WordPress remains to be the preferred open-source content material administration system (CMS) – by far – powering 43.5 % of all web sites on the internet, and nonetheless in my view probably the most adaptable CMS to work with.
Nonetheless, WordPress isn’t only a plug-and-play CMS. In the event you’re within the advertising and marketing crew or the CMO, you might end up inheriting and utilizing a WordPress web site that may almost certainly have a less-than-ideal stack setup.
Don’t settle for that that is simply the setup you’ve. In case your tech stack isn’t aligned appropriately, it might straight hinder a few of your personal targets.
Whereas it could appear that it’s best to delegate all technical selections to the event/IT crew, these selections could overrule wider enterprise targets.
As such, it could be time to audit your set up and setup with a view to break away of those stack limitations.
In the event you’re a CMO, this submit will cowl the completely different concerns when considering of the optimum WordPress tech stack that additionally aligns with your personal targets.
Desk of Contents
What A Tech Stack Consists of
From a top-level, the WordPress tech stack entails 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 writer, August 2025
There’s so much to think about. With that, let’s delve into what you, as a CMO, needs 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 typically the most costly alternative in the long run.
When your web site shares sources with tons of of others, efficiency turns into unpredictable. This could have an effect on many issues, from normal velocity and efficiency, but in addition how serps and enormous 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 progress 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, corresponding to PHP, updated?
- What occurs to web site efficiency throughout site visitors spikes?
- Who’s answerable for server-level upkeep, optimizations, and safety?
- For potential site visitors spikes, are there options and safeguards in place, corresponding 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 corresponding 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 impression 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 trying forensically. Many “options” can create new issues. Even well-intentioned optimizations and fixes over the long run may cause conflicts or different knock-on results. Over time, this turns into a “Frankenstein” web site of many components patched collectively in an try to hold it ‘alive’ that turns into costly to unravel and might trigger the positioning to be a “write-off”. This observe is extra widespread than you assume.
What CMOs Ought to Ask:
- How does our web site carry out on PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and YSlow? What will be improved? How will we carry out in opposition to rivals?
- Is caching correctly arrange? Are we contemplating all ranges (server, object, web page, CDN, and so forth.)?
- Do we’ve got all minification instruments arrange appropriately?
- Is our database structure one of the best it may be? How can this be improved?
- What and the way typically is our database cleaned? Does this embrace revisions?
- How are our photographs performing? Have they been optimized? Are we utilizing extra fashionable codecs corresponding to WebP?
- Who owns the efficiency metric?
This isn’t about chasing excellent scores; it’s about making certain your technical basis helps relatively than doubtlessly sabotaging your advertising and marketing targets.
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 funds can’t stretch to custom-built theme growth, it’s then extraordinarily essential to decide on the suitable theme.
Make sure that you analysis the theme correctly, making an knowledgeable alternative that’s performance-led to enhance the stack, not convenience-led for editors.
However keep in mind, your alternative of theme is extra long-term than putting in a plugin you discover you don’t want a month/12 months later. Due to this, themes ought to have a extra thought-about and knowledgeable strategy.
Bonus Consideration: Web page Builders
Typically, the individuals who find yourself utilizing WordPress on a day-to-day foundation should not the identical individuals who developed it or set it up.
Due to this, there can generally be clashes with regards to what somebody in your advertising and marketing crew desires versus what needs to be carried out with technical finest observe.
Web page builders corresponding to Elementor and Divi do supply much more freedom and adaptability for web page creation and design, however include the draw back of potential code bloat and useful resource allocation.
Make sure that your selections should not 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 alternative impression 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 decisions forming stability between design flexibility with technical efficiency?
- Do we’ve got the event sources to assist our chosen strategy?
- Are there conflicts between the web page builder and different sources/property?
Plugin-ception
“There’s a plugin for that.”
This can be a phrase we’ve all heard or mentioned earlier than – myself included. There will be a plugin for that, sure – however it shouldn’t be the reply each time you wish to prolong 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’d select to put in a plugin as a result of it solved one downside that might 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” strategy. However at any time when I set up something, I at all times delve additional into its setup, configuration, and the way this will impression the efficiency of a web site.
One factor to know is that, normally, you shouldn’t strategy any plugin with an “set up and ignore” mindset.
Verify the settings. Undergo the first-time configuration (FTC). Audit the configuration.
Moreover, plugins not solely present invaluable under-the-hood optimizations and enhancements, but in addition current a possibility for the positioning to evolve alongside your small business and advertising and marketing actions.
Actively utilizing these plugins means your stack continues to learn from the newest options, improvements, and enhancements.
What CMOs Ought to Ask:
- What number of plugins are presently lively 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 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 assume that safety is at all times the highest precedence to make sure the secure operation of any web site. Incorrect.
Breaches can devastate not simply the positioning, however in flip, your model repute, whereas additionally incurring giant fast prices and almost certainly some lack of earnings sooner or later in consequence.
Whereas on the extra excessive finish of the size, earlier this 12 months, some hackers breached quite a few giant 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 go away 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 will we presently have for the positioning?
- Are any and all vulnerabilities monitored?
- Is the whole lot updated? This contains not simply WordPress core, themes, and plugins, but in addition on a server stage, corresponding to PHP.
Upkeep: Forgotten Till Required
WordPress upkeep typically will get handled as a technical afterthought, however I contemplate this to be a important advertising and marketing 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 coated 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. Computerized updates could cut back upkeep overhead, however there may be at all times a threat of conflicts throughout important enterprise durations.
What CMOs Ought to Ask:
- Who’s answerable for WordPress core, plugin, and theme updates? Have they got all of the required entry in case of catastrophe eventualities?
- Who’s answerable for authorized, compliance, and privateness on the positioning?
- Is the whole lot updated? If not, is there a motive for this?
- Do we’ve got staging environments for testing adjustments earlier than something is deployed to a manufacturing setting?
- What’s our rollback plan if an replace breaks important performance?
- How will we stability safety wants with stability necessities?
“Frankenstein” Websites Solely Get You So Far For So Lengthy…
You probably have a theme that’s now years outdated, maybe 5 or extra, it’s possible that over time the theme (except extraordinarily properly maintained) will finally trigger points and conflicts, extra so once you wish to develop and scale.
Optimizing the positioning over time is clearly urged, 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 right this moment?
- Is a theme replace inflicting conflicts with different sources and plugins?
- Are there legacy plugins or different performance that forestall 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
Under is a high-priority guidelines that you would be able to act on now:
Precedence
Motion Merchandise
Stakeholder(s)
Crucial
Audit the present internet hosting setting and audit invisible prices.
CMO, Tech Lead, Finance
Crucial
Assessment plugin presence and utilization: configuration, conflicts, necessity.
Tech, web optimization, Product, Advertising
Crucial
Implement and confirm up-to-date safety layers (e.g., Sucuri, WAF).
CTO, IT
Excessive
Outline clear obligations for updates, rollbacks, and compliance.
Product, Authorized, Advertising
Excessive
Schedule routine theme and plugin audits.
Dev/Challenge Supervisor
Excessive
Arrange or assessment staging/testing environments for adjustments.
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 almost certainly trigger extra loss than any proactive funding to make sure there isn’t one.
Extra Sources:
Featured Picture: Ashan Randika/Shutterstock
