HerBusiness: From 71 Plugins to 15, Without Changing the Design

HerBusiness went from 71 plugins to 15 without changing the design. Its WordPress platform, built over 10 years, had 71 active plugins and legacy code. Updates frequently broke things, and simple page changes needed a developer ticket and 24 to 48 hours.

The problem

• 71 active plugins
• 10 years of legacy code
• Frequent update crashes
• Simple edits took 24 to 48 hours of developer time

The marketing team could not move fast, and the platform was becoming harder — not easier — to maintain.

What I did
I rebuilt the platform with native Kadence blocks and Gutenberg, consolidated 56 plugins down to 15, hardened the site for PHP 8.x, and preserved the visual design exactly. I also set up 301 redirects from /author/ to /profile/ to protect existing links and SEO.

The results

• Active plugins: 71 to 15
• Design: 100% preserved
• Platform: Hardened for PHP 8.x
• Page edits: 24 to 48 hours to minutes, with self-serve blocks
• Redirects: /author/ to /profile/ in place

The result is a cleaner, more stable platform the marketing team can edit themselves — in minutes, not days.

Want a site your team can actually maintain? Get a free audit and I will map out what to consolidate first.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Straight answers about cutting plugins, keeping the design, and making a site a team can maintain.