When does a business in Japan need a WordPress developer?
You need a WordPress developer when your site has to grow beyond a few pages, be edited by staff, run in two languages, or move off an older CMS. For a one-page campaign, a site builder may be enough.
WordPress suits organizations that publish often: news releases, recruitment pages, case studies, blogs and seminar announcements. It gives editors a familiar screen and gives developers full access to templates, which matters when a Japanese and an English version must stay in step.
A WordPress developer in Japan is also the person who keeps the site healthy afterwards. Plugins update constantly, PHP versions age, and forms become spam targets. Hiring someone who will still be around in year two is as important as the launch.
- You publish news or blog posts every month
- Staff outside IT need to edit pages safely
- You need Japanese and English versions that match
- You are leaving Movable Type, static HTML or a builder
- You want to own the code and move hosts freely
What does a WordPress developer in Japan cost?
Quotes differ widely because the work behind them differs: a template tweak, a full bilingual corporate site and a Movable Type migration are three very different jobs. Compare scopes, not totals.
With us, a WordPress site starts at US$150 for up to 100 pages and usually takes one to two weeks. Content-heavy SEO sites of 299 pages or more start at US$300 and take three to five weeks. WooCommerce stores start at US$750, custom web applications on WordPress or beside it start at US$900, and maintenance after the free period starts at US$120/mo.
Running costs are separate and belong to you: hosting, domain renewal, premium plugin licences and, if you use one, a paid theme. Ask every WordPress developer you speak to for a list of recurring costs alongside the build estimate. A cheap build that needs five paid plugins can cost more over three years than a slightly larger build with fewer dependencies.
WPML or Polylang for a Japanese and English WordPress site?
Choose WPML when you have many content types, WooCommerce or a translation agency workflow; choose Polylang when the site is simpler and editors translate page by page. Both link each Japanese page to its English twin and output hreflang.
WPML is a paid plugin with translation management features, which helps when an outside translator sends back files. Polylang has a free version that covers pages, posts and categories, with a paid Pro version for extras such as custom post type slugs and duplication. We pick based on who edits, how often, and which plugins must also be translatable.
Structure matters more than the plugin. We normally use subdirectories such as /en/ so both languages share one domain’s authority, keep the same page tree in each language where possible, and make the language switcher send visitors to the equivalent page rather than the homepage. The Japanese text comes from you or your translator; we never publish machine translation as final copy.
WPML
Paid; strongest for WooCommerce, many custom fields and agency translation workflows.
Polylang
Free core, Pro upgrade; lighter and simpler for corporate sites edited in-house.
Two separate sites
Only when the English and Japanese sites serve genuinely different audiences and teams.
Should a WordPress site for Japan use Xserver, ConoHa WING or AWS Tokyo?
For most corporate and small-business sites, a Japanese shared host such as Xserver or ConoHa WING is simple and fast for visitors in Japan. Choose AWS in the Tokyo region when you need custom server control, integrations with other cloud systems, or strict internal IT rules.
Japanese shared hosts are popular because they put servers close to Japanese visitors, provide WordPress installers and backups, and bill in yen. Their control panels are mostly in Japanese, which is fine: you own the account, and we work inside it with the access you grant.
AWS gives more control but more responsibility. Someone must patch the operating system, watch disk space, configure backups and pay attention to costs. For a WordPress developer in Japan, AWS makes sense when the site is part of a larger system, such as a member portal or an internal tool. Another of us on our team handles AWS setups, including Lightsail or EC2 instances, managed databases, CloudFront and scheduled snapshots.
Whichever you choose, check that the server meets the requirements WordPress publishes: PHP 8.3 or greater, MySQL 8.0 or greater or MariaDB 10.11 or greater, and HTTPS support.
Moving from Movable Type to WordPress: how the migration works
A Movable Type migration moves entries, pages, categories, assets and custom fields into WordPress, then redirects every old URL to its new home. Done carefully, visitors and search engines barely notice the switch.
Movable Type has been a common CMS for Japanese corporate and media sites for many years, and many still run on older versions with custom templates nobody wants to touch. The standard starting point is Movable Type’s export file together with the Movable Type and TypePad Importer plugin on WordPress.org, which imports posts and comments. Custom fields, multiple blogs and complex asset folders usually need a script on top, which we write and test against a copy of your data.
The step people skip is the URL map. Movable Type sites often use paths like /blog/2019/05/entry-name.html. We export every live URL, map each one to its WordPress address, and set 301 redirects so links from other sites and old bookmarks keep working. After launch we watch Google Search Console for not-found errors and fix stragglers.
