WordPress is the most common way to build a website, but for many small businesses, it brings unnecessary complexity. We prefer a cleaner, faster alternative.
WordPress first started in 2003 as a tool for personal blogging. Over the last two decades, it has been adapted and patched to run everything from small business sites to massive online stores. Today, it powers a huge portion of the internet.
However, that long history comes with a fair amount of baggage. Because it tries to be everything to everyone, the core of the platform is often quite bloated. For a small business that simply needs a fast, secure and reliable website, you can end up with a lot of technical complexity that you did not ask for and likely do not need.
We use a modern stack featuring Astro for the front end and Directus as the CMS. This allows us to build a site that is lean and efficient from day one. There is no legacy weight, no reliance on dozens of third party plugins and no unnecessary security risks.
Most WordPress sites need 20 or 30 plugins just to function. These are often made by different developers and can break, stop being updated or create security vulnerabilities.
The WordPress core and every plugin you installed must be updated regularly. If you miss these updates, the site becomes an easy target for automated bots and hackers.
By default, WordPress is quite a heavy system. Making it run fast usually requires even more plugins for caching, which adds another layer of things that can go wrong.
Because it is so popular, WordPress is the most attacked system online. Hackers use automated tools to find sites with outdated plugins, making it a constant battle to stay secure.
Many WordPress sites are built using pre-made templates or page builders. This often limits how unique your site can look and can result in a lot of messy code behind the scenes.
While the software is free, the costs for premium plugins, specialised hosting and regular technical maintenance can add up much faster than many people realise.
We build our sites using Astro and Directus because it is stable, produces fast loading sites and is less vulnerable to hacks. Over the years we have helped out on many WordPress sites and what we almost always find is a long list of outdated plugins, site speed issues and technical problems that make the site more costly to run than originally envisioned. Don't get us wrong, WordPress can be used to build great sites, it is just that most of the time it isn't.
Astro allows us to create static pages that load almost instantly. Because there is no database being queried every time someone visits your site and no plugins that need constant updates, site security is much higher. This is becoming increasingly important with the rise of automated AI systems and assistants.
For managing your content, we use Directus. This gives you a clean and simple dashboard where you can update your text and images. We customise this specifically for your business, so you only see the tools you actually need to use.
When you save an update, the site rebuilds itself automatically. Within a few minutes your changes are live. This model ensures you have full control over your content while we look after the technical infrastructure. It means your site stays fast and secure without the usual WordPress headaches.
Not necessarily. It can be a good fit for certain large scale publications when in the hands of a skilled developer. However, for most small business websites, we believe it is overkill and creates too much extra work to keep it running safely.
Directus is a modern content management system. It acts as the back end for your site where you can edit your pages and make blog posts. It is designed to be very user friendly for non technical people, and we provide a full rundown of how to use it upon handover.
Yes, we can migrate your existing content into a new, custom build. Our clients usually notice a significant jump in speed and find the site much easier to manage afterwards.
You certainly will. Directus is built for that purpose. We will show you how to use it, and if you are comfortable with basic tasks like sending an email, you will have no trouble at all. Some more extensive changes will still need to be handled by us on a case by case basis to ensure the site performance and layout are properly retained.
RELATED READING
Tired of constant WordPress and plugin updates? Learn how Shopify removes the maintenance burden so you can focus on selling and growing your business.
Read more about Forget Plugin Maintenance: The Shopify AdvantageWith over 60% of web traffic now on mobile, ensuring your site is fast on every device is essential. Learn how to optimise for the mobile-first era.
Read more about Mobile Performance: The Real Test for Your Business WebsiteMost visitors won't wait more than 3 seconds for a page to load. Learn how website speed impacts your Google rankings, bounce rates, and conversion rates.
Read more about Slow Sites Cost You Customers: Why Website Speed is Non-Negotiable