Craft CMS developer for Australia and New Zealand

Developer gone quiet? I take over Craft sites without breaking anything.

I take over Craft sites from other Craft CMS developers, design and build new ones, upgrade older ones to Craft 5, and host them, for businesses in Australia and New Zealand. More than ten Craft builds so far, as developer or delivery lead, including this site.

Book a 20-minute call

You'll work with me, AnthonyNot an account manager or a junior. I reply to every enquiry myself.

What is Craft CMS?

Craft CMS is a content management system for building custom websites, made by Pixel & Tonic. Instead of starting from a theme, you define your own content structure, so editors fill in fields built for your content, with live preview, drafts and revisions. More than 150,000 sites have been created with it, according to craftcms.com, and the W3C runs w3.org on it. Craft Solo is free for one user, Team and Pro are paid, and Craft 5 is the current version.

Craft CMS at a glance

Made by. Pixel & Tonic.
Current version. Craft 5. Craft 6, rebuilt on Laravel, has been in alpha since May 2026, and Craft 5 moves to long-term support when it launches.
Licence. Solo is free for one user. Team (USD $279) and Pro (USD $399) are per project, with a year of updates, then USD $99 a year.
Built with. PHP, Twig templates and MySQL or PostgreSQL, with a GraphQL API in every edition.
Hosting. Any PHP host, Craft Cloud, Servd, or managed hosting with me.

What does a Craft CMS developer do?

A Craft CMS developer models your content, builds the templates and integrations, and keeps the site updated, secure and supported after launch. I'm an independent, freelance Craft developer: I take over sites other developers built, build new ones, upgrade Craft 3 and 4 sites to Craft 5, and host them in Australia.

What I do with Craft

For businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

Take over your siteYour developer is moving on or has gone quiet. I check the code, plugins and hosting, sort out access and take over without breaking anything. Billed from prepaid hours, with an estimate after a first look.
Build or rebuildDesign, content modelling, templates, integrations and launch. Paid scoping first: a reverse brief and tech spec in 1 to 2 weeks, credited against the build.
Upgrade itCraft 3 or 4 to Craft 5. I plan the upgrade, replace abandoned plugins and test everything before it goes live.
Host and look after itCraft CMS support and managed hosting on Australian servers, with updates, backups, SSL and monitoring, from $169 a month ex GST, or with an hour or two of changes a month on a care plan. Unused hours roll over for 12 months.

What to look for in a Craft CMS developer

Content modelling first. Ask how they'd set up your sections, entry types and Matrix fields before any design starts. That's where a Craft site is won or lost.
A proper build and deploy workflow. Local development in DDEV, dependencies managed with Composer, front-end builds with Vite, and project config in version control, so changes deploy by script instead of being clicked in on the live site.
Upgrade experience. Craft 4 stopped getting security fixes on 30 April 2026. Ask how they've handled Craft 4 to 5 upgrades and plugins that are no longer maintained.
A plan for hosting and caching. Who runs the server, how updates are tested before they go live, and how pages are cached (static caching such as Blitz, with a CDN in front).
Craft Commerce, if you sell online. Ask about Commerce work specifically. It's a different skill from content sites.

That's how I work on every Craft build, including this site.

How I know Craft

I led an agency's move to Craft CMS as its standard platform

Leading digital production at an Australian agency, I watched projects start on a different stack each time: no reusable tooling, no shared skills, and every estimate starting from zero. I made the case for one platform built around structured content, led the evaluation and chose Craft.

Then I set the strategy for moving the team onto it: training material and best practices, automated deployments, and the old servers decommissioned.

To be clear, the agency's team built the Craft practice it has today, and plenty of that growth came after I left. My part was the case, the choice and the first years of putting it into practice. More in the agency delivery case study.

What a client says

Anthony recently completed a website redevelopment for our recruitment agency. He delivered the site in a short time frame and the result is fantastic. He even went above and beyond to achieve a pagespeed score of 98 on GTMetrix. The site is a pleasure to use. His pricing is highly competitive, he is easy to work with and has high attention to detail. We are able to edit the content in the CMS and he stepped us through the process. We're really happy with the website and won't hesitate to hire Anthony again for future projects. Thank you!

