As we head into 2023, I’ve drastically simplified my WordPress stack to make things easier to manage and less likely to break.
In this video, I’m going to share my WordPress tech stack for 2023 and why I’ve chosen these tools — so if you’re interested in learning more, stick around, and let’s get started…
Plugins / Themes
GeneratePress/Premium + GenerateBlocks/Pro – It’s no secret this is my favorite theme/builder combo — and in 2023 it’s only getting better. This combo allows me to design just about anything I can dream up, produces lightning fast, lightweight websites, and does all the “little things” right.
Slim SEO – After several years with SEOPress, last year I started testing Slim SEO, and honestly I haven’t missed SEOPress at all. My needs from a SEO plugin are simple, and Slim SEO does the basics I need and stays out of the way.
Perfmatters – The Perfmatters plugin is the secret weapon in my arsenal, making my already speedy GP/GB sites even faster with their easy optimizations. It helps me host fonts locally and reduce WordPress bloat in just a couple of clicks.
Fluent Forms – I got a lifetime license to Fluent Forms back when they launched, and honestly, I have no reason to switch at this point. The pro version does everything I need and has all the integrations that are important to me.
ACF Pro – I love using dynamic data, and ACF Pro continues to be the most popular option. It integrates beautifully with GB/GP and my lifetime license makes it hard to consider any alternatives that would add to my expenses.
CPT UI – Though there are several tools that do this, CPT UI is free and does exactly what I need; create custom post types using a visual interface.
Shortpixel – After continually testing alternatives, Shortpixel continues to provide the right combination of results and ease of use. I love that I can “set and forget” this plugin and it works in the background optimizing all my media.
Breeze – So long as I continue to use Cloudways, Breeze just makes sense. It’s created by Cloudways and integrates directly with the platform. I only use it for caching, while Perfmatters handles the rest of my optimizations.
Other
InstaWP – I’ll admit, I’ve had an up and down relationship with this platform, but I end up testing out a lot of plugins and InstaWP allows you to spinup new WordPress installs in seconds (literally).
BlogVault/WPRemote – There are a lot of tools out there to bulk-update plugins, but what really sold me on BlogVault is the security features. It will clean up hacked sites and provides an excellent additional security layer to all my sites.
Cloudways – Even though I don’t really love Cloudways, I felt like this list would be incomplete without my hosting setup. I’m so invested with Cloudways at this point, I haven’t found an alternative that would make it worth the hassle of moving all my sites.
Wrapping Up
I plan on mixing things up more on the channel this year — doing more videos outside of just GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks. If there is anything form this list you’d like to learn more about, be sure to let me know.
Next week, I’ll be releasing a similar video on my tech stack outside of WordPress, so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it!
Kyle Van Deusen
After spending 15 years as a graphic designer and earning a business degree, I launched my agency, OGAL Web Design, in 2017. A year later, after finding the amazing community around WordPress, I co-found The Admin Bar, which has grown to become the #1 community for WordPress professionals. I'm a husband and proud father of three, and a new resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