- Freeze content edits on Movable Type for the final export window
- Export entries, pages, categories, tags and assets
- Rebuild templates as a WordPress theme with the same information
- Import, then compare entry counts and spot-check fields
- Deploy the redirect map and test old URLs in bulk
Is WordPress secure enough for a Japanese corporate site?
Yes, when it is configured carefully and kept updated. Most WordPress break-ins come from outdated plugins, weak admin passwords and abandoned themes, not from WordPress core itself.
Our hardening checklist starts with people: every editor gets their own account with the lowest role that works, admins use two-factor login, and old accounts are removed. Then the site: unused plugins and themes deleted, file editing in the dashboard switched off, correct file permissions, login attempt limits, and security headers at the server.
Backups only count if a restore works. We keep automated daily backups stored away from the web server and run a test restore to a staging site before launch, so you know the process works before you need it. We also document who to call and what to check if the site is ever defaced.
What should a WordPress maintenance and update plan include?
A good update plan says what gets updated, how often, where it is tested first, and how quickly security fixes go live. Without that, updates either never happen or happen blindly on the live site.
WordPress applies minor core releases automatically by default, and plugins can be set to auto-update from the dashboard. For a corporate site we prefer a middle path: security releases go out quickly, while feature updates to plugins that shape the layout are tested on staging first, especially multilingual plugins and form plugins, which touch every page.
Our maintenance is free for two months after launch and then starts at US$120/mo. It covers core, theme and plugin updates, uptime checks, backup checks and small content fixes. Anything bigger, such as a new section or a new language, gets its own estimate. Notice periods and other terms are agreed in writing in your estimate and our terms page; we do not hide them in a monthly plan.
Japanese fonts and Core Web Vitals on WordPress
Use the device’s built-in Japanese fonts for body text and keep any web font for headings, loaded in subsets. Full Japanese font files are large because they cover thousands of kanji and kana, and loading them sitewide often ruins Largest Contentful Paint.
Many WordPress themes load a web font through a plugin or the theme’s customizer without anyone noticing its weight. We check the network waterfall, remove duplicates, preload only what the first screen needs and set font-display so text appears before the font arrives.
Beyond fonts, the usual Japanese WordPress speed problems are slider plugins on the homepage, uncompressed photos from staff uploads, and page builders that add large scripts. We resize images on upload, serve modern formats, cache pages at the server or CDN, and test with PageSpeed Insights. Google describes good Core Web Vitals as Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint under 200 milliseconds and Cumulative Layout Shift under 0.1, and we test against those targets on a mid-range phone.
Block theme, classic theme or page builder for a site in Japan?
For new sites we recommend a block theme with custom blocks designed for your content; for sites with a working classic theme, keep it and improve it. Heavy page builders suit teams that change layouts every week, but they cost speed.
Japanese corporate sites often have strict layouts: company profile tables, access maps, history timelines, officer lists and IR pages. Custom blocks let editors fill those in without breaking the design. Classic themes with custom fields remain a sound option when your staff already know them.
The choice also affects your next WordPress developer. A clean block theme or a documented classic theme is easy to hand over; a layout built from a dozen page-builder add-ons is not. We choose the option your team can live with for five years, not the one that demos best.
Collect only what you need, send it somewhere secure, and say in your privacy policy how you use it. Contact and recruitment forms are where most personal data on a corporate WordPress site lives.
We set forms to email notifications without storing unnecessary copies in the database, or store entries with limited access when you need a record. Spam protection, file-upload limits for CVs and SSL on every page are standard. Your privacy policy wording comes from you or your adviser, and we place it and link it from each form.
One Japan-specific point: the Act on the Protection of Personal Information has rules on providing personal data to a third party in a foreign country (Article 28 of the English translation). If a developer outside Japan will be able to see stored form entries, ask your adviser how that applies to you. Often the simplest answer is that we work on a staging copy with personal data removed, and production data stays with your staff.
How to vet a WordPress developer for a Japan project
Ask to see a bilingual site they built, a migration they handled and their update routine. Portfolio screenshots tell you about design; these three things tell you about the years after launch.
Use the same questions with every WordPress developer you interview, whether in Japan or abroad, and write down the answers. Specific, practical answers are a good sign.
- Would you use WPML or Polylang for us, and why?
- How would you map our old URLs, and how will we know nothing broke?