Shyan Perera, Vicforce

The Craft CMS control panel behind this site: the Website Health Check page, with its hero, blocks, SEO and service listing tabs

This site runs on Craft

Built for editors, and for change

For editors

Built around the people who publish. Every field in Craft is labelled for what it holds, there's a live preview beside the editor, and drafts, revisions and scheduled publishing come standard. Editors stop wrestling a page builder and start filling in a page.

Editors moving from WordPress tend to notice it first: the control panel is designed for your content, not for every possible website.

Content modelling

Decide what your content is, then design the pages. Craft makes you define sections, entry types and fields before you design a single page. It takes thought up front, and it's why a Craft site is easier to change in year three than a theme-based one.

This is where I spend the most time on any Craft build, because the content model decides how well the site ages, how editors use it and how cleanly it connects to everything else.

Editorial workflows and permissions

The right people can change the right things. Craft lets you set what each user group can see, edit and publish, section by section, so a team can draft freely while only some people publish. Craft Team covers up to five users in one group; Craft Pro has unlimited users and groups.

Craft doesn't include a multi-step approval process out of the box. Where sign-off matters, a plugin adds submit, review and publish stages, and I set it up around how your team already approves content.

For your IT team

Predictable for the people who run it. Templates, configuration and the content model all live in version control, so every change is reviewed, deployed by script and easy to roll back. Updates are tested on a copy of the site before they go live.

When I led an agency's move to Craft, automated deployments were part of the standard from the start. This site deploys the same way.

The screenshot is the control panel behind this site. I modelled the content, wrote the templates and run the hosting.

Measured on this page, 6 October 2026

Fast, secure and accessible

5plugins run this whole site

2 KBof JavaScript on this page

14 KBof CSS, compressed

0.13 sfor the server to respond, measured from Melbourne

Performance

Fast without a stack of plugins. Craft only loads what a page needs. With sensible templates, image transforms and static caching, Craft sites are fast without layers of optimisation plugins.

This site uses static caching through Blitz, with Cloudflare in front of it, and that's how I set up most Craft builds.

Security and updates

A smaller surface to protect. Fewer plugins means fewer things to break and fewer ways in, and Craft's updates are predictable. On managed hosting I keep Craft and its plugins updated, and test each update before it goes live.

Older versions stop getting security fixes: Craft 4's ended on 30 April 2026. Part of looking after a Craft site is planning the next upgrade before it becomes urgent.

Accessibility

Built in, not bolted on. Craft doesn't impose templates, so accessibility comes down to the build: a proper heading order, labelled forms, keyboard navigation and alt text fields that editors actually fill in.

I build it into the content model from the start, so the site stays accessible as editors add to it, instead of drifting after launch.

The control panel itself is accessible too. When the W3C, the body behind the web's accessibility standards, rebuilt w3.org, it chose Craft partly because staff who aren't sighted needed to edit the site.

Multi-site, integrations and commerce

When one website isn't the whole job

Multi-site and languages

One install, several sites. A single Craft install can run several brands, regions or languages, sharing content where it should and keeping it separate where it shouldn't.

It suits businesses with sister brands, regional sites or an Australian and New Zealand presence, without paying to run and update two separate websites.

Integrations and headless

Connects cleanly to everything else. Craft has a clean API for CRMs, product data, search and apps, and it works as a headless CMS when a front-end team wants React, Vue or Astro.

I've connected Craft to HubSpot, Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics, among other CRMs. Other common connections are ERPs and stock systems, email marketing and analytics, and single sign-on for staff or members.

For a national distributor I'm leading a headless build. The Astro front end takes product data straight from their product information system, Craft manages the site content, Algolia runs product search, and dealer details come into Craft from their dealer portal through a custom API. Each piece of information is managed in one place, so the website always shows the live catalogue and the current dealers.

Craft Commerce

When products need more than a product page. Craft Commerce suits products that need rich content, custom configuration or tight integration with the rest of the site. It can handle trade pricing per customer, ordering on account and syncing orders and stock with your ERP. For trade and dealer sales, see B2B ecommerce.

