WordPress, React, and the modern web. Practical deep dives by Earle, a senior WordPress developer in Sarasota.https://sarasotawebpros.com/hello@sarasotawebpros.com (Earle)https://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/deploy-static-astro-digitalocean-app-platform/https://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/deploy-static-astro-digitalocean-app-platform/Astro's docs skip DigitalOcean, and DigitalOcean's autodetection assumes you want a Node server. Here is the path to a fully static deploy for about five dollars a month.Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/wordpress-ai-connectors-wrong-problem/https://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/wordpress-ai-connectors-wrong-problem/WordPress 7.0 wires AI providers into wp-admin. Novices get API-key confusion; developers already get more power from AI in the repo. Why the Connectors API solves the wrong problem.Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/wordpress-for-blogs-is-dead/https://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/wordpress-for-blogs-is-dead/WordPress still powers the web, but the default answer for "I need a blog" changed. Why I moved my own site to Astro, when WordPress still earns its keep, and what core is building instead of fixing the basics.Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/wordpress-forgot-why-it-won/https://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/wordpress-forgot-why-it-won/WordPress won by staying lean and letting the community handle the long tail. Core is chasing WP VIP features while basic metadata still needs a plugin. What the 80/20 rule was supposed to mean.Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/react-in-the-block-editor/https://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/react-in-the-block-editor/Gutenberg ships its own pinned React. Here's the mental model Earle uses to mount React islands in the block editor without the two worlds fighting over the DOM.Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/web-components-integration-layer/https://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/web-components-integration-layer/Custom elements give you a framework-agnostic seam for dropping modern UI into a theme you would rather not rewrite. Shadow DOM, slots, and the gotchas that bite in production.Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/react-admin-wordpress-data/https://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/react-admin-wordpress-data/The settings-page-as-SPA approach: routing, the data store, REST endpoints, and nonce handling without dragging in a second state library.Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/gutenberg-block-typescript-esbuild/https://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/gutenberg-block-typescript-esbuild/A lean build setup that respects WordPress bundled dependencies and keeps your sanity intact. Config, externals, aliases, and the dev loop.Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/web-components-vs-react-decision-tree/https://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/web-components-vs-react-decision-tree/They solve overlapping problems. Here is the decision tree I use on client work, and where each one quietly falls down.Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/sharing-state-react-islands/https://sarasotawebpros.com/blog/sharing-state-react-islands/Two islands, one page, no Redux. How to keep independent React roots in sync using @wordpress/data, custom events, and the occasional shared context.Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT