Website Rebuilds and Migrations
Website redesign services for a business that already has a site: a new design on WordPress, a move to our hosting, or an ageing system rebuilt as a custom WordPress plugin. And we rebuild our own work: Tin Soldier and Something Fab, both clients since 2005, had their sites most recently rebuilt by us in 2025.
- Since 2001
25 years - 20+ years
with the same clients - 2025
most recent rebuild for two of them
What we rebuild and move
A redesign changes how your site looks and reads, a rebuild replaces what it runs on, and a migration moves it to a new host or platform. Your site may need one of the three, or all of them.
Redesigns, rebuilt on WordPress
A new custom design on WordPress, not an off-the-shelf template. Our Professional package includes migrating your existing site and a staging copy, so the new site can be built and tested while your current one stays live. Intrepid Capital is one of ours: a complete new WordPress website, with custom animation.
Moves to our hosting
A website migration from your current host to ours keeps your address the same. We have moved many clients’ sites to us from other providers, and a move is quoted before we start.
Old systems, rebuilt as plugins
When a system’s code has aged past maintaining, we rebuild it as a custom WordPress plugin. We have done it for GiftBucks’ card management system and for the logistics system that runs Network Dynamics, both first built by us.
Rebuilding our own work as the technology moves
The best test of a website redesign company is whether its clients come back when their site needs its next build. Rebuilding our own work is the rarer kind of rebuild: it takes a client who stayed long enough to need one.
Client since before 2005
International Marimba Festival
Part of Education Africa. We built the festival site in 2011 and most recently rebuilt it in 2025.
Client since 2009
Financial Crime Risk Management Consultants
Their most recent rebuild, in 2025, added a learning platform and a custom plugin that matches their clients and suppliers using AI.
Client since 2003
GiftBucks
We built the first version of its card management system. When that code could no longer be maintained, we rebuilt the system as a custom WordPress plugin with current security.
Three more are further down this page: Tin Soldier and Something Fab, formerly ABFAB Online, both clients since 2005, and Network Dynamics, whose logistics system we first built, then rebuilt as a custom WordPress plugin that still runs the business. Bonethrower, a client since 2002, was most recently rebuilt by us in 2016.
We have changed technology three times since 2001 without changing what we do, and we don’t abandon what we build. smscodes.co.za, a short-code and USSD lookup service we built in 2010, still runs on ASP, the older Microsoft technology it was built with, and we still maintain it. South Africa’s mobile networks have paid to keep its data current ever since.
Taking over someone else’s site
The other kind of job starts with somebody else’s problem. Both of these clients were referred to us and chose to move their sites here.
Client since 2026
Big City Life
A photographer’s site, running very slowly when it came to us. We reduced the whole site from roughly 85GB to about 4.5GB, moved it from another host onto ours and added security.
Client since 2026
Xscape4u
Links to offshore casino sites were being injected into the site. We rebuilt the entire platform, brought its data across without the hacked content, and delivered it clean, with encryption and Wordfence.
Taking over a website: what to find first
How a rebuild works
- Scope
Business has a fixed price and Professional a published starting price, so we agree which one fits, and its price, before anything is built. The first discovery and quote for a business system are free; if you go ahead, the build starts with a detailed scoping phase, included in the price. A broken site that may not be worth saving starts with an assessment, R2,220 incl. VAT, credited against the work. - Build
We build the new site on WordPress with a custom design, not an off-the-shelf template. On Professional, the work happens on a staging copy, and migrating your existing site is included. - Review
You review the new site before it goes live: two rounds of revisions on Business, three on Professional. - Launch and look after
Business includes 30 days of support after launch, and Professional 60. After that, a care plan keeps the site updated, backed up and monitored, with our hosting included, from R975 a month incl. VAT.
Will a redesign cost you your Google rankings?
A planned redesign shouldn’t cost you your rankings for good, but expect some movement while Google catches up. As at 28 September 2026, Google’s guide to moving a site calls ranking fluctuation during a move temporary, and says that for a medium-sized site it can take a few weeks or more for Google to gradually start showing the new addresses instead of the old ones.
