WordPress · Nottingham
WordPress Developer Nottingham
WordPress and WooCommerce sites repaired, maintained and kept secure, and built properly when you need something new.
WordPress repairs, maintenance and development for Nottingham businesses, by a published WordPress plugin author with 17 years' experience. You deal with me directly, from the first conversation to long after launch: no account managers and no hand-offs.
- Google Partner
- 17 Years Experience
- 300+ Clients
- 5★ Rated
- Nominet Accredited
Tell me about your project
Prefer to talk? 07853 089988
Start with the problem
WordPress Problems I Fix
“My site is down or showing errors”
White screens, critical errors, 500 errors and database problems diagnosed and fixed
“An update broke my site”
Plugin, theme and PHP version conflicts resolved, and updates tested before they go live
“My site has been hacked”
Malware removed, backdoors closed, the site hardened and warnings cleared
“My WordPress site is slow”
Hosting, caching, images and plugin bloat sorted, usually without a rebuild
“My WooCommerce shop isn't working”
Checkout, payments, order emails and plugin problems tracked down and fixed
“I need someone to look after it”
Updates, backups, security and support from one person who knows your site
Work I've actually done
WordPress Work, and What Came Next
High-Performance Training & Resource Ecosystem
Group training bookings that look after themselves
For NeuroDiverse Life (NDL), we moved beyond standard web design to engineer a custom full-stack ecosystem. NDL provides critical training for high-stakes professional sectors, including the police. They required a platform that didn't just look "corporate," but functioned with the precision and security required for large-scale professional coaching and sensitive data handling.
Read the case study
Edwards Jewellery
The brief said e-commerce. The conversation revealed a specialist.
Anne asked for an e-commerce website to replace a perfectly presentable Wix site. Conversations with her uncovered a much stronger proposition: a specialist bench jeweller who works personally with clients to create, restore and transform jewellery, including the inherited pieces people no longer wear. The project became discovery, positioning and content strategy as much as development, and the platform grew to support how the business actually works, from events and wedding fairs to consultations and a private client area.
Starstruck
From a dance-school website to the platform the school runs on
What began as a new website for Starstruck Performing Arts became a closer look at how the school runs online. The result is a bespoke platform that takes a family from first enquiry to the class register: local search, enrolment, term billing, parent and tutor portals, targeted communications, a shop and event tickets, all on infrastructure Starstruck owns. Bringing class management and payments in-house removed around £5,000 a year in platform charges.
Plate Studio
Bringing a complicated, compliance-heavy purchase online
Plate Studio needed to bring a complicated, compliance-heavy purchase online without sacrificing either the customer experience or the security of sensitive customer information. I designed and built one platform that does both: a live plate builder that shows customers exactly what they are buying, connected to a secure document and verification workflow that lets the business legally fulfil every order.
Tony James Designs
Modernising years of successful international e-commerce without throwing away what worked
Tony James Designs had run its international motorcycle paint-protection store on WooCommerce for years, and it worked. Asked to update the website, I recommended something different: keep the business exactly as it operates, and replace the platform underneath it. The old store was mapped in detail first, including a configurator driven by 610 conditional elements, then rebuilt as a bespoke Next.js and Payload application. Products, customers and order history came across intact, followed by practical improvements: better search, launch-interest capture, built-in shipment tracking and a partner directory.
Full-stack, end to end
Why You Need a Full-Stack Developer,
Not a “Web Designer”
A website is only the layer your customers see. Behind it sits the system that runs the business, the servers that keep it online and the marketing that brings people in. I build and run all four.
Front end
What customers see
- Websites
- Online shops
- Customer portals
- Booking flows
React, Next.js, WordPress and WooCommerce, including WordPress plugins I build and publish.
Web designer✓Me✓Back end
What makes the business work
- Orders & payments
- Customer accounts
- APIs & integrations
- Automation & AI
Node.js and PHP on MongoDB, MySQL and PostgreSQL, with Stripe, Twilio and AI models wired in.
Web designer–Me✓Servers
What keeps it running
- Hosting
- Security
- Backups
- Domains & email
Director of Host Dada, my own UK hosting company. I run the servers my clients’ sites live on.
Web designer–Me✓Marketing
What brings customers in
- SEO
- Google Ads
- Lead generation
- Content
Google Partner with 17 years of SEO and paid search, and the founder of Lead Stack, a lead-generation business.
Web designer–Me✓
One person across every layer, so nothing falls between the gaps.
How I workWhy work with me
You Deal Directly With Me
Not an account manager, and not a junior developer working from someone else's notes. You work with the person who:
- understands the requirement and the business behind it
- recommends what to build, and what not to
- writes the software
- understands SEO and paid search
- runs the hosting and infrastructure
- is still there afterwards
Darren really took the time to understand my wants, needs and expectations and delivered exactly what was on the brief. He's been there when I wanted changes or when I'd messed up on certain things. Overall his work is the best I've had. Top quality work as always, keep it up!
What clients say
Still There After Launch
We have used Darren Kandekore to create two websites for our business. He is very professional, and his work is always to a high standard. If we ever have any problems, he is easy to get hold of and will quickly resolve the issue to ensure our website is up and running. We would definitely recommend Darren!
I can thoroughly recommend Darren Kandekore. After having big problems with my hosting company I needed help quickly to keep my two businesses running efficiently. Darren understood the problem right away and within a couple of days my two websites and business emails found a new, reliable home.
How I work
How a Project Runs
The first stage is understanding the business, before anyone chooses a technology.
Diagnose
For a problem: a rapid diagnostic to find the actual cause, not just the symptom. For a new build: a proper brief and design phase.
