WordPress Development in Johannesburg
Custom plugins, integrations and the systems a business runs on every day, built on WordPress — including the complicated stuff.
- Since 2001
25 years - 20+ years
with the same clients - 2025
most recent rebuild for two of them
What we build
If you are looking for a web developer in Johannesburg, you probably need more than a brochure site. Plenty of studios can put five pages on a theme. Far fewer are comfortable when the website has to do real work: take payments, talk to the software you already run, host a membership or a course, or replace a system that has aged past saving.
That is our everyday work. Most of what we have built recently includes some custom plugin development, from page animations to entire systems written as a plugin. We have been building custom business systems since 2001, and we have changed technology three times without changing what we do.
Custom plugins
When nothing off the shelf does the job, we write the plugin. The logistics system that runs Network Dynamics is one, built entirely as a custom WordPress plugin. So are the page animations on Smallies World.
Integrations
Connecting your site to the systems your business already uses, from payment gateways such as PayFast to business software such as MRPeasy, which we set up for Thrive Raw Food For Dogs.
Online stores with their own rules
WooCommerce stores that need logic a standard shop doesn’t have, such as the bulk-purchase discounts on Smallies World.
Memberships and learning platforms
Member areas, rewards platforms and online courses. FCRMC’s 2025 rebuild added a learning platform to their site.
Business systems
Loyalty programmes, gift-card platforms and the private systems a company runs on every day, built to keep running for years.
Migrations and takeovers
Moving an old system onto current WordPress, or taking over a project another developer left behind. GiftBucks’ original platform had aged past maintaining, so we rebuilt it as a custom WordPress plugin with current security.
Systems good enough to carry someone else’s name
Development work is usually judged on launch day. The better test comes years later. Some of what we have built has been redeployed as somebody else’s product, under a different brand or in a different market, and that only happens when a platform is solid enough to sell. Network Dynamics’ logistics system, further down this page, also runs as 365ZIM, a white-label instance for the same owner’s business in Zimbabwe.
Client since 2003
A gift-card platform: websites, a private card management system, and white-label reward platforms that GiftBucks’ clients run under their own names.
Client since 2006
We built and host their website, and built more than 50 white-label rewards platforms that One Loyalty used to provide third-party assist services to its insurance clients. Those platforms have since been retired.
Client since 2009
Their 2025 rebuild added a learning platform and a custom plugin that matches their clients and suppliers using AI.
Not everything we keep running is WordPress. smscodes.co.za, a short-code and USSD lookup service we built in 2010, is still ours to run, and Vodacom pays for its upkeep.
How we work
- Discovery
Before anything is built, we work out what the system has to do, what it must connect to, and what it will cost. The first discovery and quote for Custom & Systems work are free. If you go ahead, the build starts with a detailed scoping phase, included in the price. - Build
We build on WordPress, writing custom plugins where the job needs them, and test on a staging copy before anything goes live. - Review
You review the work before launch. Business includes two rounds of revisions and Professional three; for custom work, the rounds are agreed in discovery. - Launch and look after
Business includes 30 days of support after launch, and Professional 60. After that, a care plan keeps the site updated and monitored, with set response times: four business hours when a site is down.
What it costs
Published prices for websites; custom development is quoted after a free first discovery. All prices in South African rand, incl. VAT.
Business
R15,000 incl. VAT
Up to 8 pages with a custom design on Blocksy. No off-the-shelf template.
Professional
from R25,000 incl. VAT
Everything in Business, up to 20 pages, plus one of: a store, bookings, membership or LMS.
Custom & Systems
from R65,000 incl. VAT
Custom plugins, integrations and business systems, quoted after a free first discovery.
| What you get | Business | Professional | Custom & Systems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pages | Up to 8 | Up to 20 | Set in discovery |
| Store, bookings, membership or LMS | Not included | One of the four | Set in discovery |
| Custom plugin development | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Revision rounds | 2 | 3 | Set in discovery |
| Support after launch | 30 days | 60 days | Set in discovery |
Custom & Systems work starts with a free discovery and quote. If you go ahead, the build begins with a detailed scoping phase, included in the price.
