Stack Overview
The Blackbyrd locked stack for non-profit WordPress builds. Every client uses this stack unless there’s a documented reason to deviate.
The stack at a glance
| Layer | Tool | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | GridPane on Vultr | FastCGI cache, agency-friendly, sane defaults |
| DNS / CDN / WAF | Cloudflare | Edge caching, DDoS mitigation, page rules |
| CMS | WordPress | Editor UX for non-technical clients, ecosystem |
| Page builder | Etch (theme + plugin) | Semantic output, ACSS-native, “true web dev” ethos |
| Design system | Automatic.css (ACSS) | Tokenized design, fluid type, a11y baselines |
| Custom fields | ACF Pro | Industry standard, JSON sync workflow |
| Code snippets | WPCode Pro | Replaces functions.php editing |
| Performance | Perfmatters | Script Manager + tweaks. (Caching at GridPane FastCGI level — no plugin caching layer.) |
| Image optimization | ShortPixel | Compress + WebP/AVIF; Cloudflare handles CDN delivery |
| SEO | Rank Math Pro | Modern, half the cost of Yoast at agency scale |
| Forms | WS Form Pro | Best-in-class ACF integration, ACSS-aware output |
| Activity log | WP Activity Log | Free during build, Premium at launch (feeds monthly client report skill) |
| Security | Patchstack | Deferred to Phase 5/6 — paid only when site goes public |
Per-client additions
These get added per-project based on the client’s needs:
- Donations — GiveWP (full plugin) or Donorbox (embed)
- Events — The Events Calendar (Pro tier if recurring events needed)
- Newsletter — MailPoet, or pure embed of Mailchimp/ConvertKit/Beehiiv
Premium tier (business clients) deviates
The premium Headless tier uses Next.js + Tailwind + Sanity/Payload, not WP+Etch+ACSS. See decisions/2026-04-27-hangar-unified-platform.mdx for context.
Build environment
- Local dev: Local by Flywheel (matches GridPane stack defaults)
- Repo:
blackbyrd-creative/[client-slug]-siteon GitHub (private) - Staging URL:
[client-slug]-staging.blackbyrd.cc(Cloudflare zone Blackbyrd controls) - Production: transitions to client’s own domain at Phase 6 cutover
License model
All premium plugin licenses are owned centrally under Blackbyrd. Clients never own licenses. License access is a feature of the active care plan. See decisions/2026-04-27-license-centralization.mdx for the full model + off-boarding paths.
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