The Recon Mission
Before we write a single line of code for a client, we run reconnaissance.
Not the shady kind. The kind that reveals uncomfortable truths about what's really happening in a local market. We call it competitive OSINT—Open Source Intelligence applied to web development.
Last month, we analyzed 50 Kansas City contractor websites. HVAC companies, plumbers, electricians, roofers—the trades that live and die by their digital presence.
What we found was a massacre in slow motion.
The Graveyard of WordPress Sites
47 out of 50 sites were running WordPress. That's not inherently a problem. WordPress powers 43% of the internet. The problem is how these sites were built and who was maintaining them.
The Vulnerability Report
Using publicly available tools (Wappalyzer, BuiltWith, WPScan), we identified:
- 38 sites running outdated WordPress core versions (some 2+ years behind)
- 41 sites with at least one plugin with known CVE vulnerabilities
- 23 sites exposing their WordPress version in the HTML source
- 19 sites with xmlrpc.php enabled (a known attack vector)
- 12 sites with directory listing enabled on /wp-content/uploads/
Every single one of these is a security incident waiting to happen. Brute force attacks, SQL injection, malware insertion—the playbook is well-documented and the scripts are automated.
The agencies charging $200/month for "security and maintenance" aren't checking any of this.
The Performance Autopsy
Security issues can hide in the background. Performance issues hit your revenue in real-time.
We ran Lighthouse audits on all 50 sites. The results:
The average Kansas City contractor website takes 8.7 seconds to become usable on a mobile phone.
Google's own data shows that 53% of mobile users abandon a site that takes more than 3 seconds to load. These businesses are losing over half their traffic before a visitor even sees their phone number.
Why This Happens
The typical local agency workflow:
- Buy a $59 theme from ThemeForest
- Install 15-20 plugins for functionality
- Use Elementor or Divi for "custom" layouts
- Upload massive unoptimized images
- Host on a $10/month shared server with 47 other sites
Each plugin adds JavaScript. Each page builder adds CSS. Each unoptimized image adds megabytes. The result is a 15MB homepage that takes forever to render.
The Stack That Changes Everything
Here's what we deploy instead:
Next.js 16 + React 19
Not WordPress. Not Wix. Not Squarespace. A custom-coded application built with the same technology powering Netflix, TikTok, and Notion.
Why Next.js 16 specifically:
- React Server Components — HTML renders on the server, not in the browser. Zero JavaScript needed for static content.
- Streaming SSR — Content appears progressively, not all-at-once after a long wait.
- Edge Runtime — Your site runs on 100+ global servers, not one shared box in Virginia.
- Automatic Image Optimization — WebP/AVIF conversion, responsive sizes, lazy loading—all automatic.
- 0.4 second load times — Not a marketing claim. Measured, verified, reproducible.
The Vercel Edge Network
When someone in Overland Park loads your site, they're hitting a server in Kansas City. When someone in Olathe loads it, same thing. When someone in Lee's Summit loads it—you get the idea.
Your site isn't hosted. It's distributed.
Tailwind CSS (JIT Compilation)
Traditional CSS frameworks ship 300KB+ of styles you'll never use. Tailwind's JIT compiler analyzes your code and generates only the CSS that exists in your markup.
Result: 12KB stylesheets instead of 300KB. That's 25x smaller.
The AI Workforce Layer
Fast websites capture attention. AI workers convert that attention into revenue.
Every site we build includes an embedded intelligence layer:
Missed Call Text-Back
Phone rings, you're on a ladder. Customer hangs up. Within 60 seconds, they receive:
> "Hey! Sorry we missed your call. This is [Business Name]. How can we help you today?"
The conversation continues via SMS. No lost leads. No phone tag. No competitor getting that call instead.
24/7 AI Receptionist
A conversational AI that can:
- Answer common questions ("Do you service Leawood?")
- Collect lead information ("What's the best number to reach you?")
- Book appointments directly into your calendar
- Escalate urgent issues to your phone
It doesn't sleep. It doesn't take breaks. It doesn't have a bad day.
Lead Tagging & Attribution
Every form submission, every call, every SMS—tagged with source data.
You know:
- Which Google search led to that $15,000 HVAC install
- Which neighborhood generates the highest-value leads
- Which ad spend is actually producing ROI
No more guessing. No more "I think the website is working."
The ROI Calculation
Let's run the math on a real scenario.
The Typical KC Contractor:
- Gets 15 calls per week from their website
- Misses 40% of those calls (they're working)
- Loses 6 leads per week to competitors
- Average job value: $2,500
- Close rate on leads: 30%
Lost revenue per month: 6 leads × 4 weeks × 30% × $2,500 = $18,000
That's not a typo. $18,000/month in lost revenue because the phone went to voicemail.
Now add:
- The leads who bounced because the site took 12 seconds to load
- The customers who went to a competitor with better Google reviews
- The after-hours inquiries that never got responded to
The real number is likely $25,000-40,000/month in preventable losses.
Our entire system costs less than one missed job.
The Hard Truth
Most Kansas City contractors are running websites that:
- Actively hurt their Google rankings (Core Web Vitals are a ranking factor)
- Leak sensitive business data (outdated plugins = known exploits)
- Hemorrhage leads to faster competitors (speed = trust = conversions)
- Cost more than custom-coded solutions (rental model + "maintenance" fees)
The agencies won't tell you this because they're the ones selling the broken solution.
We're not here to rent you a template. We're here to install a revenue engine that you own, that performs, and that pays for itself in the first month.
The Next Move
If you're reading this and wondering about your own site:
- Run a free Lighthouse audit — Open Chrome DevTools, go to Lighthouse tab, run a mobile test
- Check your WordPress version — If it's not 6.7+, you're running vulnerable code
- Time your mobile load — Open your site on your phone over 4G. Count the seconds. Be honest.
If any of those results make you uncomfortable, we should talk.
Your competitors' websites are bleeding leads.
Yours should be collecting them.
