WordPress continues to be the most well-liked open-source content material administration system (CMS) – by far – powering 43.5 % of all web sites on the internet, and nonetheless for my part the most adaptable CMS to work with.
Nevertheless, WordPress isn’t only a plug-and-play CMS. In the event you’re within the advertising staff or the CMO, you might end up inheriting and utilizing a WordPress web site that can probably have a less-than-ideal stack setup.
Don’t settle for that that is simply the setup you might have. In case your tech stack isn’t aligned appropriately, it may instantly hinder a few of your individual targets.
Whereas it might appear that you must delegate all technical selections to the event/IT staff, these selections could overrule wider enterprise targets.
As such, it might be time to audit your set up and setup to be able to break away of those stack limitations.
In the event you’re a CMO, this put up will cowl the totally different concerns when pondering of the optimum WordPress tech stack that additionally aligns with your individual targets.
Desk of Contents
What A Tech Stack Consists of
From a top-level, the WordPress tech stack includes the next:
- Server infrastructure.
- Internet hosting infrastructure.
- Efficiency & caching.
- Safety.
- Dev instruments.
- WordPress layer.
- Monitoring and analytics.
- Backup and restoration.
This may be seen in additional element on this diagram:
Picture created by creator, August 2025
There’s rather a lot to think about. With that, let’s delve into what you, as a CMO, ought to be asking your self and others to make sure this stack is at its finest.
The Invisible Value Of Low-cost Internet hosting
Shared internet hosting might sound cost-effective, however in my expertise, it’s usually the costliest selection in the long run.
When your web site shares sources with a whole lot of others, efficiency turns into unpredictable. This could have an effect on many issues, from normal pace and efficiency, but in addition how search engines like google and huge language fashions (LLMs) crawl/uncover your web site, in addition to how a human could expertise the positioning itself.
Devoted servers or managed WordPress internet hosting could also be a bigger funding, however in flip reduces technical overheads whereas offering the infrastructure wanted for development and scale.
For the extent up from this, WordPress-based Cloud internet hosting is probably the most strong resolution, however would require extra technical experience to handle.
What CMOs Ought to Ask:
- Are we on shared internet hosting or devoted infrastructure? If the previous, why?
- Are all server sources, equivalent to PHP, updated?
- What occurs to web site efficiency throughout visitors spikes?
- Who’s liable for server-level upkeep, optimizations, and safety?
- For potential visitors spikes, are there options and safeguards in place, equivalent to load balancers?
- Can we develop and scale with our present resolution?
Efficiency: The Enterprise Metric Disguised As A Tech Metric
Builders and technical SEOs alike will obsess over PageSpeed/Lighthouse scores, however issues equivalent to Core Net Vitals aren’t simply technical benchmarks but in addition conversion metrics in disguise.
A one-second delay in cellular load occasions can affect cellular conversions by as much as 20%. If Largest Content material Paint (LCP) exceeds 2.5 seconds, then your subsequent sale is at excessive threat earlier than there’s an opportunity to transform them.
Efficiency optimization in WordPress isn’t easy when wanting forensically. Many “options” can create new issues. Even well-intentioned optimizations and fixes over the long term could cause conflicts or different knock-on results. Over time, this turns into a “Frankenstein” web site of many parts patched collectively in an try and preserve it ‘alive’ that turns into costly to unravel and might trigger the positioning to be a “write-off”. This follow is extra widespread than you suppose.
What CMOs Ought to Ask:
- How does our web site carry out on PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and YSlow? What will be improved? How can we carry out towards opponents?
- Is caching correctly arrange? Are we contemplating all ranges (server, object, web page, CDN, and many others.)?
- Do we have now all minification instruments arrange appropriately?
- Is our database structure the very best it may be? How can this be improved?
- What and the way usually is our database cleaned? Does this embody revisions?
- How are our photographs performing? Have they been optimized? Are we utilizing extra trendy codecs equivalent to WebP?
- Who owns the efficiency metric?
