Aljaž Gobec

WordPress has changed a lot in the last few years, and so has the way I build with it. The short version: a block theme with Full Site Editing, Gutenberg instead of a page builder, ACF for custom content, and small custom snippets instead of plugins. It’s the workflow behind sites like DAK Coffee Roasters, and it works great for me.

Full Site Editing

With a block theme, the whole site is built from blocks: not just the page content, but the header, the footer and every template. There’s one way to edit everything, the editor shows what the site really looks like, and there’s no separate theme options panel to learn.

Gutenberg over Elementor

For years, page builders like Elementor were the way to give clients a visual editor. Today I don’t need them anymore.

• It’s lighter. Gutenberg blocks output clean, simple HTML. Page builders wrap content in layers of extra markup and load their own scripts and styles, and you pay for that on every page.
• It’s native. Gutenberg is WordPress itself. There’s no extra plugin to keep updated, and no risk of it falling behind the core.
• No lock-in. Content made in Gutenberg is just blocks in the post. Content made in a page builder lives in that builder’s format, and turning it off leaves a mess.
• It’s good enough now. The block editor used to be the weak option. Today, with patterns, global styles and a few extra blocks from Spectra, it covers everything I used a page builder for.

Gutenberg and ACF is enough

When a site needs structured content, like product details, team members or event dates, I add ACF fields. Combined with Gutenberg, that’s complete enough for almost any site: blocks for the layout and free content, fields for the data that needs a fixed shape.

Snippets over plugins

The other big change is how I add functionality. It used to be normal to install a plugin for every small thing. Today I’d rather write a short custom snippet.

• Every plugin costs something. It’s more code loaded on every request, another thing to update, and one more door for security issues.
• Most plugins do far more than you need. A plugin with fifty settings for a feature you use one of is still loading all fifty.
• A snippet does exactly one thing. It’s a few lines I understand completely, and it doesn’t change when someone else ships an update.

Plugins still have their place for big, well-maintained things like WooCommerce or ACF. But for the small stuff, custom code is a lot better nowadays than reaching for another plugin.

Why it works

Put together, this gives me sites that are fast, easy for clients to edit, and simple to maintain years later. Fewer moving parts, less to break.