The economics of the rebuild
A rebuild is unbillable in spirit even when it is billable on paper: the client already approved the design, so every hour spent re-creating it feels like overhead. Multiply that across a roster of developers with a legacy site to modernise and it becomes the least profitable part of the studio.
A repeatable delivery workflow
Design in a static HTML site, get sign-off on the live URL, then convert. Because the approved page is the deliverable, there is no drift between what the client signed off and what ships.
- Open the page you want to convert in Chrome.
- Click the Themify extension icon in the toolbar.
- Press Generate theme and wait for the capture to finish.
- In wp-admin, go to Appearance → Themes → Add New → Upload Theme.
- Upload the .zip, activate it, and the page is live on WordPress.
Handing over to the client
The client receives an ordinary WordPress theme they can host anywhere, with no dependency on your account or your subscription. That removes the awkward conversation about platform lock-in during handover.
Scoping and pricing the work
Price the design, not the port. Conversion time collapses from days to minutes, so the margin sits where the value is.
- Charge for design and content strategy
- Quote conversion as a fixed, small line item
- Reserve hours for QA and redirects instead of templating
- Offer a maintenance retainer on the WordPress side
Permission and ownership
Only convert work you own or that a client has authorised you to convert. Put that permission in the statement of work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can agencies deliver a static HTML site designs as WordPress themes?
- Yes — the output is a standard theme .zip you can install on any client host.
- Do clients need a Themify licence?
- No. The licence covers the person running the conversion. The theme itself is an ordinary WordPress theme.
- How many client sites can we convert?
- That depends on your plan: Basic covers 5 conversions a month, Pro 20, and Agency is unlimited.