This isn’t about chasing good scores; it’s about making certain your technical basis helps moderately than probably sabotaging your advertising aims.
Deciding On A Theme Ought to Be Lengthy-Time period
There are literally thousands of WordPress themes on the market.
In an ideal situation, the theme itself could be custom-built, incorporating WordPress’ personal Gutenberg block editor, because it’s a part of the core. In addition to this, full web site enhancing performance makes this course of even simpler.
In case your price range can’t stretch to custom-built theme growth, it’s then extraordinarily vital to select the suitable theme.
Make sure that you analysis the theme correctly, making an knowledgeable selection that’s performance-led to enhance the stack, not convenience-led for editors.
However bear in mind, your selection of theme is extra long-term than putting in a plugin you discover you don’t want a month/yr later. Due to this, themes ought to have a extra thought-about and knowledgeable method.
Bonus Consideration: Web page Builders
Typically, the individuals who find yourself utilizing WordPress on a day-to-day foundation aren’t the identical individuals who developed it or set it up.
Due to this, there can generally be clashes in relation to what somebody in your advertising staff desires versus what ought to be applied with technical finest follow.
Web page builders equivalent to Elementor and Divi do supply much more freedom and suppleness for web page creation and design, however include the draw back of potential code bloat and useful resource allocation.
Make sure that your selections aren’t influenced an excessive amount of by this request, as a result of that’s what it’s, a request.
What CMOs Ought to Ask:
- How does our present theme/builder selection affect web site efficiency?
- Is our present theme constructed for function? Is it a theme that caters to the lots, or is it developed particularly for me or my area of interest?
- Are we locked into a selected web page builder? What does the builder supply that Gutenberg and FSE don’t? What are the migration implications?
- Are our selections forming steadiness between design flexibility with technical efficiency?
- Do we have now the event sources to assist our chosen method?
- Are there conflicts between the web page builder and different sources/property?
Plugin-ception
“There’s a plugin for that.”
It is a phrase we’ve all heard or stated earlier than – myself included. There will be a plugin for that, sure – however it shouldn’t be the reply each time you need to lengthen performance.
Whereas I do have a choose variety of “core” plugins that I confidently select to make use of on any web site, this doesn’t imply that I might select to put in a plugin as a result of it solved one drawback that will not be sufficient to substantiate putting in if it warrants the technical debt the plugin will add.
Estimates counsel, the common WordPress web site runs 20-30 plugins, with many serving overlapping features or creating conflicts.
Bonus: Some Plugins Require Consideration Put up-Set up
There are some plugins which have a easy “plug and play” method. However each time I set up something, I all the time delve additional into its setup, configuration, and the way this could affect the efficiency of a web site.
One factor to know is that, on the whole, you shouldn’t method any plugin with an “set up and ignore” mindset.
Examine the settings. Undergo the first-time configuration (FTC). Audit the configuration.
Moreover, plugins not solely present useful under-the-hood optimizations and enhancements, but in addition current a possibility for the positioning to evolve alongside your enterprise and advertising actions.
Actively utilizing these plugins means your stack continues to profit from the newest options, improvements, and enhancements.
What CMOs Ought to Ask:
- What number of plugins are at the moment energetic on our web site?
- When was our final plugin audit?
- What plugins are we depending on for our core enterprise features?
- Have all plugins been configured appropriately?
- Are the plugins that require ongoing work getting used?
- Are there conflicts with different plugins?
- Are there any incumbent plugins stopping the event of the positioning as a complete?
- (Extra aggressive) What is going to occur to the broader enterprise targets if [Plugin X] is now not used?
The extra plugins which might be put in, the upper the chance of incompatibility, conflicts, and safety vulnerabilities.
Safety: Be Proactive, Not Reactive
One would suppose that safety is all the time the highest precedence to make sure the protected operation of any web site. Incorrect.
Breaches can devastate not simply the positioning, however in flip, your model status, whereas additionally incurring massive rapid prices and probably some lack of earnings sooner or later consequently.
