§ 08.00 — One per month · first Monday
One deep post. Sourced. Versioned. Citable.
Each post is a working document with sources, methodology, and a corrections log.
§ 08.01
Ledger
Why your WP site lost 1.2 s to a plugin audit, and how to win it back.
A 9-minute teardown of the plugin tax. Includes the spreadsheet I use to score plugins on weight, render-blocking, and abandonment risk. Numbers from 47 live sites measured in 2026.
9 min read
WCAG AA without sacrificing the brand
Most accessibility regressions come from designers picking contrast last. Picking it first costs nothing and prevents every common AA violation.
6 min read
Plugin diet: 38 → 11 in 14 days
A worked example of cutting an enterprise WordPress install from 38 active plugins to 11, with every removed plugin's behaviour preserved in theme code.
11 min read
AI in the loop, not the chair
How I use Claude to draft refactors, where I refuse to use it, and the audit trail that keeps clients comfortable.
7 min read
WordPress and security: the four checks no plugin gives you
WordPress security plugins fix the surface that's already exposed. The four checks that prevent exposure in the first place.
8 min read
When Classic beats FSE — and when it doesn’t
A frank tour of the design space. Classic themes win for marketing sites with bespoke design; FSE wins for content-heavy sites where editors compose pages.
5 min read
EAA enforcement, Q1 2026: what UK B2Bs serving EU traffic must do now
The European Accessibility Act took effect mid-2025. By Q1 2026 the first enforcement cases are public. What changed for UK exporters.
12 min read
When headless WordPress is worth it, and when it isn’t
A decision matrix from four real engagements. The honest answer is "rarely" — but the cases where it wins are specific.
14 min read
A 2026 hiring scorecard for WordPress developers
Twelve questions to ask before hiring a freelance WP dev, the answers that matter, and the red flags AI portfolios are now manufacturing.
11 min read