Relationships measured in decades
Three of the clients who have been with us for twenty years or more.
No public access.
Client since before 2005
Network Dynamics
When they became a client they traded as Flower Dynamics.
Logistics management system, now a custom WordPress plugin.
First built in the 2000s, upgraded in 2014, and replaced by a new system in 2026.
Client since 2005
Tin Soldier
Most recently rebuilt in April 2025.
Client since 2005
Something Fab
Formerly ABFAB Online. Most recently rebuilt in 2025.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to develop a website in South Africa?
It depends on what the site has to do. Our website packages have published prices: Business is R15,000, and Professional, which adds one of a store, bookings, a membership site or a learning platform, is from R25,000. Custom development, such as plugins, integrations and business systems, starts from R65,000 after a free first discovery. All prices are incl. VAT. The full price list also covers hosting and care plans.
Who should I hire to build my website?
Match the developer to what the site has to do. For a simple brochure site, plenty of people will do a good job. If the site has to take payments, connect to other software, run members or courses, or keep working for years, ask three things before you hire. Can they show you a system they built years ago that still runs? Who will host and maintain it after launch? And what happens when something breaks? Our answers are on this page: systems we first built in the 2000s that still run, hosting and care plans with set response times, and a studio that has been here since 2001.
What is a WordPress developer?
Someone who builds on WordPress rather than only setting it up: writing custom plugins and themes, connecting WordPress to other systems, and keeping all of it working through updates. A designer decides how a site looks and reads; a developer makes it do things no ready-made plugin does. We do both, and most of what we have built recently includes some custom plugin development.
Can ChatGPT build me a website?
It can draft code and a simple page, and it is getting better at it. What it cannot do is take responsibility for the result: host it, keep it secure, test updates before they go live, or fix it when something breaks. AI is useful inside the right system, and FCRMC’s matching plugin uses it. But anything your business depends on still needs someone accountable to design it, build it and look after it.
Can you take over a site or a plugin someone else built?
Yes. If the site is worth saving, we clean it up and harden it: website rescue starts from R5,200 incl. VAT, plus at least three months of a care plan (R2,925 on basic). If it isn’t, we rebuild it, from R15,000 incl. VAT, after an assessment of R2,220 incl. VAT that is credited against the work. Xscape4u came to us after a compromise, and we rebuilt the platform clean.
Who owns the website and the code?
Your website and its content are yours, and you can move them wherever you like. Custom code we write stays our copyright, and you are licensed to use it on your own site. You may not copy it to other sites or sell it without our consent. If you need to own custom code outright, we agree that in writing before the work starts.
Do you work with clients outside Johannesburg?
Yes. Since 2001, Fyre has built and run sites and systems for South African businesses, and for clients internationally in the UK, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
What happens after launch? Who maintains the site?
We do, if you want us to. Business includes 30 days of support after launch, and Professional 60. After that, a care plan covers tested updates, daily backups and a restore when you need one, and monitoring, with hosting included: R975 a month incl. VAT, or R2,450 a month incl. VAT with two hours of changes.
How long does a WordPress build take?
Typically two weeks for a Business site and four weeks for Professional. Custom & Systems work is scheduled once discovery has fixed the scope.
Related services
What our clients say
I have been working with Claude for over 20 years, and last night he properly pulled a rabbit out of a hat for me! Stunning wordpress site designed and built within two hours. Thank you!!
Google review
Claud from Fyre Interactive recently developed a website for me and did a truly outstanding job. When faced with a challenge he will persist and solve to full customer expectation and satisfaction. It was the best decision to select him as a partner for this project.
Google review
I have worked closed with Claude and the Fyre team and its one of the easiest web developers to work with. He is attentive and responsive to requests at all times whether its email or Whatsapp.
He also does not pad his costs and so the service is value for money. I highly recommend Claude for hosting, web development and other services.
Google review
Read our reviews on Google Review us on Google All our reviews
Tell us what you need built
A few lines about your project are enough to start. We’ll reply with questions, a sensible next step and, where the job allows, a fixed price.
Great service deliverables – Supportive, patient, reachable at all times and responsive
Samantha M. · Xscape4u · Google review