The context
Website for a cleaning company, built with a custom theme I created and bespoke native Gutenberg blocks (React.js).
Above all, it taught me to manage a project end to end, including many steps that are invisible here: wireframes, mockups (Figma), discussions about the client's needs, understanding their business, and building custom blocks so the back office reflects those needs and delivers a turnkey site that can evolve without the extra costs of off-the-shelf solutions (Divi, etc.).
The client did not want Elementor or any paid builder and wanted to keep WordPress CMS costs as low as possible. They also wanted to avoid vendor lock-in, which explains the bespoke approach: they prefer to call on developers in their network again, or rely on a developer friend for low-cost maintenance.
Ethics also mattered to the client: some builders felt politically aligned with their founders' views, and dependence on Big Tech raised ethical concerns as well. That partly explains the technical choices.
At this stage, we decided to host the project on their developer friend's VPS, who handles maintenance: I configured and deployed the entire site to production on that VPS, with developer access.