Static sites vs. WordPress for a contractor
WordPress runs most contractor websites and breaks most of them. A static site built on a modern stack loads faster, cannot be hacked the same way, and costs nothing to run. When each makes sense.
Most contractor websites run on WordPress, because most agencies build on WordPress. It is a fine tool for a magazine with ten editors. For a contractor website that changes four times a year, it is the wrong tool, and it is the reason your site is slow, your hosting bill exists, and your last agency charged you to update plugins.
What a static site is
Every page is built in advance into a plain HTML file, and those files are served from a global network of servers. There is no database to query, no server to run code when a visitor arrives, no admin panel to be hacked. The page is just there, instantly.
When something changes, the site is rebuilt in about a minute and the new files replace the old ones. Forms and anything dynamic go through a small backend (we use Convex) that does one job.
The comparison
| WordPress | Static (Astro + Netlify + Convex) | |
|---|---|---|
| Load time on a phone | 3–8 seconds typical | Under 1 second |
| Monthly cost | $30–$150 hosting + plugin licences | $0–$20 |
| Security | Constant plugin and core updates; a top target for attacks | No server to attack; nothing to update |
| Who can break it | Any plugin update | Nobody, in practice |
| Editing | Admin panel, page builder | Send us the change (Care plan) or an on-page editor if you need one |
| Google ranking factors | Usually fails Core Web Vitals | Passes with room |
When WordPress still makes sense
- You publish several times a week and have a person who does it.
- You need a specific plugin ecosystem (membership, e-commerce, booking) and accept the maintenance.
- Your team is trained on it and the site is otherwise working.
When static is the answer
- The site changes a few times a year.
- Speed on a phone matters, which for contractors it always does.
- You are tired of paying for hosting and “maintenance.”
- You want a site nobody can take down with a bad update.
Every site we build is static, on a modern stack, and comes with the option of an on-page editor if you want to make changes yourself. What is in a website.
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Fifteen minutes. No pitch deck.
Tell me what you build and where the leads come from today. I will tell you what I would change, and what it would cost. If it is not a fit, I will say so on the call.