Google Firebase.
Not WordPress.
Finally.
Firebase websites from £899. Hosted on Google's global CDN. Sub-second load times. Serverless functions. Real-time database. Zero maintenance. The platform WordPress wishes it was.
By Chris Convy, Founder & Firebase Web Developer · Updated 21 June 2026
What Firebase Hosting Is — And Why PBWD Builds Every Site On It
Firebase is Google's web platform, and Firebase hosting serves your site from Google's global CDN — the same network behind YouTube, Gmail and Google Search. PBWD hand-codes every website on Firebase from £899, with sub-second loads, free SSL, automatic scaling and hosting under £10 a month. No WordPress, no plugins, no security patches.
- Firebase is Google's own web platform — the same infrastructure that runs YouTube and Gmail now serving your business website.
- PBWD hand-codes Firebase websites from £899, with hosting typically under £10/month — cheaper than the £20-50/month most WordPress hosts charge.
- Sub-second load times, free SSL, automatic scaling and 95-100 Google PageSpeed scores as standard — no plugins, no patches, zero maintenance.
- You own the code and the project outright — we run this exact stack on our own site and 10 South Wales city landing pages.
What WordPress actually means.
- Shared server with hundreds of other sites
- 3-8 second load times on a good day
- Plugin updates every week (or it breaks)
- Security vulnerabilities from plugins
- £20-£50/mo hosting for a slow site
- MySQL database from the Stone Age
What Firebase actually delivers.
- Google's global CDN at 150+ locations
- Sub-second load times everywhere
- Zero maintenance, zero plugin updates
- Google-managed security and DDoS protection
- Free SSL, automatic scaling
- Firestore real-time database
What Firebase Gives You.
This isn't just hosting. It's a full platform for building proper web applications. Here's what's under the bonnet.
Global CDN Hosting
Your site is cached on Google's network at 150+ locations worldwide. Someone in London? Fast. Someone in Sydney? Still fast. Someone in Newport? Proper fast.
Cloud Functions
Serverless backend code that runs on demand. Process payments, send emails, generate invoices, handle form submissions -- all without managing a server. It scales automatically.
Firestore Database
Real-time NoSQL database that syncs data instantly. Products update live. Orders appear immediately. Chat works in real-time. No page refreshes. No polling. Just live data.
Authentication
Google-managed user authentication. Email/password, Google sign-in, phone number verification. Secure by default. No storing passwords in your own database.
Cloud Storage
Store images, documents, videos -- whatever your business needs. Served through Google's CDN for fast delivery. Automatic image optimisation. No FTP uploads.
Auto-Scaling
Ten visitors or ten thousand. Firebase handles it. No upgrading hosting plans. No calling your provider because the site crashed after a Facebook post went viral.
This is the platform every PBWD project sits on. Our e-commerce shops are built on this exact stack — Firestore, Stripe and Cloud Functions doing the heavy lifting. The same speed is why our SEO-built sites rank, and our AI marketing SaaS runs on Firebase too — live proof it scales from a five-page site to a full subscription product. Wondering why your current website is so slow? It's almost always the hosting.
What This Means
For Your Business.
You don't need to know what Firebase is. You need to know what it does for you. Here's the translation from tech to business.
Your Site Never Goes Down
Google's infrastructure has a 99.95% uptime SLA. That's less than 4.5 hours of downtime per year. Your WordPress host? They don't even publish their uptime numbers.
You Never Worry About Updates
No plugins to update. No PHP version changes breaking your site. No security patches to apply urgently. Firebase handles all of it. Your site runs the same today as it does in three years.
Google Rewards Fast Sites
Page speed is a ranking factor. Our Firebase sites score 95-100 on Google PageSpeed. WordPress sites average 40-60. Faster sites rank higher, convert better, and don't lose visitors.
Firebase vs WordPress Hosting.
Numbers don't lie. Run any WordPress site through Google PageSpeed and then run ours. We'll wait.
| WordPress Hosting | Firebase (Google) | |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Shared server | Google CDN |
| Load Speed | 3-8 seconds | <1 second |
| Maintenance | Constant updates | Zero |
| Security | Plugin vulnerabilities | Google-managed |
| Scaling | Upgrade hosting plan | Automatic |
| Database | MySQL (slow) | Firestore (real-time) |
| SSL | Extra cost / plugin | Free, automatic |
| PageSpeed | 40-60/100 | 95-100/100 |
No Hidden Fees.
No Surprises.
Every plan includes Firebase hosting, SSL, Google setup, and a year of support. No WordPress. No plugins. No monthly surprises.
A proper 5-page website on Firebase. Sub-second loads, AI chatbot, full SEO. Everything WordPress gives you, minus the problems.
- Firebase Hosting (Google CDN)
- Cloud Functions for forms
- AI chatbot
- Full SEO setup
- Free SSL certificate
- Zero maintenance
Full Firebase stack. Stripe payments, Xero invoicing, Firestore database, Cloud Functions, admin dashboard. The full platform.
- Everything in Starter
- Firestore database
- Stripe payments integration
- Xero automatic invoicing
- Admin dashboard
- Firebase Authentication
Full online shop on Firebase. Products, cart, checkout, order tracking, customer accounts. No Shopify. No WooCommerce. You own it all.
