Who said WordPress is dead because of AI ?

I’ve been running a web agency in Canada since 2014, with a small team of 12 people. We mainly specialize in WordPress.

Recently, a client asked me how to create a simple, elegant website on a very tight budget ($600...). He wanted a portfolio website.

Usually, I turn down this kind of project for such a meager sum, but this time, I took on the challenge and told myself, “Yes, I can do this with Claude,” so I accepted.

#Spoileralert: I succeeded in the challenge! It took me at least 2-3 hours on the screen and 1-2 hours guiding Claude from my phone with /remote-control.

I know you want to see the result right now, so here it is : https://synergaiainternational.ca/

In this post, I'll tell you how I did this, if that can help.

# HOW I BUILT IT

If you’re a web developer or run a web agency, you probably know that when creating a website, you don’t usually jump straight into the development phase. You have to follow specific steps.

These steps are as follows:

1) Analyze and document the functional requirements.

2) Consider the user experience (UX design), create a site map, and then create mockups or wireframes

3) At the same time, analyze the brand guidelines provided by the client, or create a set tailored for the web (fonts, colors, usage conventions, icons, etc.)

4) Create concrete design mockups for each page—sometimes for desktop and mobile, sometimes just a single version

5) NEXT, build the website in a development environment

6) Present to the client, make adjustments, and prepare for deployment

7 (bonus): Other elements may be added to this step, such as search engine optimization (SEO), setting up legal notices and a privacy policy, configuring analytics, and training the client on how to use the website (so they don’t break it),

8) Launch the website

In short, I couldn’t just tell Claude: “Hey Claude, build me a website for my client. /goal Finish it from start to finish and do it on WordPress. Bye!”

## MY SETUP

Some info about my setup :

I use Linux Ubuntu
VScode
Claude Code and Codex extensions
Skills : impeccable, confront-codex (to make Codex challenge Claude), humanize (to make content more human in French
Claude Design or Open Design

## WHAT I ASKED FROM THE CUSTOMER

a hosting service ready-to-go, obviously
a domain name
and document with his ideas, thoughts, how he sees his website

He also gave me a PDF document describing his activity, with the resume of each of his teammates

## FIRST STEP : DESIGN

So I started with designing : brand guide/moodboards, then mockups.

I opened Claude Design and gave it all the info I had on them.

Then I asked to create 3 moodboards I could choose from.

Chose one, then asked for a page design mockup (I know, I should have created a wireframe first, but with that budget I skipped this step). On this page, I wanted to include as many different types of sections as possible so that I could account for various scenarios on the different pages I'll be creating.

Changed a few things or two.

That's it, 1-2 hours for this only in front of my screen.

## CODING

In Claude Design, we can export it all and send it to Claude Code. That's what I did.

Opened a folder, dropped it all there, opened a repo, then I had to create my first prompt and the first MD files with /init (CLAUDE.md / README.md and so on...).

My first prompt was huge.

I said who I was and my role with this customer
Use WordPress and the Gutenberg editor (the native one) or custom field with the free ACF plugin
I showed a goal to make the website local first, then deploy when ready
Gave credentials to deploy (SSH access with SSH key)
Told Claude that the client had a low budget, so go straight to the point, ask me if you have any question, and that I wouldn't be around the computer after this prompt but checking with /remote-control. So when it wants to show me something, it would do it through GitHub links.
Asked to use sub-agents with different personas to be able to make quality insurance
Setup a goal to finish the website today to be able to deploy it

Important note: I have a general CLAUDE.md that includes a bunch of useful instructions I generally use, like when to use some skills, why it should not touch the production environment without my consent, learn from its mistakes, and more...

I also have an auto-compact feature at 300k tokens.

# FINAL RESULT

Claude finished it in 2 hours, it was incredible.

The only two things it missed :

1) It couldn't set up SEO with Rankmath SEO plugin, so it did it by coding it. I had to change it myself.

2) Some pages didn't have a way to edit the content. It hadn't used ACF or Gutenberg for certain sections that it considered too complex. I know I could have made him fix that, but given the budget, I just couldn't be bothered.

# CONCLUSION

Creating a website this way was really smooth and pleasant.

I had a beautiful website that took me a few hours to build, with most of the hours spent chilling outside on my phone with my family.

Building a website on WordPress is easily achievable if you give specific instructions. And the customer can edit its content with the native Gutenberg editor or custom fields.

This is not the first WP website I built with Claude Code, I built way more complex websites with it. But I wanted to share my experience with you guys.

Feel free to ask me questions about it or make any comments.

Cheers.

15 comments

Who said WordPress is dead because of AI ?