- Which host would you pick for us, and who owns the account?
- What is your update routine, and where do you test updates first?
- How do you stop Japanese fonts from slowing the site?
- Who fixes the site if you are unavailable for two weeks?
- Which recurring costs will we pay after launch?
For a view of developer rates across the region, read offshore development rates for Japanese companies.
Working with a WordPress developer in India from Japan
Japan is 3.5 hours ahead of India throughout the year. Our working day overlaps with yours from about 12:30 or 13:00 JST until your office closes, which is enough for a daily call and same-day replies.
Most WordPress work does not need meetings. You review changes on a staging site whenever convenient, leave notes in a shared document or WhatsApp, and we act on them during our day. Weekly calls are enough for most builds; migrations get an extra call on cut-over day.
Week one covers a kickoff call, access to hosting and the current CMS, a content inventory and the page tree for both languages. Week two brings the staging site with the first templates, the chosen multilingual plugin configured, and a test import if you are migrating. From there you see progress on staging every few days.
The estimate is in USD, and you can pay in USD or JPY by Wise or bank wire in milestones tied to finished work. Invoices come from India; your accountant advises on how to book them.
Hosting, domain, code and licences: what you should own
Everything. The hosting contract, domain, plugin licences, theme files and Git repository should all be in your company’s name, with the developer given access that you can remove.
We ask you to open hosting and domain accounts yourself, or we set them up while you are on the call and hand over credentials immediately. Premium plugin licences go on your card so renewals and support stay with you. The theme and any custom plugins live in a repository you own, with a short README on how to deploy.
At handover you get admin access, a list of plugins with the reason for each, the redirect map from any migration, backup and restore instructions, and a note of every scheduled task. That is enough for any other WordPress developer, in Japan or anywhere, to take over.
WordPress SEO for Japanese and English search and AI answers
Give each language its own clean URLs, titles and descriptions, connect them with hreflang, and write pages that answer questions in plain sentences. WordPress handles the mechanics well; the value comes from structure and content.
We set up an SEO plugin for titles, sitemaps and structured data, verify Google Search Console for the domain, submit the sitemap and check that both language versions are indexed. Organization, BreadcrumbList and Article structured data are standard; FAQ blocks are added where the content genuinely answers common questions.
AI search tools and AI Overviews tend to quote short, factual passages. Company facts, service descriptions, office access and recruitment details written as plain text are easier for them to use than information inside images or PDFs. No one can promise rankings or AI citations. Monthly SEO support starts at US$150/mo.
WooCommerce or Shopify for selling online in Japan?
Choose WooCommerce when content and commerce are tightly mixed and you want full control of hosting; choose Shopify when selling is the main job and you want the platform handled for you.
WooCommerce keeps everything in one WordPress install, which suits a media site selling a few products or a corporate site with a small shop. But you manage plugin updates, payment plugins and performance yourself. Shopify removes server work and has mature apps for Japanese payments and delivery scheduling, at the cost of monthly app fees.
If the shop is the heart of the business, read our Shopify developer for Japan page before deciding. If you plan to sell overseas as well, the cross-border ecommerce guide explains what changes.
Worked example: a Tokyo consultancy leaving Movable Type
This scenario is hypothetical and shows how a WordPress estimate for Japan comes together; it does not describe a real client.
Imagine a foreign-owned advisory firm in Minato with a Japanese and English site on an old Movable Type install: about 300 entries of news and insights, two blogs, custom fields for author and practice area, and a recruitment section. Their IT policy prefers AWS, and staff find the editing screen hard to use.
The estimate would start from the SEO website plan at US$300, with separate lines for: the Movable Type export and import script for custom fields, a block theme with custom blocks for insights and team profiles, Polylang with a /en/ subdirectory, an AWS Tokyo setup with backups and a CDN, the redirect map for every old URL, hardening and a restore test, and a staff training call. Timeline: around five weeks, with one week of parallel running before the DNS switch.
Warning signs in a WordPress developer’s proposal
Some shortcuts look cheap in the estimate and expensive later. These are the ones to question before you sign.
- Hosting or domain registered in the developer’s name
- No staging site; changes made on the live site
- A migration plan with no URL map or redirects
- Twenty or more plugins for a simple corporate site
- Machine-translated Japanese presented as finished copy
- No written update routine or backup restore test
- Promises of first-page rankings by a set date
If an ongoing team suits you better than a one-off project, the small offshore development center model explains how a monthly arrangement with three developers works.