WordPress help: fix, speed up, clean a hacked site or rebuild it

WordPress problems usually fall into four groups: the site is broken, it is slow, it has been hacked, or it needs replacing. They overlap, so I start with a diagnosis and then give you one fixed price for the work, whichever of the four it turns out to be.

Fixing a broken site

Typical causes are a plugin update that conflicts with the theme, a PHP version change at the host, a full disk or exhausted memory limit, or a failed update that left the site in maintenance mode. I turn on debug logging on a staging copy, find the failing plugin or function, and fix or replace it. I do not change the live site until the fix works on the copy.

Speeding it up

I measure before touching anything, on a phone-class connection and on the real pages that matter. The causes I look at, in order of how often they matter: oversized images, too many plugins loading scripts on every page, a heavy page builder, no page caching, a slow host, and slow database queries from a plugin. The fix is usually removing and replacing, not adding another optimisation plugin on top. Then I measure again so you see the difference rather than take my word for it.

Cleaning a hacked site

Warning signs: redirects to other sites only for some visitors, pages you did not make, admin users you do not recognise, a host warning, or search results showing odd text under your name. My process:

• Take a full copy first, so evidence and a fallback exist.
• Change every credential: WordPress users, hosting, database, FTP or SSH, and the keys in the config file.
• Compare core files against the official release, and remove or reinstall plugins and themes from clean sources instead of trusting what is on disk.
• Look for planted admin users, scheduled tasks, modified files in the uploads folder, and injected code in the database.
• Find the entry point and close it, then add monitoring and a backup you have tested restoring.

I will tell you if the cleanest path is a rebuild. See the related guides for first steps you can take today.

Building a new site

If the old site is not worth saving, I build a new one, on WordPress if you need editors to publish often, or as a static site if the site is mostly fixed pages. I move your content and set up redirects so you do not lose existing search traffic.

When to stay with a plugin or a managed host

If the site is healthy and only needs routine updates, a managed WordPress host that handles updates and backups may be all you need. A security plugin will not rescue a site whose real problem is an abandoned plugin. I will say so.

What I need from you

• A temporary admin account, and hosting access only when required.
• Whatever you know: when it started, what changed, who had access.
• A decision on whether you want the site kept as it is, tidied, or replaced.

After the work I hand over what changed in plain terms, and optional monthly maintenance covers updates, backups and checks.