Software we build with # WordPress agency in Calgary We build custom WordPress sites that your team runs without us. Our offices are in Calgary and Vancouver, and we work with nonprofits, public sector teams and growing companies across North America. Rated 5.0 out of 5,**5.0**63 Google reviews320-999 8 St. SW, Calgary ## What WordPress is WordPress is free, open-source software that runs a large share of the world's websites. Because it's open source, you own the code and the content, you can host it wherever you like, and any WordPress developer can pick up the work later. WordPress has no partner program, so we don't claim one. ## What we build with WordPress - ### Custom block libraries Editors build pages from blocks designed for their brand. YWCA Calgary's site runs on 51 custom blocks, and CHF Canada's on more than 40. - ### Accessible from the first component YWCA Calgary's site was built accessible from the start instead of patched after an audit. - ### Bilingual sites CHF Canada runs a fully bilingual WordPress platform that their own team manages. - ### Custom applications RDCK Engage replaced an expensive proprietary public-engagement platform at 95% less cost. RDCK also runs custom careers and bylaws tools we built. - ### Learning platforms Help for Dementia runs courses on LearnDash, plus an AI resource assistant and a gamified resilience tool. - ### Salesforce data on your site CHF BC's Co-op Explorer shows every co-op in BC, pulled live from Salesforce. - ### Migrations without broken links RDCK's rebuild moved about 240 pages into one tree with zero broken links. Redirects are mapped before launch and checked after it. ## How we build it Most WordPress sites that feel slow and fragile are a purchased theme with thirty plugins on top. We build with Sage and Tailwind instead, and we write the blocks ourselves. Every block is code your developers can read, and there are far fewer plugins to patch. Editors get a set of blocks made for their brand instead of a page builder that can produce anything, including a mess. Training and editor documentation are part of every handover. ## Why teams choose WordPress - ### You own it It's open source. There's no licence to renew and no vendor who can raise the price or shut it down. - ### Host it anywhere You can use Canadian data centres, which matters for public sector and nonprofit procurement. - ### You're never locked in WordPress has the largest pool of developers of any platform, so you can always find someone to take over. - ### Editors already know it Many marketing and communications staff have used it before. - ### It does more than pages Learning platforms, member areas, public-engagement tools and live data from other systems. ## Why WordPress suits Canadian public sector work For municipalities and other public bodies, where the data lives and who owns the code often decide the platform. A Next.js site on Vercel with a Sanity back end stores data outside Canada, which is a hard sell in that procurement. WordPress on Canadian hosting, owned outright by the client, usually isn't. The [Regional District of Central Kootenay](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/rdck-website), [AKBLG](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/akblg-website) and [RDCK Engage](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/rdck-engage) all run on WordPress. ## When we'd pick something else For a marketing site that won't change much, [Webflow](https://www.papercrane.ca/partners-and-software/webflow) is usually less work over the long run. When the same content has to feed a website, an app and other channels, [Sanity](https://www.papercrane.ca/partners-and-software/sanity) is the better fit. WordPress needs ongoing maintenance, and Sanity charges per editor seat, so the cheaper option depends on the size of your team. We'll walk you through both. ## Results - ### +23% organic traffic CHF BC, after the rebuild. - ### +92% contact CHF BC, people reaching the contact page. - ### 12.7x AI-referred visits CHF BC, visits sent from AI assistants. ## WordPress projects - [![YWCA Calgary brand kit on plum](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/8df4e41397464c255cd9ec93f8ffa93aba4c7b34-3200x1800.png) ### YWCA Calgary 51 custom blocks, accessible, run by YWCA's own team Read the case study](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/yw-calgary) - [![The RDCK crest over the Kootenay ridges](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/1c443b74110ebe576fd9533ae334886b060d9e97-3200x2000.png) ### Regional District of Central Kootenay About 240 old pages moved into one tree Read the case study](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/rdck-website) - [![CHF BC brand mark](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/a8d0f759b9319c79dcd562a05325085989bee6ab-3200x2000.png) ### CHF BC Organic traffic up 23%, AI-referred visits up 12.7x Read the case study](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/chf-bc-website) - [![CHF Canada brand mark on Federation Blue](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/2e40bff129e1971825a86b461f3857ad927a32a1-3200x1800.png?rect=0,0,3200,1642&fit=max&auto=format) ### CHF Canada Fully bilingual, 40+ reusable blocks Read the case study](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/chf-canada) - [![Help for Dementia bloom mark on brand blue](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/2c00ada95c718d3cfeb2faf06a5534cc249f4fbc-3200x2000.png) ### Help for Dementia LearnDash learning platform with an AI resource assistant Read the case study](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/help-for-dementia) - [![A flat Kootenay lake-and-mountains emblem on deep night blue](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/ec8fdf31f6e708039e1917197315be248007379d-3200x2000.png) ### RDCK Engage Replaced a proprietary platform at 95% less cost Read the case study](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/rdck-engage) ## Related - [ ### WP Engine Where many of our WordPress sites are hosted. WP Engine partnership](https://www.papercrane.ca/partners-and-software/wp-engine) - [ ### Nonprofit website design How we build for nonprofits. Nonprofit websites](https://www.papercrane.ca/nonprofit-website-design) - [ ### Web development in Calgary All of our Calgary web work. Calgary web development](https://www.papercrane.ca/calgary/web-development) - [ ### All partners and software Every platform we build with. See the full list](https://www.papercrane.ca/partners-and-software) ## Questions about WordPress ### How much does a custom WordPress site cost? It depends mostly on how many custom blocks and integrations the site needs, how much content moves over, and whether it has to be bilingual. We'll give you a fixed quote after a short discovery call. ### Do you use page builders like Elementor or Divi? No. We write custom blocks with Sage and Tailwind, so the site stays fast, has fewer plugins to patch, and your editors can't accidentally break the layout. ### Can you take over or fix our existing WordPress site? Yes. We start with a review of the theme, plugins and hosting, then tell you whether it's worth fixing or rebuilding. ### Is WordPress secure? WordPress itself is well maintained. Most problems come from outdated or abandoned plugins, which is why we keep plugins to a minimum and handle updates. More in our post on [WordPress plugin security](https://www.papercrane.ca/blog/wordpress-plugin-security-ai). ### Where should we host it? For most clients we recommend managed hosting such as [WP Engine](https://www.papercrane.ca/partners-and-software/wp-engine). If your data has to stay in Canada, we set it up on Canadian hosting. ### Do you build headless WordPress? We can, but we rarely recommend it. If you need a headless setup, Sanity is usually the better choice. ## Planning a WordPress build or rebuild? Tell us about your site. We'll say whether WordPress is the right fit, and whether we're the right people. [Book a call](https://www.papercrane.ca/contact) [(403) 869-2746](tel:+14038692746) 320-999 8 St. SW Calgary, Alberta T2R1J5 --- Source: https://www.papercrane.ca/partners-and-software/wordpress