Developer rebuilds WordPress marketing site using Claude Code without writing theme code, then creates custom block plugin for blog content

Starting March 21st, a developer used Claude Code to build a custom WordPress theme from scratch in a single session, producing front-page.php, page-plans.php, blog templates, header, footer, and a CSS design system using custom properties—with no build tools, no reading existing theme code, and no webpack or Vite.

Over the following week, the developer iterated through screenshots and prompts, adding a security page, hosting plan calculator, command palette search (Cmd+K), featured image lightbox, and blog templates with hero headers. This feedback loop was described as producing results in seconds rather than hours.

The clean theme led to creation of Anchor Blocks, a custom block plugin with 10 block types (conversation, timeline, callout, stats dashboard, stat cards, bar charts, bar rows, report cards) built in response to specific blog post needs rather than speculative features. Every custom block includes an email rendering path using inline styles for compatibility with email clients.

Plugin count dropped from 35 active plugins to a handful after the rebuild: CoBlocks, Genesis Blocks, Code Syntax Block, Blocksy, and Blocksy Companion were deactivated or removed, replaced by functionality built directly into the theme or block plugin. Both projects are open source at github.com/anchorhost/anchor and github.com/anchorhost/anchor-blocks.