Roots Stack and Its Affair with Modern WordPress Development

WordPress is a not-so-old technology that has given a new face to web development from time to time. Modern WordPress development depends on technologies and techniques that have already been tested. These tried and tested technologies are great but their backward compatibility leaves developers to stick to traditional and legacy solutions for way too long. This is 2024, and every business is upgrading. So, why shouldn’t WordPress developers? This blog discusses what Roots stack is and how it can help to modernize web development.

WordPress has been a part of web development since 2003. It has always been around to protect and preserve those using backward compatibility environments like old PHP and MySQL versions. No wonder the conventional WordPress development has helped these old-tech legacy holders to survive and thrive. However, 2024 and the timeline beyond calls for “modernization”.

But, the old PHP and MySQL versions have kept WordPress from fully exploring the latest PHP capabilities. For the same reason, many WordPress developers lived inside a bubble that held their foot back from learning about new and modern front-end development technologies. In brief, the older versions became an obstruction to doing things the new way.

The Relationship Between WordPress and Roots Stack

Roots stack is making the WordPress development process easier, ever since 2011. This is exactly what the opening lines of Roots say, “Making WordPress development better since 2011”.

To simply understand it, it is a toolset that helps developers to explore the modern side of WordPress during web development. For better clarification, let’s see what developers across the world are saying about Roots stack:

Roots stack was originally named as Roots theme. It was an HTML5 starter theme that was intentionally created to give a clean slate to begin new WordPress websites. With time it evolved into a full set of tools used in major modern web technologies and other standards such as:

• Grunt
• Gulp
• Webpack
• LESS and SCSS
• NPM and Yarn
• Bootstrap
• PSR-2 coding standards
• DRY principle

This led WordPress developers to stay updated with modern front-end development technologies. Fast-forwarding to this date, Roots stack is used to build better WordPress sites. From the beginning of the WordPress development process till its end, Roots is forcing developers to step out of their comfort zone (commonly called WordPress Bubble) and create something expansive and modern-age.

Adopt the Modern WordPress Development Workflow

Let’s take a look at the three main tools of the Roots stack.

1. Roots Sage 9

Roots Sage 9 is a WordPress starter theme. Usually, Sage is confused to be a theme framework, which, by the way, it is not. It is an open-source project that is used by developers for free. It comes with a handful of features such as:

• Harnessing Laravel’s power.
• Providing clean and efficient theme templating using Laravel Blade.
• Offer a lightning-fast front-end development workflow.
• Outstanding support for Tailwind CSS.

Sage also acts as the back-end tool that organizes theme file structures and writes better PHP.

2. Bedrock

To give you an overview, Bedrock is a “modern” stack for WordPress development. This tool provides a better project structure. A major part of Bedrock’s philosophy is related to the Twelve-Factor App methodology. Some of its features are:

• Provides a good folder structure.
• Easy WordPress configuration.
• It is an autoloader for mu-plugins.
• Offers enhanced security with wp-password-bcrypt.

In brief, Bedrock works to improve WordPress installation.

3. Trellis

You can Trellis “the modern LEMP stack” as it helps to manage the project’s development, staging, and production servers. Mentioned below are its features:

• High-performing development servers.
• Vagrant-powered local development environment.
• Zero-downtime deployment.
• Easier management using trellis-cli.

Why should you use this complete Roots stack?

Here’s why:

• Provides you with a framework-agnostic starter theme.
• Gives a modern WordPress development process.
• Brings modernized PHP and requirements to the table.
• Better package management.
• Better template files
• Empowers you with the easy, quick, and safe deployment of WordPress projects

The Simple yet Modern-age WordPress Development Process

Now that we know what the Roots stack and its tools are, let’s take a glance through the development process. Here are its major phases:

1. Project initiation

The project begins once the client and the WordPress development services company agree upon the terms and sign the deal. At this stage, the company and client discuss and brainstorm upon the general goals of the project, design requirements, and other website data details.

2. Design

The entire design team works together and brings the client’s vision to life. The designers create mock-ups, modify, and rectify them until the client feels satisfied.

3. Data migration

The data migration process is undertaken if the client is shifting from an existing content management system. The client provides access to data, the team pulls it together and then begins the import process. Duplicator, VaultPress, WP Migrate DB, etc., are some of the plugins that help with data migration.

4. Web development

Once the designs are approved by the client, the team moves ahead with the development process. Site functionalities and custom features are built and perfected to the core according to the client’s needs.

5. Quality Assurance (QA) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

Testing is important to verify that the developed assets are working as they should. The dedicated testing team performs:

• Functional testing
• Usability testing
• Compatibility testing
• Performance testing
• Security testing

6. Site launch

In this WordPress development stage, the website is finally launched or goes live for the audience to take over, engage, and make business for the client.

Last but not least, comes the support. If you have chosen a good agency, it will provide you with the best support phase for a specified duration even after the site launch. Here, they will solve any bug issues, technical issues, or maintenance plans to notice.

A must-read: Cost of Building a WordPress Website in 2024

Choose the Best WordPress Development Services

Wrapping up, the key point to note is that whenever you plan to launch a site, choose WordPress developers who offer professional Roots stack support. Although the wordpress development services provided should comfort your pockets, that doesn’t mean you have to compromise on the latest technology.

The sounded developers will provide you with the utmost flexibility, and long-lasting support, and build a strong online presence for you. So, speak with experts today, shortlist the best ones, and pick a company that delivers you breathtaking WordPress projects backed by modern Roots stack only!