WordPress Developer Needed for Scientific News Website, Stripe Memberships, Paywall & Newsletter

Expert WordPress Developer & UI/UX Designer Needed for a Science News Publication with Paid Memberships. (The homepage prototype and deliverables file is attached here to give you an idea on the expected design layout). Domain name + hosting + content writing will be owned and managed by me. Project Overview: I am seeking an experienced WordPress developer to design and build The Longevity Gazette (longevitygazette.com), a physician-led digital publication dedicated to longevity science, preventive medicine, healthspan, and emerging medical research. Our vision is to create a scientific journalism platform with the editorial elegance of a newspaper or magazine, combined with modern digital subscriptions and membership functionality. This is a new website project, currently in the planning phase. I have prepared extensive editorial content, membership requirements, website specifications, and brand guidelines. See the attached pdf and png files. I am looking for a developer who can translate these into an exceptional, fast, secure, scalable WordPress website. A) Technology & Hosting:-- Self-hosted WordPress.org Hostinger KVM 2 VPS Lightweight, custom Gutenberg-compatible theme Responsive, mobile-first UI/UX Secure and scalable WordPress architecture Easy editorial content management without coding I prefer a clean, maintainable solution rather than a heavy multipurpose theme or unnecessary plugins. B) Scope of Work:-- 1. Website Design & Development:— Custom, premium newspaper-style visual design Homepage with featured stories, editorial sections, and subscription promotions Article templates for free and premium content Seven primary editorial sections Every published article must have a responsive audio player with play/pause, seek/progress and speed controls. Author profiles, search, archives, and navigation About, editorial standards, contact, legal, and institutional pages Responsive desktop, tablet, and mobile layouts 2. Paid Membership & Subscription System:-- The website must offer three membership tiers from launch: Free Reader: $0 Gazette Member: $x/month or $xx/year Founding Member: $xx/year Required functionality includes: Secure registration and login Free and premium article access Subscription checkout and recurring payments Member dashboard and account management Automatic renewals, cancellations, and failed-payment recovery Subscription receipts and transactional emails Founding Member price protection: The $xx annual base renewal rate must remain protected while membership is continuously active, subject to the defined subscription rules Stripe is our preferred payment provider, subject to technical compatibility. Checkout.com may be considered as an alternative. The developer must recommend an appropriate WordPress membership solution and explain its compatibility with our requirements. 3. Newsletter Integration:-- We will publish a free weekly newsletter called The Longevity Briefing. Requirements include: Newsletter signup forms Independent newsletter consent, separate from membership registration Branded email templates Newsletter scheduling and subscriber management Public newsletter archive Unsubscribe functionality Reliable email deliverability configuration 4. Technical SEO & International Visibility:-- SEO must be integrated from the beginning, including: Yoast SEO or Rank Math Editable SEO titles and descriptions Structured data for articles, authors, and the publication XML sitemaps and appropriate news sitemap functionality Google Search Console and analytics integration Google News and Discover technical readiness SEO-friendly URLs and internal linking Correct indexing treatment for premium articles Core Web Vitals and mobile performance optimisation 5. Security, Performance & Administration:-- Secure WordPress and VPS configuration SSL, backups, and security hardening Optimised caching and image delivery Staging environment Role-based editorial permissions Accessibility-conscious design Administrator documentation and training Testing before launch Design Direction:— I already have the homepage prototype(attached below). Our preferred palette includes ivory, deep navy, muted teal, and charcoal, with excellent typography and generous whitespace. Deliverables:-- Fully developed WordPress website on our hosting Configured membership, payment, and newsletter systems Technical SEO implementation Responsive and performance-tested website Complete administrator access and ownership of project assets Documentation, training, and post-launch bug-fix support Experience building subscription-based digital publications is strongly preferred. Payment will be done in 3 milestones at mentioned in attached pdf. Thanks, Sam