„Which theme do you recommend?” It is one of the questions I hear most often. And honestly? There is no single answer.
At MultiTask Creations I work across a wide spectrum of IT – from custom apps and sites coded „from scratch” to data analysis in Power BI. And even though I move comfortably across backend and frontend, when a client comes to me for a company website, I very often… advise against writing it in pure code.
I have seen simple business-card sites built on complex technologies (a burnt budget) and elaborate systems „forced” into visual builders. Today I will show you my approach to choosing technology – without pretending there is „one right solution”. It is an honest account of what works in my projects, through the eyes of a developer who picks the tool for the goal.
Why WordPress at all? (since I code)
A quick bit of background. My IT journey began during engineering studies; day to day I combine programming with data analysis, build sites from scratch in HTML/CSS/JS, create apps and visualise data for business. I know the „proper”, engineering approach to code.
So why does WordPress hold such an important place in my offer? I choose it deliberately for a specific group of clients. Most small and medium business owners do not need an app in React or Next.js. They need a tool that:
- they can edit themselves (change text, add a photo),
- does not require calling a developer over every typo,
- lets them launch fast and scale their marketing.
I could write them a site in pure code – it would probably be milliseconds faster. But I would make them dependent on me. And I deliver solutions that support the business, not build a „golden cage”. That is why I use a clear split in my web projects.
My split: two worlds, two solutions
Path 1: simple business-card and company sites. A site with an offer, an „about” section, a project gallery, a blog and contact. My most frequent choice: Kadence (FREE) + Elementor (FREE).
It is my „daily driver” for smaller jobs. Kadence FREE is one of the lighter, more sensible themes on the market – the free version is plenty for 90% of business-card sites, with great defaults and a header/footer builder, so I do not waste time fighting the configuration. I pick Elementor FREE out of pragmatism: I could code the layout by hand, but Elementor lets me „click through” the structure in a few hours. The client sees the result instantly, and I focus on the details.
Honest about the downsides: free Elementor has gaps. What annoys me most is the lack of global widgets. If I place the same banner on 5 pages and the client asks to change its background, I have to go into each one separately. In code I would change one line of CSS – that is where my developer heart bleeds a little. But clients love Elementor for the Live Preview; editing „live” matters more to them than clean code under the hood. When I need something more custom, I add the Royal Elementor Addons plugin.
Path 2: complex projects (knowledge bases, catalogues). Sites with a lot of content in a repeatable structure (a product catalogue, an article base, custom post types). My choice: Custom Theme + ACF PRO.
On a bigger project with many Custom Post Types, Elementor would be a ball and chain. I then go for a theme written from scratch (or a child theme) and ACF PRO. The client does not assemble the page from blocks – they open the editor, see dedicated fields („Product photo”, „Price”, „Technical description”), fill them in and it is done. Everything displays neatly where I planned it in code. The downside? No Live Preview – you have to click „Preview”. Less intuitive for those used to builders, but on large sites it is a necessary trade-off: we deliberately give up live styling for stability, speed and data safety.
And when do I drop WordPress altogether?
One project was a landing page for a technical client. He wanted maximum speed and security, and the page was meant to be „one-off”, with no planned content changes. I proposed pure HTML: zero plugins to update, a loading speed no CMS can reach, peace of mind (no WordPress vulnerabilities). It shows it pays to stay open-minded – I do not push WordPress where it is not needed just because „everyone does it”.
My „first-aid kit” – plugins I test and deploy
As a technical person, I like to know what I install. The set that currently works in my projects:
- Images: Converter for Media or Smush (I lean towards Converter – a Polish tool with great configuration).
- Languages: Polylang – simple, works, does not weigh the site down like heavyweights such as WPML.
- Backup: UpdraftPlus. A must.
- Security: Wordfence + WPS Hide Login – basic protection against bots.
- Forms: WPForms Lite – very intuitive for the end client.
- SEO: Yoast SEO. A classic that just does the job.
- GDPR: Complianz.
And cache? For business-card sites on Kadence I use the free WP Fastest Cache – minification and Gzip are plenty. For bigger projects (or when the client has a budget for optimization) I aim for WP Rocket – it gives more control. But there is no point firing a cannon at a fly on a simple business-card site.
Summary: how do I choose?
There is no perfect stack. There is only a conscious choice of tool for a specific task. My rule is simple:
- The site is a business card and the client wants to freely move every element and see changes live → Elementor.
- The site is a catalogue, knowledge base or large service where data structure and stability matter → Custom Theme.
I take the middle road – combining the convenience of page builders with the technical awareness of a developer. Because the best tool is not the trendiest one, but the one that fits the goal.
