WordPress plugins
Purpose-built plugins can add functionality without modifying the WordPress core or relying on a collection of unrelated extensions.
Plugins & custom development
When off-the-shelf is not enough.
Virtualtopia builds custom website functionality, plugins, integrations and automation for projects that need something more specific than a standard theme, app or extension can provide.
// connect your systems
function syncData(website, api) {
const result = website.connect(api);
return result.automate();
}
// tailored to the project
customFunctionality();
IntegrateConnect services
AutomateReduce manual work
ExtendAdd new capability
PluginsCustom functionality for WordPress
IntegrationsConnect websites to external systems
AutomationReduce repetitive manual processes
APIsMove data between services
Custom functionality
Build the feature the website actually needs.
Sometimes the right solution is not another plugin or app. Custom development can fill the gap when existing tools do not quite match the way your business or website needs to work.
API integrations
Connect the website with third-party systems, services, databases or platforms so information can move between them.
Business automation
Turn repetitive website processes into automated workflows that reduce manual handling and duplicated effort.
Custom forms & workflows
Build more advanced form processes, conditional logic, notifications, data handling and integrations where simple forms are not enough.
Data tools
Create dashboards, data feeds, import and export tools, custom searches and other interfaces around the information your website uses.
Existing site extensions
Add new capability to an existing website without rebuilding the entire project just to solve one specific requirement.
Build or buy?
Custom development should solve a real problem.
Bespoke code is not automatically better than an existing plugin, app or service. If a reliable off-the-shelf product already solves the requirement well, using it may be the simpler and more economical option.
Custom development becomes valuable when the requirement is specific, the existing options create too much compromise, or several systems need to work together in a way they were not designed to do.
1
Start with the requirement
Define what the user or business actually needs to achieve before deciding how to build it.
2
Check existing solutions
A proven plugin or service can be the right answer if it meets the requirement without unnecessary compromise.
3
Customise where needed
Build the missing functionality rather than creating complexity simply for the sake of bespoke code.
4
Keep it maintainable
Custom functionality should be documented, understandable and practical to support over time.
Typical projects
Custom development can bridge the gaps between your website and the way your business works.
The requirement might be a small piece of functionality or a larger workflow involving several systems. The important part is understanding the process before deciding how much custom development is actually necessary.
1
Connect a website to an external service
Send or retrieve information through an API instead of entering the same data twice.
2
Automate a form workflow
Process submissions, create records, trigger notifications or route information based on form responses.
3
Create a custom administration tool
Give staff a simpler interface for managing website data or completing a repeated task.
4
Extend an existing platform
Add functionality to WordPress or another web system where standard extensions do not provide the required behaviour.
Make your systems work together.
The website does not have to operate as an isolated island if the business already depends on other software and data.
Connect
Link websites, APIs and services
Automate
Reduce repeated manual work
Simplify
Build around the actual workflow
Have a website requirement that existing tools do not quite solve?
Describe what you need the website to do. We can look at whether an existing solution fits, whether it needs adapting, or whether custom development is the better approach.