When page addresses change, the same guide asks for a map from every old address to its new one, and for the old addresses to redirect to the new. It says permanent redirects, such as a 301, don’t cause a loss in PageRank, the credit that links pass on, and it calls Search Console “your friend, especially during a site move”. Our Business and Professional packages include setting up Search Console.
A move to new hosting is simpler, because the addresses stay the same. WordPress hosting sets out how that move works.
Moving a website without losing traffic: a migration checklist
What a rebuild costs
A redesign on one of our packages costs R15,000, or from R25,000 on Professional. Rebuilding a business system is quoted after a free first discovery, from R65,000. All prices are in South African rand (ZAR), incl. VAT.
Copywriting is not part of either package: you supply the words, with our structured content brief and one free editing pass, or we write them at R975 a page incl. VAT.
Business
R15,000 incl. VAT
A new custom design on WordPress, up to 8 pages. No off-the-shelf template.
- 2 revision rounds
- 30 days of support after launch
Moving your existing site’s content across is quoted separately.
Professional
from R25,000 incl. VAT
Everything in Business, up to 20 pages, and one of a store, bookings, a membership site or a learning platform.
- Migration from your existing site
- A staging copy to build on
- 3 revision rounds and 60 days of support
Custom & Systems
from R65,000 incl. VAT
Rebuilding a business system: custom plugins, integrations and legacy migrations.
Quoted after a free first discovery. Detailed scoping is part of the build.
Website rescue — rebuild
from R15,000 incl. VAT
For a site that isn’t worth saving: a clean install, rebuilt better, with your content brought across.
Quoted after an assessment of R2,220 incl. VAT, credited against the work.
Moving a site to our hosting is quoted before we start. After launch, hosting is R450 a month incl. VAT, and a care plan with the hosting included is R975 or R2,450 a month incl. VAT.
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 have a website redesigned?
With us, from R15,000 incl. VAT: our Business package, a new custom design of up to 8 pages. Professional, from R25,000 incl. VAT, adds up to 20 pages, one of a store, bookings, a membership site or a learning platform, and migration from your existing site. Rebuilding a business system starts from R65,000 incl. VAT, quoted after a free first discovery. More in what a website redesign costs in South Africa.
How can I redesign my existing website?
Start from what the site has to keep: its content, its page addresses and whatever brings in enquiries or sales. Build the new version on a staging copy while the current site stays live, bring the content across, redirect every address that changes to its new one, and test everything before you switch. Our guide to website redesigns covers when to rebuild, what it costs and how to keep your Google rankings.
How much does it cost to update an existing website?
It depends on the update, and you know the price before we start: work outside a package or plan is quoted per task. Our full care plan includes two hours of changes a month, for R2,450 a month incl. VAT with hosting included. If the update is really a new design, it is a redesign, from R15,000 incl. VAT.
Can AI redesign my website?
Not on its own. AI can draft parts of a site: as at 28 September 2026, OpenAI’s help article on code blocks in ChatGPT says supported code can be previewed inside the chat, and that supported previews may include HTML pages. A redesign of a working business site also has to bring its content and page addresses across, keep its forms and payments working, and be looked after once it is live. We build with AI where it does a real job: FCRMC’s 2025 rebuild added a custom plugin that matches their clients and suppliers using AI. More in redesigning with AI tools.
Can you migrate my WordPress site from another host?
Yes. A host move changes where your site lives, not its address, and we have moved many clients’ sites to us from other providers, among them Big City Life. The move is quoted before we start. WordPress hosting sets out what our hosting includes and how a move works.
Do I need a rebuild, or will a new design do?
A new design will do if the site underneath is sound: it still takes its software updates, and it works well on a phone. Sometimes the answer is to rebuild a few sections, as we have done on Smallies World’s store. It needs a rebuild when its code can no longer be kept current, as happened to the first version of GiftBucks’ card management system. Phones matter because, as at 28 September 2026, Google’s guide to mobile-first indexing says Google uses the mobile version of a site’s content for indexing and ranking.
How long does a website rebuild take?
Typically two weeks on Business and four weeks on Professional. Rebuilding a business system is scheduled once discovery has fixed its 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 about the site you have now
A few lines are enough to start: your site’s address, where it is hosted and what it needs to do next. 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