Essays 4 min read
On the Quiet Beauty of Monospaced Code & Clean APIs
Why software craftsmanship in 2026 is less about adding complex dependencies and more about preserving clarity, speed, and standard HTTP primitives.
August 6, 2026Read Essay
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Alex Vance
Notes on software engineering, headless WordPress architecture, Next.js, and minimalist web design.
FEATURED ESSAY 6 min read
The Decoupled Web: Why Simplicity Always Wins in the Long Run
Over the past decade, web frameworks have expanded in every direction. Yet the core mission of content publishing remains unchanged: deliver crisp text, fast images, and reliable navigation to the reader in milliseconds.
“Headless architecture doesn't just make pages load faster; it forces us to decouple content structure from presentation logic.”
— Alex Vance, The Decoupled WebBy combining WordPress as an authoring CMS with Next.js 16 and Incremental Static Regeneration, we get the best of both worlds — non-technical writers get the familiar Gutenberg editor, while readers get sub-100ms static pages.
Recent Writing
Architecture 7 min read
Why We Migrated 200 WordPress Sites to Headless Next.js 16
A candid breakdown of database queries, WPGraphQL cache rates, build times, and the developer experience shifts over 12 months.
July 28, 2026Read Essay
WordPress 5 min read
The Art of Writing Gutenberg Pro Blocks in Plain PHP
How server-rendered block types eliminate complex Webpack pipelines for clients who just want clean, reliable content controls.
July 15, 2026Read Essay
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