Iowa businesses deserve a WordPress site that's reliable, fast, and actually maintained.
What do you need from WordPress?
I need a new WordPress site
You want a site built right from the start: fast, secure, SEO-ready, and built to last. Every build includes 12 months of care at no extra cost.
See our Iowa web design work →I already have a WordPress site
It's slow, broken, getting hacked, or not being maintained. We manage, repair, and secure WordPress sites we didn't build, and we're honest about what's wrong.
See care and repair options →Everything we do with WordPress in Iowa
Whether you need a new site built, your existing one kept running, or an emergency fix at 10pm, we handle it. Here's how we can help.
Custom WordPress Builds
Iowa web design from scratch. Mobile-first, SEO-ready, and built to rank, with 12 months of care included at no extra cost.
WordPress Care Plans
Daily backups, malware scanning, plugin updates, uptime monitoring, and a real person to call. $60/month after your first year.
WordPress Repair
Site down, hacked, or broken? We troubleshoot fast and fix it: hacked sites, malware, plugin conflicts, database errors. Most repairs $200-$500.
WordPress SEO
SEO built into your WordPress site from day one: schema, site structure, local search, and AI search visibility. Iowa-focused since 2014.
Why Iowa businesses choose Team 218 for WordPress
Most WordPress agencies build and disappear. We build, maintain, answer the phone, and fix problems on sites we didn't even build. Here's what that looks like in practice.
We built it. We maintain it.
Most of the WordPress sites on our care plan are sites we built. We know every plugin, every custom function, every edge case, because we put it there.
Kim or Chuck answers the phone.
Not a ticket system. Not a chatbot. Not a VA. The person who actually works on your site picks up when something goes wrong.
Iowa-based since 2014.
We're not a national hosting company with a WordPress add-on. We're a two-person Iowa team that does this full time, and we work with Iowa businesses specifically.
We fix sites we didn't build.
You don't need to have been our client from day one. We audit, onboard, and take over maintenance for existing WordPress sites in any state of health.
WordPress projects we've built
Moved off GearFire, a closed firearm e-commerce platform charging $700 to $1,600 a year, onto WordPress with WooCommerce and FFL Cockpit. One-time build cost, payback under 12 months, and no vendor lock-in.
Read the WooCommerce migration case study →Rebuilt from a slow, unindexed site to a hub/spoke WordPress architecture targeting 8 Des Moines service areas. Now ranking #9 for "house cleaning Des Moines."
Read the Diamond House Cleaning case study →A WordPress build competing on content quality rather than ad spend, outranking United Rentals and BigRentz in its own market.
Read The Rental Guys case study →What's actually threatening your WordPress site right now
Most owners find out about a security problem from a customer, a browser warning, or a suspension notice from their host. By then the damage is done. These are the four failures we see most often, and how a managed site avoids each one.
Outdated plugins and themes
Nearly every WordPress break-in starts with a plugin that was never updated. Bots look for known holes around the clock, and an old version is a published invitation. On a care plan, updates go out on a weekly cycle and get checked for conflicts first, so you get the patch without the surprise.
Malware and code injection
An infected site rarely looks infected. The usual signs are hidden redirects, spam pages Google indexes under your domain, and scripts that skim what people type into your forms. We scan every day, and when something turns up we clean it, work out how it got in, and close that door.
Brute force login attempts
Your login page takes thousands of password guesses a day from scripts. We rate-limit attempts, require strong credentials and two-factor sign-in for administrators, and watch for logins from places your team is not.
Backup failure
A backup plugin that quietly stopped months ago is the most expensive discovery a business can make during an outage. We confirm each day's backup completed, keep copies off the server, and test restores, so getting back is a matter of hours.
What we don't do: pile on security plugins that slow the site down and flood your inbox. If you hear from us about security, it is because something needs a decision.
Sound familiar?
WordPress problems follow predictable patterns. Find yours and we'll tell you exactly what to do.
Your site is down
You can't access the site, visitors are getting errors, or your host suspended the account. This is an emergency.
WordPress repair →Your site was hacked
Google is showing a warning, visitors are being redirected, or your host flagged malware. Don't delete files; you need a systematic clean.
WordPress repair →Your site is slow
Pages take more than 3 seconds to load, Google is penalizing your rankings, or customers are bouncing before they read a word.
