# Resources - Link: https://matthummel.com/resources/ - Published: 2026-09-11T00:45:50+00:00 - Author: Matthew Hummel Resources # Starters, tools, and the stack I use. Free WordPress starters to study, tools I recommend, and the stack behind every site I ship. For developers and business owners alike. [Say hello](https://matthummel.com/contact/) [Jump to the stack](https://matthummel.com/resources/#uses) On this page [Overview](https://matthummel.com/resources/#resources-intro-heading) [Free WordPress starters](https://matthummel.com/resources/#resources-free-wordpress-starters) [Tools I recommend](https://matthummel.com/resources/#resources-tools-i-recommend) [Stack I use](https://matthummel.com/resources/#uses) ## What you will find here. Starters are free to fork. Paid themes link to the shop when listed. Tool recommendations may include disclosed affiliate links — see the note at the top when they appear. * [ 3 Free WordPress starters ](https://matthummel.com/resources/#resources-free-wordpress-starters) * [ 3 Tools I recommend ](https://matthummel.com/resources/#resources-tools-i-recommend) * [ 6 Stack groups ](https://matthummel.com/resources/#uses) **Affiliate disclosure:** Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only list tools I would use on a real project. [How affiliate links work](https://matthummel.com/affiliate-disclosure/) ## Free WordPress starters Open code and example builds. Fork them, read them, or hire me to turn one into a production site. 3 links * Example sites * ### 󠀁[Projects](https://matthummel.com/projects/)󠁿 * WordPress themes and plugins with a live demo, stack notes, and the repo for each one. * Open source * ### 󠀁[Code on this site](https://matthummel.com/about/#code)󠁿 * Pinned repos, recent pushes, and the languages I work in, pulled from the GitHub API. * GitHub * ### 󠀁[GitHub profile (opens in a new window)](https://github.com/matthummel-pa)󠁿 * Themes, plugins, and apps under MIT or similar licenses unless a repo says otherwise. ## Tools I recommend Hosting, editors, and marketing tools I use. Affiliate links are labeled. 3 links * Editor * ### 󠀁[Cursor (opens in a new window)](https://cursor.com)󠁿 * AI-assisted editor I use daily for Sage, PHP, and front-end work. * Hosting Affiliate * ### 󠀁[SiteGround (opens in a new window)](https://www.siteground.com)󠁿 * Managed WordPress hosting I use for client and personal sites (SSH, PHP 8.3, solid support). * CRM Affiliate * ### 󠀁[HubSpot (opens in a new window)](https://www.hubspot.com)󠁿 * CRM and form capture when a shop needs a simple pipeline without a custom build. Uses ## The stack I use. What I actually use on shipped WordPress and web work — not exhaustive, just what I reach for. External links open in a new tab; affiliate links are labeled. ### WordPress development * [Sage 11 (opens in a new window)](https://roots.io/sage/) * The Roots starter theme. Blade templates, Tailwind v4, Vite. Every site I build from scratch starts here. * PHP 8.3 * The language everything runs on. Typed functions, match expressions, named arguments. Nothing exotic. * [Tailwind v4 (opens in a new window)](https://tailwindcss.com) * CSS utility framework. Token-based, no config file needed. Fluid type with clamp(), mobile-first always. * [Vite (opens in a new window)](https://vitejs.dev) * Asset bundler. Fast, simple config. Handles CSS, JS, and image hashing for cache- busting. * [Acorn / Laravel (opens in a new window)](https://roots.io/acorn/) * The IoC container that makes Sage feel like a proper application. Service providers, Blade directives, view composers. * [WP-CLI (opens in a new window)](https://wp-cli.org) * Command-line tools for WordPress. Database exports, plugin management, custom commands. Most deploys never touch wp-admin. * [Composer (opens in a new window)](https://getcomposer.org) * PHP dependency manager. Every project has a composer.json. No manual library downloads. * [Laravel Pint (opens in a new window)](https://laravel.com/docs/pint) * PHP code style fixer. Runs in CI before every deploy. Catches whitespace and formatting issues automatically. ### Editor and tools * [Cursor (opens in a new window)](https://cursor.com) * My primary editor. VS Code-compatible with an AI layer that helps rather than gets in the way. This site was planned and built with it and Claude. * [GitHub (opens in a new window)](https://github.com) * Version control and CI/CD trigger. Every project lives in a GitHub repo. Pushes to main kick off builds and deploys automatically. * [GitHub Actions (opens in a new window)](https://github.com/features/actions) * Automated build and deploy pipeline. Runs Composer, npm, and the release zip on every push. Zero manual uploads. * [TablePlus (opens in a new window)](https://tableplus.com) * Database GUI for local MySQL and SQLite. Useful for inspecting WordPress tables without writing raw SQL. * iTerm2 / zsh * Terminal. Nothing special — zsh with a minimal prompt. SSH into servers, run WP-CLI, tail logs. ### Hosting and deploy * [Hostinger (opens in a new window)](https://www.hostinger.com) * Managed WordPress hosting for this site. LiteSpeed cache, PHP 8.3+, hPanel. Theme installs from the GitHub theme-latest zip. * GitHub Releases * Theme deployment method for this site. CI builds a zip, publishes it as a release, and wp-admin pulls it over HTTPS. No FTP. * WordPress Studio / SQLite * Local WordPress for development. No MySQL required, no Docker overhead. ### Analytics and marketing * [Google Analytics 4 (opens in a new window)](https://analytics.google.com) * Site traffic, page performance, and audience data. Linked through Google Tag Manager. * [Google Tag Manager (opens in a new window)](https://tagmanager.google.com) * Single container for all tracking scripts. One snippet on the page, everything else managed in GTM. * [HubSpot (opens in a new window)](https://www.hubspot.com) Affiliate * CRM and contact capture. Picks up form submissions and tracks visitor activity for follow-up. * [Microsoft Clarity / Bing (opens in a new window)](https://clarity.microsoft.com) * Bing Webmaster Tools for search performance. Microsoft UET for ad conversion tracking. ### Design and typography * [Inter (opens in a new window)](https://rsms.me/inter/) * Display and heading font. Clean, reads well at both large and small sizes. The workhorse. * [IBM Plex Sans (opens in a new window)](https://www.ibm.com/plex/) * Body text font. Slightly warmer than Inter. Works well at the 1.1–1.2rem range. * [IBM Plex Mono (opens in a new window)](https://www.ibm.com/plex/) * Code font. Used in blog post code blocks and the monospace CSS variable. * [Figma (opens in a new window)](https://www.figma.com) * Design when a client needs wireframes or component specs before I build. Not a daily tool — I prefer designing in the browser. * [highlight.js (opens in a new window)](https://highlightjs.org) * Syntax highlighting for blog post code blocks. Copy button added via a small custom JS module. ### Power Platform * [Power Apps (opens in a new window)](https://powerapps.microsoft.com) * Canvas and model-driven apps for Microsoft 365 environments. Used at previous roles and on client work when it is the right tool. * [Power Automate (opens in a new window)](https://powerautomate.microsoft.com) * Workflow automation. Approval flows, SharePoint triggers, Teams notifications. Useful when a team already lives in M365. * SharePoint * Common data source for Power Apps. Lists, document libraries, and permissions. Available now ## Want this stack on your project? Resources here are starting points. Hire me for a production WordPress site, plugin, or web app — full-time, contract, or project. [Say hello](https://matthummel.com/contact/) Remote · within one business day (ET)