A little while ago I was on a discovery call where the client described their dream website to a whitelabel I was working for. They gave an entire pitch on how they want to separate the concerns of content writers and developers, and wanted less people to have access to adjusting the formatting of the website. They also wanted a fast, modern, and animated front end. They were content with their old website but wanted to invest the time (and money) into building something new, and better.
At the time, I had been experimenting with Faust.js, a React framework built for headless WordPress. I head the list of requirements and immediately had a lightbulb moment. It could be a really good fit for this client. It offered the best of both worlds: a modern, high-performance front-end built with React, and gave them the ability to edit content how they have in the past, through WordPress.
This call was lead by the white label (I’d love to write some more about whitelabels) who was just obsessed with the page builder Divi, a WordPress drag and drop premium theme. Before I was able to jump in about a possible headless option he really ran with convicting the client Divi was the right call. . Don’t get me wrong I like divi as much as the next guy, it can be:
- Easy for non devs to get in there and work on
- Quick to set up for straightforward, templated sites
However, it also comes with some drawbacks:
- It’s slow, especially on more complex sites
- Difficult to scale as a business grows
- Bloated, making customization or performance optimization challenging
For this client’s needs, Divi wasn’t the right tool for the job.
This experience reminded me how crucial it is to choose the right tools based on the specific needs of the project. While headless WordPress could have been an ideal fit here, the same principle applies across all projects. Every tool—whether it’s Divi, a traditional WordPress setup, or a headless framework—has strengths and weaknesses. The key is understanding the requirements and selecting the option that aligns best with the client’s goals.
Not every client needs a headless setup, just as not every client will thrive with a page builder. The right solution is the one that balances usability, performance, and scalability for their unique situation.