For most retail stores Shopify is simpler and cheaper to run, and I build on both.

Craft CMS or WordPress?

Both are good platforms for different jobs. The right one depends on your content, your editors and your budget.

Compared on	Craft CMS	WordPress
Best for	Content-heavy sites with complex structure, several editors and a long life	Brochure sites, blogs and tight budgets that need to launch fast
Editing	Fields built around your content, with live preview, drafts and revisions built in	Familiar editor; quality depends on the theme and page builder
Plugins	Fewer, mostly vetted, so less to break on update	A huge choice, and more to update and keep compatible
Licence	Free for one user; Team and Pro are paid, then a yearly fee for updates	Free core; premium plugins and themes often charge yearly
Finding a developer	A smaller pool in Australia and New Zealand	Easy to find; quality varies widely
Cost to build	Higher up front, for the content modelling	Lower up front, especially with a theme

Craft CMS

Best for: Content-heavy sites with complex structure, several editors and a long life
Editing: Fields built around your content, with live preview, drafts and revisions built in
Plugins: Fewer, mostly vetted, so less to break on update
Licence: Free for one user; Team and Pro are paid, then a yearly fee for updates
Finding a developer: A smaller pool in Australia and New Zealand
Cost to build: Higher up front, for the content modelling

WordPress

Best for: Brochure sites, blogs and tight budgets that need to launch fast
Editing: Familiar editor; quality depends on the theme and page builder
Plugins: A huge choice, and more to update and keep compatible
Licence: Free core; premium plugins and themes often charge yearly
Finding a developer: Easy to find; quality varies widely
Cost to build: Lower up front, especially with a theme

Craft CMS hosting in Australia

There are three good options, and I'll tell you which suits you.

Craft Cloud is hosting from the company that makes Craft. Team and Pro licences are included in the plan.
Servd is a managed hosting platform built for Craft sites.
Managed hosting with me runs on Australian servers, with Craft and plugin updates tested before they go live, backups, SSL and uptime monitoring, from $169 a month ex GST, or $249 and $379 with one or two hours of changes a month. If an update I install breaks something, fixing it is on me. Website only, no email. See the care plans.

Craft Cloud or Servd suit you if you have your own developer and want the hosting kept separate. Mine suits you if you'd rather one person looked after the hosting, the updates and the changes.

How pricing works

Nothing starts until you've agreed the price.

A free 20-minute callTell me what's going on. I'll ask about the site, the systems around it and what you need.
A ballpark by email, when the scope is clearFor most jobs, such as a takeover, a Craft 5 upgrade, an audit or a straightforward build, I can send a ballpark after the call.
Paid scoping, when it isn'tIf the work means learning your internal systems and processes, such as an integration with your CRM or ERP, it starts with a paid scoping agreement. It's credited against the build if you go ahead.

Common questions

Can you take over a Craft CMS site someone else built?

Yes, and it's some of the most common work I do. I check the code, Craft version, plugins and hosting, sort out access, then take over updates and changes. It runs on prepaid hours. The full handover checklist is in taking over a Craft CMS website.

Is it hard to find a Craft CMS developer?

Harder than finding a WordPress developer, because the pool is smaller: the Craft Partners directory lists about 240 agencies and developers worldwide, and fewer than 20 of them are in Australia (October 2026). It matters most when the developer who built your site moves on. I take over Craft sites other people built, check the code, plugins and hosting, and look after them from there, so you don't start again. Craft keeps its settings in version-controlled files, so the next developer can pick the site up cleanly too.

Can you upgrade a Craft 3 or Craft 4 site to Craft 5?

Yes, and it's worth doing soon: Craft 4 stopped getting security fixes on 30 April 2026, and Craft 3 in April 2024. I check the plugins first, replace any that are no longer maintained, update the templates and test the upgrade on a copy of the site before it goes live. I quote it after a first look, because the plugins and templates decide the cost more than the size of the site.

How much does a Craft CMS website cost?