Fix or Build
Targeted repair work with a backup taken first, whether that means removing malware, resolving a plugin conflict or rebuilding a broken database, or clean development for something new.
Look After It
Testing before anything goes live, then ongoing updates, backups, security and support so the same problem doesn't come back.
WordPress
What's Included
WordPress Repairs
White screens, critical errors, broken layouts, database errors, failed updates and lost admin access, diagnosed at the cause and fixed.
Hacked Site Recovery
Malware removal, backdoor elimination, security hardening and Google blacklist removal, with fast response.
WordPress Maintenance
Core, theme and plugin updates applied with a backup first and checked afterwards, plus security monitoring, uptime alerts and backup management.
PHP & Compatibility Upgrades
Older sites moved onto supported PHP versions, with outdated plugins and theme code fixed or replaced so nothing breaks.
Performance Optimisation
Slow WordPress site? I diagnose and fix the causes: bloated plugins, unoptimised images, poor hosting, bad caching configuration.
WooCommerce Fixes & Development
Checkout, payment gateway, stock and order email problems fixed, and custom product pages, checkout flows and integrations built.
Hosting Moves
Move your WordPress site to Host Dada for better performance, daily backups and someone to call when something goes wrong.
Custom Themes & Plugins
Published WordPress plugin author. Custom functionality built as proper plugins and bespoke themes, not hacked into theme files.
Is Your WordPress Site Broken, Hacked, or Running Slowly?
- WordPress site gone down or showing a white screen of death
- Site hacked, with malware warnings, Google blacklisting or unexpected redirects
- Site running painfully slowly and losing customers because of it
- Plugin or theme update broke your site completely
- WordPress database errors or 500 Internal Server Errors
- Lost admin access or been locked out of your dashboard
- WooCommerce checkout broken, orders not processing
WordPress for Nottingham Businesses
Most WordPress work isn't a new website. It's a site that has stopped working, been hacked, slowed to a crawl or been broken by an update, or a site that simply needs someone reliable to look after it. That's a large part of what I do for Nottingham businesses: diagnosing and fixing problems, keeping core, themes and plugins updated safely, and looking after security, backups and hosting. I've worked with WordPress for 17 years and publish my own plugins to the official WordPress Plugin Directory, so I can fix problems in the code, not just reinstall plugins and hope. When you do need something new, I build custom themes, WooCommerce shops and plugins properly, and I'll tell you honestly when WordPress is no longer the right tool.
Nottingham's blend of large-scale corporate employers, an active startup scene, and a strong independent retail and hospitality sector creates diverse demand for digital marketing and web development across every level of business.
About Nottingham's business landscape
Nottingham is a major East Midlands city with a diverse, innovation-driven economy. The city is home to Boots (pharmacy, beauty and healthcare multinational), Capital One's European headquarters and a significant pharmaceutical and life sciences cluster. Nottingham's two universities, the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent, generate strong graduate talent and support a growing gaming and technology sector. The city's retail scene is anchored by one of the UK's largest city centre shopping areas.
330,000+ population. Capital One and Boots HQ in the city
- Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences
- Finance & Fintech
- Retail & E-commerce
- Gaming & Tech
- Hospitality & Leisure
- Professional Services
Questions Businesses Ask
Do you offer emergency WordPress repair?
- Yes, emergency WordPress repair is available with same-day response. Whether your site has been hacked, broken by a plugin update or has gone completely offline, contact me directly and I'll prioritise getting it back online.
My WordPress site has been hacked, what do I do?
- Don't panic, but act fast. A hacked WordPress site needs immediate malware removal, backdoor elimination, security hardening and potentially Google Safe Browsing removal. I've recovered dozens of hacked sites, so contact me immediately and I can usually begin work the same day.
Why is my WordPress website so slow?
- Common causes include too many plugins, unoptimised images, poor quality hosting, no caching or heavy page builder code. I'll run a full performance audit, identify the root causes and implement fixes, usually reducing load time significantly without rebuilding the site.
Are you really a published WordPress plugin author?
- Yes. I have plugins published and listed on the official WordPress.org Plugin Directory. This is a peer-reviewed process that requires meeting WordPress coding standards. It demonstrates a level of WordPress expertise well beyond typical theme customisation.
Do you offer ongoing WordPress maintenance?
- Yes. I keep WordPress core, themes and plugins updated, taking a backup first and checking the site afterwards, and look after security monitoring, backups and hosting. If something does go wrong, you contact me directly, not a ticket queue.
Can you fix a WordPress site someone else built?
- Yes, and most of the repair work I do is on sites built by someone else. I start by working out how the site was put together and what changed, then fix the cause rather than patching over it.
How much does a WordPress website cost?
- It depends on the scope: the number of pages, whether you need WooCommerce, and any bookings or integrations. I don't publish a set price, because every build is planned around a return on your investment, the enquiries or sales it needs to bring in to pay for itself. Design, development, 12 months hosting (via Host Dada), SSL, email setup and post-launch support are included. You get a fixed, written quote after a free first conversation.
Can you move my WordPress site to better hosting?
- Yes. I migrate WordPress sites to Host Dada regularly. The process is seamless, with zero downtime in most cases. Host Dada offers 99% uptime, daily backups, full cPanel access, SSH and UK-managed servers, a significant upgrade from most generic hosting providers.
Do you work with WooCommerce?
- Yes. WooCommerce development is a core specialism. I build custom product pages, checkout flows, subscription systems, custom payment gateway integrations and bespoke WooCommerce plugins. I've also published WooCommerce extensions to the WordPress.org directory.
Start a conversation
Tell Me What You're Trying to Achieve
You don't need to know whether the answer is a website, software, AI or marketing. Tell me what you want to improve and I'll tell you honestly what I'd do.