Why I'm Moving Dirt River Design Beyond WordPress: Evolving With AI, Faster Builds, and Better Sites for Local Businesses

The Tool That Served Me Well

For over a decade, WordPress was my go-to solution. I built hundreds of sites with it-farms, contractors, small businesses across Grand Forks, East Grand Forks, and throughout northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. WordPress was reliable. It had a massive ecosystem. Clients could update their own content. It made sense.

But here's the thing: just because a tool works doesn't mean it's the best tool for every job.

I've been in technical fields for over 20 years-geology, electronics, networking, web development. One thing I've learned: when a better tool comes along, you don't ignore it out of loyalty to the old one. You evaluate it honestly. You test it. And if it does the job better, faster, and more reliably, you switch.

That's what happened with AI and semi-static sites. And it's changed everything about how I work.

The WordPress Problem (For Most Small Businesses)

Don't get me wrong-WordPress isn't bad. It's powerful. But for most small businesses in our area, it's overkill. Here's what I kept seeing:

• Slow load times. WordPress sites load slowly because they're dynamically generated. Every page visit queries a database, loads dozens of plugins, and renders everything on the fly. That's fine if you need that power. But for a contractor's 5-page site? It's unnecessary weight.
• Security headaches. WordPress is a constant target for hackers because it's so popular. Keeping it secure means regular updates to core, themes, and plugins. Miss an update? You're vulnerable. That's ongoing maintenance cost and risk.
• Plugin bloat. Clients want features, so you add plugins. Each plugin is another point of failure, another thing to update, another potential security hole. I've seen sites with 30+ plugins that barely work because of conflicts.
• Higher maintenance costs. All of this means more time managing, updating, and troubleshooting. Time that gets billed back to the client or cuts into my margins.

For a business that just needs a professional online presence-contact info, services, hours, maybe a gallery-WordPress is like using a bulldozer to plant tomatoes. Sure, it'll work. But there's a better way.

The Turning Point: AI as a Force Multiplier

About two years ago, I started experimenting with AI-assisted development tools. Not to replace me-to make me faster and better at what I already do.

Here's the analogy I use: WordPress was my hammer. AI is my pneumatic roofing nailer.

Both pound nails. But one lets you work ten times faster with less effort. You're still the one doing the work. You're still the one who knows where the nails go, how to lay out the pattern, and when something's not right. The tool just handles the repetitive grunt work.

With AI, I can:

• Build clean, semantic HTML/CSS structures in minutes instead of hours
• Generate responsive layouts that work beautifully on mobile and desktop
• Create SEO-optimized content frameworks faster
• Prototype entire sites in days, not weeks

But here's the key: I still oversee every line of code. I review it. I refine it. I make sure it's secure, accessible, and actually works for the client's business. AI doesn't replace expertise-it amplifies it.

This is how I can offer free test sites. I can build a working draft of your site for free because AI has made me that much more efficient. It's not magic. It's a better toolset.

Semi-Static Sites: Fast, Secure, and Built for the Real World

So what am I building now instead of WordPress? Semi-static sites-clean PHP, HTML, and CSS that load fast, stay secure, and require minimal maintenance.

Here's what "semi-static" means:

• Static structure: Pages are served as-is, not generated on every visit. This makes them lightning fast.
• Semi-dynamic content: Common elements like your phone number, business name, or service areas are stored in one central config file. Update it once, and it updates everywhere on your site. No database, no complexity.
• Modern code: Responsive, accessible, SEO-friendly from the ground up.
• No plugins: Just clean code that does exactly what you need, nothing more.

For most small businesses-contractors, farms, service providers-this is perfect. You get a professional site that loads in under a second, costs less to maintain, and never goes down because a plugin broke.

Real Performance Difference

Let me show you real numbers:

• WordPress site (typical): 3-5 second load time, 2-3MB page weight
• Semi-static site (my approach): Under 1 second load time, ~100KB page weight

In rural areas where internet isn't always fast, that difference matters. Your customers aren't sitting around waiting for your site to load. They're on a phone in a field or a truck. Speed wins.

Why This Matters for Red River Valley Businesses

I've lived and worked in this region long enough to know what matters here. We're not New York City. We're Grand Forks, Devils Lake, Grafton, Crookston. We're farms, contractors, local shops, and rural organizations.

You don't need fancy animations. You don't need a site that takes 30 seconds to load because it's running video backgrounds and parallax effects. You need a site that:

• Loads fast on a phone in a tractor
• Shows your services clearly
• Makes it easy for people to call or email you
• Ranks well in Google for local searches
• Doesn't break when you're busy and can't deal with it

That's what I build now. And I can build it faster and cheaper than ever before, thanks to AI.

Addressing the Fear: "Is AI-Built Less Personal?"

I get this question. People hear "AI" and think their site is going to be some soulless template pumped out by a robot.

Here's the reality: you're still working directly with me.

When you fill out my onboarding form, I read it. When I build your site, I'm making decisions about layout, color, messaging, and structure based on your business. AI helps me execute faster, but I'm the one steering the ship.

You call or text me, you get me-not a support ticket system. You need changes, I make them. There's no AI chatbot replacing our conversations. The AI is in the background, making my work faster. You still get the same personal service, just with better results and faster turnaround.

When WordPress Still Makes Sense

I'm not anti-WordPress. I still build WordPress sites when they're the right tool for the job:

• E-commerce: If you're selling products online, WordPress + WooCommerce is proven and powerful.
• Frequent content updates: If you're publishing blog posts weekly, WordPress's content management system makes sense.
• Complex booking systems: If you need online appointment scheduling with payments, WordPress has robust plugins for that.

But for most small businesses? A brochure-style site with your services, contact info, and a few photos? Semi-static is better. Faster, cheaper, more secure, easier to maintain.

I'll always be honest about what you actually need. No upselling. No pushing WordPress because it's "what I do." The right tool for the right job.

The Competitive Advantage: Direct Access to Ben

Here's something AI can't replace: the fact that you're working with one person who understands your business and your region.

Big agencies have account managers, designers, developers, and support teams. You submit a ticket and wait. You talk to a different person every time. Your project gets passed around like a hot potato.

With me, it's simple:

• You call or text. I answer.
• You need something changed. I do it.
• Something breaks. I fix it.

No runaround. No corporate bureaucracy. Just direct, honest service from someone who's been doing this for 20+ years and knows what works in rural North Dakota and Minnesota.

AI makes me faster. But it doesn't make me corporate. You're still getting the same small-town, straightforward service you'd expect from any good tradesperson in the Red River Valley.

Moving Forward

This evolution didn't happen overnight. I didn't wake up one day and decide to abandon WordPress. I tested. I experimented. I built sites for myself and friends. I watched the performance numbers. I listened to client feedback.

And the data was clear: for most small businesses in our area, semi-static sites built with AI assistance outperform WordPress in speed, cost, security, and maintenance.

So that's where I'm focused now. Building fast, clean, professional sites that actually serve the needs of rural businesses without unnecessary complexity.

If you've been thinking about a new website-or if you've been frustrated with slow load times and constant WordPress updates-let's talk. I'll tell you honestly whether a semi-static site makes sense for you, or if you're one of the cases where WordPress is still the right call.

No pressure. No upselling. Just straight talk about what will work best for your business.