A Developer’s Take: 5 things every WordPress site needs

Gecko has been building websites for 30 years. In that time, the tools have evolved: design trends shift, devices change, and fad platforms come and go. But the fundamentals of what makes a site effective have stayed surprisingly consistent.

Good websites share a few common traits. They have a clear purpose, they’re easy to use, and they’re built on a solid technical foundation that supports both the visitor and the organization behind it. These are the five things we consider essential for every WordPress site we build.

1. A clear purpose and defined audience

Every site has a job to do. It might sell a product, generate leads, accept donations, or simply help people find the right information. We start each project by defining that job and the audience it serves.

To keep things focused, we use a framework called Job Mapping (adapted from a model published by an agency we love, Fictive Kin), which helps us structure content and navigation around user intent. Each page type falls into one of five roles:

• Attractors – draw people in through search or shared content
• Informers – explain what your organization does and why it matters
• Convincers – demonstrate credibility through case studies, testimonials, or real results
• Converters – prompt users to take action, such as donating, purchasing, or signing up
• Supporters – maintain trust after the fact, including FAQs or support content

By mapping pages this way, we make sure each one has a defined role in the broader story your site tells. It’s a simple approach that keeps design, content, and goals aligned from the start.

2. Analytics and tracking

It’s difficult to improve what you can’t measure. We set up Google Analytics for the big-picture numbers like overall traffic, engagement, and conversions. Then, we use Microsoft Clarity for more human feedback like heatmaps and click patterns.

Together, these tools reveal what’s working and what isn’t. Analytics tells you what’s happening and Clarity helps show you why. Over time, the data becomes a foundation for thoughtful decisions about design, content, and marketing. Everything is configured with privacy and consent in mind, so you get meaningful insights while maintaining user trust.

3. Performance and speed

Few things shape a visitor’s first impression more than load time. A fast site feels polished and reliable; a slow one feels neglected.

We build with Gutenberg, WordPress’s block-based editor, which keeps code lean and maintainable. Hosting on WP Engine and using Cloudflare’s content delivery network ensures that pages load quickly anywhere in the world. We minimize plugins, compress images (we like TinyPNG), and use browser-level optimizations to reduce waiting time.

Performance isn’t something we add later or try to bolt on with a plugin, it’s built into every step of the process. It’s so important that it’s baked into every website we bake – even if/when our clients don’t know to ask for it specifically.

4. Accessibility (A11y)

Accessibility means making sure everyone can use your site, regardless of ability or device. WordPress provides a solid baseline, but we take it further by focusing on contrast, typography, keyboard navigation, and logical content flow during design.

We test accessibility throughout development and use tools like Monsido to scan for issues before launch. The result is a site that works cleanly for everyone and performs better on search and mobile devices as well.

(Because websites are living, breathing ecosystems that evolve as you add and modify content, we recommend regular accessibility audits to monitor accessibility conformity over time. Want to chat more about this service? Get in touch.)

5. Security

Security doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be consistent. We use Cloudflare to filter malicious traffic, Wordfence for ongoing scans and firewall protection, and Akismet to manage spam.

Over the years, we’ve seen that regular updates and thoughtful user permissions prevent most of the common problems. When security is handled correctly, it becomes invisible, quietly doing its job in the background.

Closing thoughts

After decades of building and maintaining websites, one pattern stands out: success comes from getting the fundamentals right. Clarity, consistency, accessibility, and care matter more than the latest framework or design trend.