It depends on the content model and the integrations, more than the number of pages. After a free 20-minute call I can usually send a ballpark by email. Complex work, such as an integration with your CRM or ERP, starts with paid scoping, credited against the build: a reverse brief and tech spec in 1 to 2 weeks.

Is Craft CMS free?

Craft Solo is free for sites with one user account. Craft Team is USD $279 and Craft Pro USD $399 per project, each with a year of updates, then USD $99 a year. Team and Pro licences are included if you host on Craft Cloud. I pass licences on at cost.

What is Craft CMS used for?

Custom websites where the content has a shape of its own: marketing sites with many kinds of page, several brands or languages on one install, headless builds with a separate front end, and online stores on Craft Commerce. The W3C runs w3.org on it. It suits content that needs structure and editors who need an easy time of it.

Is Craft CMS open source?

Not in the strict sense. The source code is public on GitHub, but the licence isn't an approved open source one: it requires payment where a licence fee is owed and limits each licence to one live site. Solo is free for one user, and Team and Pro are paid per project.

Is Craft CMS good?

Yes, for sites with structured content, several editors and a long life. It's a weaker fit for the tightest budgets, or when you want the biggest possible pool of developers. Craft CMS vs WordPress covers both sides.

Should I hire a Craft freelancer, an agency or a marketplace developer?

It depends on the size of the job and who you want accountable. An agency suits large builds that need a full team every day, and costs the most. Marketplaces such as Upwork and Toptal are quick to start, but you vet the developer and manage the work yourself. An independent Craft developer gives you one senior person from the first call to launch and after it, which suits takeovers, upgrades and most builds. For larger builds I bring in senior Craft developers I've worked with and stay the lead.

Are you a freelance Craft developer or an agency?

Independent, and a designer as well as a developer: I studied design and started out as a digital designer, so for most projects one person covers the design, the content model, the build and the hosting. For larger builds I bring in senior Craft developers I've worked with before and run delivery, so you get more hands without losing one accountable owner. That's Keal Collective: vetted people I work with, with me as lead.

Can you move our website from WordPress to Craft CMS?

Yes. I model the content in Craft first, then migrate it, keep URLs where I can and redirect the rest, and carry page titles and descriptions across to protect your search rankings. Still deciding? Read Craft CMS vs WordPress.

Is Craft CMS a headless CMS?

It can be either. Most Craft sites render their own pages, which is simpler to build and host. Craft also has a GraphQL API in every edition, so a separate front end in React, Vue or Astro, or a mobile app, can read the same content. I recommend headless only when a front-end team or a second app needs it.

Will moving to Craft CMS affect our SEO?

Not if the move is planned. I map every existing URL, keep the ones that work and redirect the rest, carry page titles, descriptions and structured data across, and check Search Console after launch for errors and lost pages. Rankings can dip for a few weeks while Google recrawls the site; a planned move keeps that short.

Is Craft CMS suitable for larger organisations?

Yes. Craft Pro has unlimited users and user groups with their own permissions, one install can run several sites and languages, and it connects to the systems larger organisations already use. The W3C runs w3.org on it. For larger builds I bring in senior Craft developers I've worked with and stay the one accountable lead.

Should we choose Craft Commerce or Shopify?

Shopify, for most retail stores: it's simpler and cheaper to run. Craft Commerce, when products need rich content, custom configuration, trade pricing or tight links to the rest of your site and systems. For trade and dealer sales, see B2B ecommerce.

Do you work with New Zealand businesses?

Yes. I work remotely with businesses across New Zealand and Australia, and calls fit easily across the time difference. I invoice in AUD.

Still choosing a platform?

Craft CMS vs WordPressThe full comparison, including when neither is right WordPress developerBuilds, fixes and maintenance Compare platformsWordPress, Craft CMS and Shopify

Got a Craft site that needs a new home?

Send me the URL. I'll look at the version, plugins and hosting before we talk, so the first call is useful.

Book a 20-minute call or send me a message. I answer both myself.

Bigger project? I bring in Keal Collective, vetted people I work with, and stay your lead.

Book a 20-minute call