- Everything in Growth
- Full product catalogue
- Shopping cart + checkout
- Order management
- Customer accounts
- Voucher codes
Why We're All-In on Firebase.
Search "Firebase web developer UK" and you won't find many results. That's because almost nobody in the UK specialises in it. Everyone's still on WordPress because that's what they learned in 2010.
We chose Firebase because it's objectively better. Google's own web platform. Their own CDN. Their own database. Their own authentication system. The same infrastructure that runs Google Search, YouTube, and Gmail -- serving your business website.
PBWD is a Firebase web developer based in Newport, South Wales, hand-coding every build on Google Firebase and working with clients right across the UK. No templates, no page builders, no plugins — just clean code on Google's platform. If you've been looking for an actual Firebase specialist rather than a WordPress shop, that's us. Tell us what you need and we'll show you what the platform can do.
Every site we build runs on Firebase. This site you're reading right now? Firebase. Sub-second load time. 95-100 PageSpeed score. Zero maintenance since launch. That's not marketing. That's the actual numbers from Google's own tools.
Questions About Firebase.
What is Firebase hosting?
Firebase hosting is Google's web hosting service, part of the wider Firebase platform. It serves your website from Google's global CDN — the same network behind YouTube, Gmail and Google Search — at over 150 edge locations worldwide. Every site gets free SSL, automatic scaling and Google-managed security, with no servers to maintain. It's the static and dynamic hosting layer of a full platform that also includes the Firestore database, Cloud Functions and Authentication.
Is Firebase good for small business websites?
Yes. Firebase is an excellent fit for small business websites. You get sub-second load times, free SSL, automatic scaling and Google-grade security with no plugins to update and no monthly hosting bill above roughly £10/month. There are no security patches to apply and nothing breaks when a plugin auto-updates, because there are no plugins. PBWD hand-codes small business sites on Firebase from £899 — and runs its own site and 10 city landing pages on the exact same stack.
Firebase vs WordPress — which is better for a small business?
For most small businesses, Firebase is the better choice. WordPress runs on a shared MySQL server with 3-8 second load times, weekly plugin updates and plugin-based security holes, typically costing £20-50/month to host. Firebase runs on Google's CDN with sub-second loads, zero plugins, Google-managed security and hosting under £10/month. Our Firebase sites score 95-100 on Google PageSpeed; WordPress sites average 40-60. The one case for WordPress is if you specifically need its plugin ecosystem and want to manage it yourself.
How much does a Firebase website cost?
Our Firebase websites start from £899 for a 5-page site, £1,899 for a site with Stripe payments and Xero invoicing, and £3,500+ for full e-commerce. One-off payment. Firebase hosting is included for the first year, then minimal costs — typically under £10/month for most business sites. Compare that to WordPress hosting at £20-50/month for something slower.
Is Firebase more expensive than WordPress hosting?
No — Firebase is usually cheaper to run. Most small business Firebase sites cost under £10/month to host because Firebase's free tier covers the traffic a typical local business gets, and you only pay for what you use beyond it. WordPress hosting runs £20-50/month for a slower, shared server, before you add managed-hosting upsells or premium plugin licences. With Firebase there are no plugin subscriptions and no separate SSL charge — SSL is free and automatic.
Can Firebase handle online payments and databases?
Absolutely. Firebase includes Firestore — a real-time NoSQL database that scales automatically. We integrate Stripe for payments and Xero for invoicing. Cloud Functions handle server-side logic without you managing any servers. It's a complete platform, not just hosting.
Is Firebase secure?
Yes. Firebase is managed by Google. Free SSL on every site. Automatic DDoS protection. Security rules baked into the database layer. No plugins to exploit. No WordPress admin login to brute-force. No shared server where another site's vulnerability becomes yours. It's the same security infrastructure that protects Google's own products.
Am I locked in if I use a Firebase developer? Can I move my site?
You're not locked in. We hand-code every Firebase site in standard HTML, CSS and JavaScript — no proprietary builder, no template lock. You own the code and the Firebase project outright. If you ever want to move to another developer or another host, you take the lot with you: the code, the Firestore data and your domain. Firebase itself is a Google product any competent developer can pick up, so you're never dependent on a single agency.
Do I need a specialist Firebase developer in the UK?
If you want a site built on Firebase, yes — it needs a developer who knows JavaScript, serverless architecture and NoSQL databases, not a WordPress theme installer. Genuine Firebase web developers are rare in the UK, which is why 'Firebase web developer UK' returns so few real specialists. PBWD is a Firebase web developer based in Newport, South Wales, hand-coding every build on Google Firebase and working with clients across the UK.
Do I need technical knowledge to manage a Firebase site?
No. We build admin dashboards for anything you need to update — products, blog posts, team members, gallery images. You log in, make changes, they go live. The Firebase bits run in the background. You never need to touch code, update plugins, or worry about hosting. That's the whole point.
Why aren't more web developers using Firebase?
Because most web developers learned WordPress and stuck with it. WordPress has been around since 2003. Firebase requires a different skill set — JavaScript, serverless architecture, NoSQL databases. Most agencies don't have those skills, so they stick with what they know. We chose to learn the better technology instead.
Ready to ditch WordPress for good?
Your website on Google's own platform. Sub-second loads. Zero maintenance. No plugins. Just tell us what you need and we'll show you what Firebase can do.
