Service
Custom and headless websites, for when a page builder becomes the bottleneck.
Astro and Next.js front ends on a headless CMS your team can still edit — for sites that have to be very fast, handle heavy traffic, or pull data from several systems at once.
- Your code, in your Git repository
- Core Web Vitals budget agreed up front
- Editable by your marketing team
Sound familiar?
The conversations that usually lead here.
“Every new feature fights the theme.”
The page builder does 80% of what you need, and the last 20% takes weeks of workarounds.
“We have tried every speed plugin.”
Caching, image plugins, a bigger server. It still takes four seconds on a phone.
“Our data lives in three systems.”
Products in an ERP, content in WordPress, prices in a spreadsheet — and the website shows none of it live.
When custom is worth it
Six situations where a custom build pays for itself.
Speed is revenue
Static and server-rendered pages served from a CDN stay fast on mid-range phones, even as you add hundreds of pages.
Traffic spikes
Launches, sales and TV spots without the server falling over, because most pages never touch a database.
Several data sources
Products, prices and stock pulled from an ERP, PIM or API — at build time or on request.
Many markets and languages
One codebase for Sri Lanka, Africa and beyond, with proper hreflang, local URLs and currencies.
Portals and tools
Customer logins, dashboards, calculators and quote builders that are awkward inside WordPress.
A smaller attack surface
No public admin login on the live site and far fewer plugins to patch.
What you get
A fast front end, a CMS your team already understands.
We build the front end in Astro or Next.js and keep editing where your team is comfortable — often in WordPress itself.
- Astro or Next.js front end in TypeScript
- Headless WordPress, Sanity, Storyblok or the Shopify Storefront API as the CMS
- Hosting on Vercel, Netlify or Cloudflare with a preview link for every change
- A performance budget for LCP, INP and CLS agreed before we start
- Documentation, a handover call and the code in your repository
When we will recommend WordPress instead
Custom is not always the right answer. We will say so on the first call if:
- Marketing edits a site of under 50 pages every day in a visual builder
- There is no developer or care plan to look after the code
- The budget is under USD 12,000
- The launch date is less than six weeks away
In those cases a well-built WordPress site is faster to ship and cheaper to run.
How it works
Five steps, with a preview link at every one.
Discovery and architecture
We map the pages, data sources and integrations, then agree the stack and a performance budget in writing.
Content model and design system
Reusable components and a content model your editors can work with — no page builder required.
Build with preview URLs
Every change gets its own preview link. Weekly updates, no silence.
Test and migrate
Accessibility and performance testing, 301 redirect mapping and analytics, so rankings carry over.
Launch and handover
Go-live, documentation and an optional care plan with 24/7 monitoring.
The toolkit
What we build custom sites with.
| Area | Tools |
|---|---|
| Front end | Astro Next.js React TypeScript Tailwind CSS |
| CMS | Headless WordPress Sanity Storyblok Shopify Storefront API |
| Hosting | Vercel Netlify Cloudflare |
| Data | REST GraphQL Webhooks ERP and PIM connectors |
Pricing
Starting prices. A fixed price after a written scope.
Custom work is scoped for each project. These are typical starting points.
- Recommended
Custom marketing site
Astro or Next.js on a headless CMS.
from USD 12,000
from LKR 2,500,000 in Sri Lanka
- Custom design system and templates
- Headless CMS set up for your editors
- SEO migration and 301 redirects
- Analytics and consent set up
Headless commerce
Shopify Hydrogen or a custom storefront.
Quoted
after a paid discovery
- Custom product and collection pages
- Cart and checkout on the platform
- Search, filters and merchandising
- Payment gateways for your markets
Portal or web app
Logins, dashboards and tools.
Quoted
discovery credited to the build
- Customer or partner logins
- Dashboards and reports
- Calculators and quote builders
- Integrations with your systems
Hosting is usually USD 0–50 a month on Vercel, Netlify or Cloudflare and is billed to your own account.
Before you ask
Questions about custom builds.
Still unsure? Ask us directly — we answer in one business day.
Can our marketing team still edit pages?
Yes. Editors work in a CMS — often WordPress itself — and changes go live in minutes. They do not need to touch code.
Will we be locked in to Seranova?
No. The code sits in your Git repository, hosting is in your accounts, and every project ships with documentation. Any competent developer can take it over.
How do you protect our Google rankings?
We crawl the old site, map every URL to its new address with 301 redirects, keep titles and structured data, and watch Search Console for the first weeks after launch.
How long does a custom build take?
Most custom marketing sites take 10 to 16 weeks from discovery to launch. Headless commerce and portals take longer and are scheduled after discovery.
Do you build mobile apps?
No. We build websites and web apps that work well on phones. If you need a native app, we will point you to people who do it well.
Next step
Not sure custom is worth it for you?
Send us your current site. We will tell you honestly whether a custom build or a cleaner WordPress site is the better investment.
