Why we build on WordPress, Kadence and the Fluent stack

Most of the sites in our portfolio run on WordPress. Not because it is fashionable — it is not — but because the people who own those businesses need to edit their own pages, add products and read their leads without calling us. WordPress does that better than anything we have used.

The theme: Kadence

We build on Kadence because its header and footer builder covers what a business site needs without a page builder, and its front-end output is small. A typical StackNudge page loads the theme CSS, our own stylesheet, one variable font file and a few kilobytes of JavaScript. That is the whole budget.

The editor: blocks, not a builder

We used Elementor for years and still do for some client work. But every layer of abstraction costs speed and makes updates riskier. The block editor with a handful of well-designed patterns gives clients the same editing freedom with a fraction of the markup.

Forms and CRM: Fluent Forms and FluentCRM

A lead form is only useful if the lead lands somewhere. Fluent Forms feeds straight into FluentCRM, which lives inside the same WordPress install: tags, lists, automations and email campaigns without a monthly SaaS bill or a third-party sync. For stores we sell through, FluentCart adds checkout and subscriptions on the same footing.

What we avoid

Caching plugins during the build (fix the site first), sliders, five font weights, and any plugin that adds a script to every page for a feature used on one. A short plugin list is a performance feature.