OnWeb · Website and cloud engineering
WordPress sites with a custom theme, with no plugin doing the code's job.
WordPress is a good choice when the client's team needs to publish every day without depending on a developer. The problem is not the platform, it is a site built with ten plugins trying to do what should be in the theme. OnWeb develops with a light, custom theme and technical SEO in the code.
We work in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Headquarters in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
01Overview
WordPress website development
WordPress website development done right starts with a decision most agencies skip: building a light, custom theme instead of stacking plugin on top of plugin until the site turns slow and vulnerable. OnWeb makes that choice by default, because it is the difference between a site the client's team can publish on safely by themselves and a site that breaks with every update.
Friendly URLs, title tags, meta descriptions and content architecture go in from day one, built for the SEO strategies that come later: new content, new categories, a new campaign. The site is born ready to grow, not locked into what existed at launch.
Security is part of the scope, not an afterthought: a poorly maintained WordPress site is the most common target for spam intrusion and malicious content injection, something that has already happened to clients in the portfolio before Netlinks took over maintenance.
The Nobre case shows the opposite of what you want to avoid: a WordPress site hit by a ClickFix intrusion needed a full cleanup before the institutional repositioning could even happen. Prevention comes cheaper than cleanup.
- 200+
- companies served since 2017
- +300%
- organic traffic after Nobre's repositioning
- 24h
- of security and uptime monitoring
- 3
- languages the technical team works in
02Edge
Why a custom theme, not a page builder
Popular page builders solve fast page assembly and charge the price in performance: excess CSS and JavaScript loaded even when the page does not use most of it. The result is a heavy site that is slow even for simple content.
A custom theme, built for the project, loads only what that specific page needs. It is more work upfront and less trouble later, especially as the site grows and every extra second of loading time costs ranking on Google.
That does not mean giving up publishing ease: the client's team still publishes through the WordPress dashboard, with no developer needed for every new post. What changes is what holds that dashboard up behind the scenes.
03Scope
What goes into building a WordPress site
Light custom theme
No dependency on a heavy page builder or a stack of accumulated plugins.
Technical SEO from the code up
Friendly URLs, structured titles and meta descriptions by default.
Hardened security
Configured against the most common intrusion and spam vulnerabilities.
A simple publishing dashboard
The client's team publishes without depending on a developer day to day.
WooCommerce integration
When the project needs a store, with an optimized catalog and checkout.
Existing site migration
Content and SEO history preserved when switching theme or hosting.
04Diagnosis
The most common mistakes in inherited WordPress sites
Before proposing a new site, Netlinks usually finds the same pattern of problems in WordPress sites that have been around for a few years.
Accumulated plugins
Every plugin added over the years, with no review of what is still needed.
An outdated core
Fear of breaking the site stalls security updates, leaving a known vulnerability open.
A heavy page builder
A layout built on top of a generic builder, loading resources the page does not even use.
No backup
With no backup routine, an intrusion can mean total content loss.
05Continuity
Maintenance after delivery
- Ongoing
Security updates
Core, theme and plugins updated without breaking the site.
- Ongoing
Uptime monitoring
Alerts when the site goes down or shows unusual slowness.
- Monthly
Technical SEO review
A check for crawl and indexing errors.
- On demand
Adjustments and new features
Layout changes, a new form, or an additional integration.
06Comparison
Custom theme or a heavy page builder
Both approaches exist in the WordPress ecosystem. The difference shows up in speed and security months after launch.
| OnWeb custom theme | Generic page builder | |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | Loads only what each page needs | Excess CSS and JavaScript, even unused |
| Security | Configuration dedicated against intrusion | A larger attack surface, with many plugins |
| Technical SEO | In the theme's code, from the start | Depends on an extra plugin and manual setup |
| Maintenance | Predictable, with a team watching over it | A plugin update can break the layout |
07The deliverable
What you receive
Finished work, approved by you in the App and shipped. Not a report that only describes the problem.
WordPress site with a custom theme
Light, responsive and with technical SEO built in.
A trained publishing dashboard
The client's team able to publish without constant support.
Security configuration
Protection against the platform's most common vulnerabilities.
Ongoing support
Updates and monitoring available after delivery.
08How it works
From the audit to the page going live
The same path on every project, with an owner and a date on each step.
- 01
Discovery
Understanding what the client's team needs to publish and how often.
- 02
Custom theme
Theme development, with technical SEO and performance decided in the code.
- 03
Migration and training
Content migrated and the team trained to publish through the dashboard.
- 04
Ongoing support
Updates, security and monitoring available after launch.
09Who leads
Who leads your project
The three of them own the process and manage the team on every account. No senior who shows up at kickoff and disappears: they sign off on the plan, review the work and talk to your team.
Digo Garcia
Founder and CAIO
Over 20 years in digital. Built and scaled Letras.mus.br, then worked at Méliuz and in the joint venture with Globo.com. Owns AI, technical SEO and engineering inside every project.
Letras.mus.br · Méliuz · Globo.com
André Mousinho
Chief SEO Officer
Comes from Rock Content, Tray/Locaweb and LWSA. Designs the keyword mapping, the content architecture and the GEO strategy that turns a brand into the answer.
Rock Content · Tray/Locaweb · LWSA
Gabriel Raposo
Chief Authority Officer
Comes from Ambev and Agibank. Owns link building, digital PR and the authority that holds up both rankings and citations inside AI answers.
Ambev · Agibank
And the team behind them: Nathália Barcala (cofounder and COO, governance), Roberto Murta (CTO), Marcelo Ligere (senior advisor, 30+ years, formerly Grupo Globo) and Alfred, the artificial intelligence that runs the day to day: delivery queue, reporting and 24/7 support on WhatsApp.
10Who it is for
Where this work pays off the most
A company that publishes content often
Needs the in-house team to publish without depending on a developer.
A slow or already-hacked WordPress site
Inherited a site with many plugins piled up over the years.
A small to mid-size WooCommerce store
Needs a catalog and checkout running with good performance.
A brand that suffered a recent intrusion
Needs a full cleanup and a structure that will not repeat the problem.
11Case studies
Results with a name, a number and a date
Real projects, with what was done and what changed. No generic charts and no promises of a position.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is an SEO-optimized WordPress site?
It is a site with clean structure, friendly URLs, meta descriptions and title tags organized, and load speed cared for from the theme itself, not patched later with a plugin.
Does the site come with technical SEO already integrated?
Yes. Friendly URLs, title tags, meta descriptions and content architecture go in from day one, built for future SEO strategies.
Why use a custom theme instead of a page builder?
Because popular page builders load excess CSS and JavaScript, even when the page does not use most of it. A custom theme loads only what is needed.
Do you offer support after the WordPress site is delivered?
Yes, with security updates, technical adjustments and ongoing optimization maintenance, detailed in website management.
Is it possible to migrate an existing WordPress site without losing data?
Yes. Migration preserves content, SEO history and functionality, while taking the chance to apply technical improvements along the way.
Is WordPress secure against intrusion?
With the right configuration, yes. Most intrusions exploit an outdated plugin or a poorly configured theme, which OnWeb avoids from delivery onward.
Do you build online stores in WordPress?
Yes, with WooCommerce integration when the project needs a catalog and checkout, always with performance checked before launch.
Can an old WordPress site be cleaned up instead of rebuilt?
It depends on the state of the installation. An audit shows whether it is worth cleaning up plugins, updating the core and hardening security, or whether the cost of maintaining it outweighs starting over with a custom theme.
Keep reading
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Next step
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