WordPress care →A plugin update broke something
An update went wrong, a conflict appeared, or a feature suddenly stopped working. We diagnose fast and fix it without breaking anything else.
WordPress repair →What Iowa businesses say
"Team 218 has helped me with building a site and now repairing issues with multiple existing sites. As a small business owner with predominantly static sites, I find myself finding an issue when I most need the site available. Most recently, a site of mine (with which Team 218 had no previous involvement) was down on a Friday afternoon. Team 218 immediately responded and continued to work through the weekend finding and fixing the issues while communicating with me throughout. They aren't joking about 'fanatical customer service.'"
Annie Thomas, Thomas Real Estate Development
"Chuck helped me redesign my website a number of years ago. Ever since then he has responded immediately to my questions or requests for assistance. I know he'll be on the spot when I need him!"
Penny Souhrada, Attorney, Bettendorf, Iowa
"When creating our website, Team 218 was impressively responsive, listened to our ideas and suggested many of their own. Their guidance was so valuable. Team 218 continues to check in to make sure the site is performing as expected. Looking for a strong partner for your website? This company will deliver!"
Kim Clausen, Clinton County Development Association
Common WordPress problems, explained
If something specific is wrong with your site, start here. Each guide explains the cause in plain language and what it takes to fix.
Why is my WordPress site slow?
The real causes behind slow load times, and which ones actually move Core Web Vitals.
Read the speed guide →My WordPress site was hacked
What to do first, how to clean an infected install, and how to keep it from happening twice.
Read the recovery steps →Why WordPress sites fail
The maintenance gaps and build shortcuts that quietly break sites over time.
Read why sites fail →WordPress care plans explained
What a care plan actually covers, what it costs, and how to tell if you need one.
Read the care plan breakdown →How to install and set up WordPress
A clean starting configuration, including the settings most installs get wrong.
Read the setup guide →Why WordPress for a small business
Ownership, cost, and scalability compared against closed platforms you can't take with you.
Read the comparison →WordPress questions we hear every week
Honest answers to the questions Iowa business owners ask before hiring a WordPress team.
How much does WordPress maintenance cost in Iowa?
Our care plan is $60/month. It includes daily off-server backups, weekly plugin and core updates, daily malware scanning, uptime monitoring, and small content changes. Malware removal is included: we don't charge extra when something goes wrong on our watch. Every site we build gets 12 months free.
Do you manage WordPress sites you didn't build?
Yes. We take on care plan clients for sites we didn't build, but we always do a site audit first. We need to understand what's there before we commit to maintaining it. Some sites have technical debt that affects pricing; we'll tell you upfront before anything starts.
What's the difference between a care plan and a repair?
A care plan is ongoing: monthly maintenance that prevents problems. A repair is a one-time fix for something that's already broken. Most clients on our care plan started with a repair call. Once we fix something, they don't want it to happen again.
Is WordPress secure for a business website?
WordPress can be very secure when properly maintained. The risk comes from outdated plugins, weak passwords, and no monitoring. Not from WordPress itself. Sites we maintain on care plans rarely have security problems, because we close the common attack vectors before they're exploited, and when something does get through, the daily scan catches it early.
How long does WordPress repair take?
Most repairs take 24–48 hours. Hacked site recovery takes 24–72 hours depending on the depth of the infection, plus Google reconsideration time if the site was flagged by Safe Browsing. We give you a realistic timeline after an initial diagnosis. Not a guess.
Do I need a care plan if my site was just built?
Yes. New sites are actually more vulnerable in the first year. Plugins haven't been battle-tested in your specific configuration, backups haven't been verified, and performance hasn't been monitored under real traffic. We include 12 months free with every build because we've seen what happens when that first year goes unmanaged.
Can you recover a hacked WordPress site?
In most cases, yes. We've recovered sites with deep database infections, multiple backdoors, and active Google Safe Browsing flags. What we can't guarantee: full recovery when there's no clean backup and the infection has been running undetected for months. We'll tell you what's recoverable before we start. No surprises.
Do you handle WordPress SEO?
Yes. SEO is built into every site we build: schema markup, site structure, Core Web Vitals, and local search optimization. We also offer ongoing SEO work as a separate engagement. See our Iowa SEO service for details.
Not sure where your site stands?
We'll review your speed, security, backups, and plugin health and tell you exactly what needs attention. No sales pitch. No invoice. Just an honest look at what's working and what isn't.
Most audits completed within 1 business day.