Back in 2013, I built my personal site using WordPress with the classic templating system. By mid-2024, I had to admit it was hopelessly outdated—any real progress would require a complete rebuild. Around that same time, I discovered the Next.js-based OnceUI design system, created by Lorant. Its starter kit, Magic Portfolio, immediately caught my attention and held it for quite a while. It was engaging and enjoyable to work with—I appreciated the thoughtful touches Lorant had built in, as well as the ability to manage content through MDX files.
That convenience came with a cost. Keeping up with Next.js edge-case bugs, framework updates, and security patches after various exploits surfaced eventually changed my mind. Next.js was simply overkill for a personal site. So, by the end of 2024, my site returned to WordPress—this time fully rebuilt using the modern WordPress Block system.
And so, here we are. My site now runs on the latest, nearly vanilla version of WordPress. Block-based design strikes the right balance: faster than page builders, yet far more flexible than code-based templates.
This week also brought the release of WordPress 6.9. One of my favorite additions is the ability to use the CMD+K command palette throughout the entire admin area—a genuinely useful upgrade. However, it doesn’t include custom post types in its search results, so I built the CPT Commands plugin to fill that gap. It lets me quickly navigate through all my posts and pages, regardless of their post type.
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