Whereas on the extra excessive finish of the size, earlier this yr, some hackers breached numerous massive UK retailers, together with Marks and Spencer, inflicting £300 million in misplaced earnings, with no actual measurement on how this has affected them since.
It doesn’t take lengthy or value a lot (in some circumstances, the options are free) so as to add some layers of safety to your stack.
Whether or not it’s including guidelines inside Cloudflare or putting in Sucuri or Wordfence, don’t simply depart your web site unprotected when you “sit tight and assess” – take proactive steps to safe your stack.
What CMOs Ought to Ask:
- What safety measures can we at the moment have for the positioning?
- Are any and all vulnerabilities monitored?
- Is all the things updated? This contains not simply WordPress core, themes, and plugins, but in addition on a server degree, equivalent to PHP.
Upkeep: Forgotten Till Required
WordPress upkeep usually will get handled as a technical afterthought, however I think about this to be a essential advertising operate.
Outdated plugins not solely create conflicts which have knock-on results on each the frontend and backend of the positioning but in addition expose you to safety vulnerabilities that I simply lined above.
The selection between handbook and computerized updates displays deeper strategic priorities.
Handbook updates present extra management however require devoted sources and staging environments for testing previous to deployment. Automated updates could scale back upkeep overhead, however there’s all the time a threat of conflicts throughout essential enterprise intervals.
What CMOs Ought to Ask:
- Who’s liable for WordPress core, plugin, and theme updates? Have they got all of the required entry in case of catastrophe eventualities?
- Who’s liable for authorized, compliance, and privateness on the positioning?
- Is all the things updated? If not, is there a purpose for this?
- Do we have now staging environments for testing modifications earlier than something is deployed to a manufacturing surroundings?
- What’s our rollback plan if an replace breaks essential performance?
- How can we steadiness safety wants with stability necessities?
“Frankenstein” Websites Solely Get You So Far For So Lengthy…
You probably have a theme that’s now years previous, maybe 5 or extra, it’s seemingly that over time the theme (until extraordinarily effectively maintained) will ultimately trigger points and conflicts, extra so whenever you need to develop and scale.
Optimizing the positioning over time is clearly advised, however after a chronic period of time, this turns into tougher and fewer attainable with out conflicts arising.
What CMOs Ought to Ask:
- When was the final time a theme was chosen?
- When was it final audited? Is the theme nonetheless match for function at this time?
- Is a theme replace inflicting conflicts with different sources and plugins?
- Are there legacy plugins or different performance that stop important updates to WordPress or PHP, forcing the positioning to stay on outdated variations (due to this fact limiting entry to new options, improved safety, or higher efficiency)?
- Are advert hoc upkeep prices and “patchwork” over two to a few years costing greater than a possible rebuild (i.e., Is it a “write-off”)?
Key Takeaways
Beneath is a high-priority guidelines which you could act on now:
Precedence
Motion Merchandise
Stakeholder(s)
Important
Audit the present internet hosting surroundings and audit invisible prices.
CMO, Tech Lead, Finance
Important
Evaluate plugin presence and utilization: configuration, conflicts, necessity.
Tech, web optimization, Product, Advertising and marketing
Important
Implement and confirm up-to-date safety layers (e.g., Sucuri, WAF).
CTO, IT
Excessive
Outline clear tasks for updates, rollbacks, and compliance.
Product, Authorized, Advertising and marketing
Excessive
Schedule routine theme and plugin audits.
Dev/Undertaking Supervisor
Excessive
Arrange or overview staging/testing environments for modifications.
Tech Lead/DevOps
Medium
Plan for a long-term theme or potential rebuild if “Frankenstein.”
CMO, CTO
Medium
Calculate ongoing upkeep prices vs attainable web site overhaul.
Finance, CMO, CTO
Your WordPress stack ought to by no means be thought-about “set and neglect.”
Don’t anticipate one thing to interrupt, as a result of when one thing does, it would probably trigger extra loss than any proactive funding to make sure there isn’t one.
Extra Sources:
Featured Picture: Ashan Randika/Shutterstock
