

Because we ship one. Arcio is on the official WordPress.org plugin directory, which means its code passed the directory review — the same review that rejects plugins for missing nonce verification, absent capability checks, and unescaped output. Your plugin gets written to that bar, and you can go read ours before deciding.
Plugins break on core updates when they bypass the APIs and reach into internals. We use documented hooks and filters, which are precisely what WordPress commits to not breaking. Nothing is guaranteed forever, but building against the public API is the difference between a routine update and an emergency.
Yes, and we start with a short assessment rather than a quote. Sometimes extending existing code is straightforward; sometimes it is more expensive than a clean rebuild. We tell you which before you commit, including when the honest answer is the cheaper one for you.
Yes. We prepare the submission — readme, assets, and a Plugin Check pass — and handle the review feedback. Worth saying plainly: publishing means the code is GPL and public. That is right for some plugins and wrong for anything that is your competitive advantage.
Small changes within 30 days of delivery are covered. Beyond that they are quoted individually, or you can hand it to any WordPress developer — the code is yours, documented, and written to standards precisely so that you are not stuck with us.

Tell us about your site.
We'll tell you what it needs.

Send us a few details and we'll come back within 48 hours to scope it properly.

No obligation · No sales sequence · A real person replies