Sometimes the solution isn’t more code

Last Thursday Tuija Pirttijoki called me:

• “This doesn’t make any sense, can you have a look?”
  I’m glad I did.

Our common aquaintance & friend, tax law attorney Dr Marja Hokkanen, was already at the second full website rebuild within under 4 years.

What she ordered:
A website that is simple to use, so that external collaborators or herself would be able to update it with ease. That’s why she asked (twice – second rebuild, remember?) a “WordPress Expert” for help.

What she got:
A cryptic custom theme no one else could read, with hardcoded content buried inside template files and duplicate plugins doing the same thing – that’s not the whole list, but you understand my point.
My personal favorite? WordPress running inside WordPress for bilingual content.

Yes, two individual installations. One site.

Tuija was supposed to refresh the design.
Instead, she was reverse-engineering a black box. 🕵

And now we’re here to ask the uncomfortable question:
Was it incompetence? 😵💫
Or was it dependency by design?

Because when:
1) Only one developer understands the structure
2) Content can’t be edited safely
3) A second language requires a second installation
-and-
4) every small change requires “calling the guy” (and paying handsomely)

… you don’t have a website.
You have a lock-in mechanism. 🔒

Even if it wasn’t intentional, the effect is the same.

❗ This is especially upsetting because that behavior hurts our industry❗
🔴 It destroys trust.
🔴 It makes clients suspicious of everyone.
🔴 It turns WordPress, an open and flexible system, into a hostage situation.

So, what was the fix?
Of course, no full rebuild. No ego “I’m a super coder” project. Focusing on offering upgrade paths instead of dead ends.

🟢 I activated Twenty Twenty-Four (which is WordPress’ default template since Nov. 2023 – actually before the time when the website was rebuilt for the second time, so no excuses)
🟢 Removed plugin duplication and bloat
🟢 Replaced hardcoded content with proper blocks
🟢 Installed TranslatePress on a single installation
🟢 Implemented clean language filtering
🟢 Hardened security properly

-and-

🟢 Documented every modification!!!

Now the site it editable by the client and maintainable by any competent developer. And live by Friday (yes, Friday like 24h after the call).

The main takeaway
WordPress is not complicated.
People make it complicated.
And sometimes – let’s be honest – complexity is profitable.

But professionalism means building systems that:
1) The client can understand
2) Another developer can take over
3) Won’t collapse on the next update

If your solution requires secrecy to survive, it’s not expertise.
It’s insecurity.
And we can do better than that.

If your WordPress site feels fragile, overly complex, or suspiciously dependent on one specific person — it probably doesn’t have to be.

Sometimes the solution isn’t more code.
It’s less ego. 🧘