Context and constraint
What had to be understood before coding
The site needed to present real work, publish technical guidance and handle enquiries without coupling structured data and operational behavior to one visual theme.
Engineering decision
What was built, changed or isolated
Separate presentation from portable WordPress behavior, then document the boundaries so future changes remain predictable.
Implementation safeguards
How maintainability, security and rollback were considered
Separated theme and plugin responsibilities; added versioned REST routes, a dynamic block, WP-CLI, privacy tools, Site Health, cache lifecycle, CI/tests and feature-to-file documentation. Replaced unverifiable marketing metrics with traceable evidence.
Observable result
Theme/plugin separation · documented quality gates
Created a codebase that supports ongoing publishing, source review and future visual iteration without migrating core content.