What It Really Takes to Build a High-Performing Marketing Site on WordPress

If you’re part of a fast-moving marketing team, you know your website is more than just an online brochure , it’s your growth engine. But if your WordPress site is slow, hard to update, or limited by inflexible templates, it’s probably working against you.

At Vertical, we build high-performing WordPress marketing sites designed for speed, flexibility, and real marketing outcomes. In this post, we’ll break down what it actually takes to get there, in plain English, with just enough technical detail to understand what’s under the hood.

What Does “High-Performing” Actually Mean?

A high-performing marketing site is one that:

• Loads quickly on all devices
• Empowers marketers to build pages without developers
• Adapts to evolving brand or design needs
• Ranks well on Google (SEO-optimized)
• Integrates easily with marketing tools (like GA4, HubSpot, etc.)
• Scales with your content strategy as your business grows

In short, it’s built to help you move fast and grow smarter.

Step 1: Build on a Custom, Modular Foundation

Why avoid bloated templates?

Generic themes and page builders like Elementor or WPBakery often include dozens of features you’ll never use, and they slow down your site significantly.

We build custom WordPress themes using either:

• ACF (Advanced Custom Fields): for structured content and flexible layouts
• Gutenberg blocks: the native block editor in WordPress

Both give your marketing team full control over content without needing to code.

Step 2: Prioritize Performance

Site speed affects user experience and SEO. We optimize for:

• Google Core Web Vitals
• 90+ Google Lighthouse scores
• Fast mobile and desktop load times

Our technical toolkit includes:

• Lazy-loading images and videos
• Minifying code and compressing files
• Script deferral and code splitting
• Premium hosting (e.g. Kinsta, WP Engine)

Plain English: Your site loads fast, looks great, and never feels clunky, even on a mobile connection.

Step 3: Truly Content-Editable

You shouldn’t need a developer every time you want to launch a new page or update content.

We build with:

• Modular layout blocks (think hero sections, pricing grids, testimonials, etc.)
• Custom fields for easy editing
• Editable SEO metadata, forms, menus, and CTAs

Result: You can build pages in minutes , not wait days for dev help.

Step 4: Marketing Integrations That Work

Your site should connect seamlessly with your tech stack. We regularly integrate with:

• CRM: HubSpot, Salesforce, Mailchimp
• Analytics: GA4, Google Tag Manager, Hotjar
• SEO Tools: SEOPress, Yoast, schema markup
• Lead Forms: Gravity Forms, native WordPress forms

We handle testing across environments, so everything just works post-launch.

Step 5: Pixel-Perfect Design Execution

If you’re working with a designer or agency, we turn Figma files into real WordPress websites , with total accuracy.

• Mobile-first, responsive design
• Hover effects, animations, and microinteractions
• Accessibility and WCAG standards baked in

Your design vision stays intact, and usable on every screen.

Step 6: SEO Built from the Ground Up

No need to “do SEO later.” We build SEO into the foundation:

• Structured heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3…)
• Meta titles & descriptions via plugin
• Schema.org markup for rich results
• Clean URLs and internal linking support

We also install SEO plugins so your team can manage ongoing content optimizations easily.

The Vertical Difference: Strategy + Engineering

We combine marketing strategy, content architecture, and technical best practices to deliver a site that grows with you.

Every project includes:

• Discovery sessions and site architecture planning
• Wireframes and content guidance
• Technical audits for speed and SEO
• Collaborative sprints with design + marketing teams

We speak “marketing” and “development”, so you never have to translate between teams.

What a Great Marketing Site Should Offer

Let’s Build Something High-Performing

Ready for a WordPress site that works as hard as your marketing team?

Let’s talk. We’ll show you what “high-performing” really looks like.