Traditional WordPress theming – based on FTP uploads, admin-installed plugins, and scattered template files – no longer meets the expectations of modern web development, especially in high-demand markets like the U.S., where performance, structure, and team collaboration are essential.
As clients expect cleaner codebases, scalable workflows, and real development discipline, the combination of Bedrock and Sage 10 has emerged as a professional-grade solution. Together, they bring WordPress projects closer to the standards of Laravel, Node.js, and other modern frameworks.
At dits.gency’s WordPress Development division, we regularly use this stack to build robust, fast, and scalable sites that go far beyond what traditional themes can offer.
What Is Sage 10?
Sage 10 isn’t just a WordPress theme – it’s a modern starter theme (or boilerplate) developed by the Roots team. Designed for professional developers, Sage bridges the gap between WordPress and modern frontend workflows.
It’s built on a stack of powerful tools:
- Blade templating (from Laravel) for clean, reusable templates
- Bud (Webpack-based build system) for compiling assets
- Tailwind CSS for utility-first styling
- Composer for dependency management
Unlike traditional themes – or even earlier versions of Sage – Sage 10 embraces a component-based approach, version control, and complete separation of structure and presentation.
This shift is exactly why many U.S. developers, digital agencies, and product teams are adopting Sage. It brings WordPress development in line with modern standards, making it more maintainable, scalable, and efficient for real-world production.
Why Sage 10 Is Often Used Together with Bedrock
Sage 10 and Bedrock are designed to work in perfect sync – and that’s exactly how many professional developers use them.
Bedrock handles the project infrastructure: it organizes the WordPress core, plugins, themes, environment variables, and deployment structure using Composer. Meanwhile, Sage 10 focuses on the frontend, offering a clean and modern theming system with Blade templates and advanced asset building.
They share the same philosophy:
- Use of Composer for managing dependencies
- Clear project separation via .env environment configs
- A folder structure that mirrors modern application design
Together, Sage + Bedrock pull WordPress development into a world typically dominated by Laravel, Symfony, and full-stack JavaScript frameworks – bringing structure, automation, and scalability to a platform that’s otherwise known for chaos.
This unified setup is why the Sage-Bedrock combo is a go-to solution for many U.S. agencies and serious WordPress teams.
Key Advantages of Sage 10
Sage 10 is built for modern WordPress development — not just to make themes look good, but to make codebases clean, efficient, and scalable. Here’s what sets it apart:
1. Clean Architecture & Reusable Code
At the heart of Sage 10 is Blade templating, a feature borrowed from Laravel. Unlike traditional PHP templates in WordPress, Blade promotes clear, DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) code.
- You can build reusable components, partials, and layouts
- Templates are easier to read, maintain, and scale
- Logic is separated from presentation, improving clarity for teams
This results in cleaner file structures, better collaboration, and fewer bugs during iteration.
2. Modern Frontend Workflow
Sage 10 replaces outdated asset management tools with Bud — a modern Webpack-based build system.
- Out of the box, Sage includes Tailwind CSS, enabling utility-first styling
- Bud handles hot module reloading, minification, and bundling of CSS/JS
- You can use PostCSS, Babel, and any NPM-based tools to customize the build process
No more editing .css files in /wp-content – everything is modular, compiled, and optimized like in a modern JavaScript project.
3. Performance-First Mindset
Unlike many bloated multipurpose themes, Sage 10 keeps things fast and lean:
- Stylesheets and scripts are only loaded when needed
- There’s no unused page-builder code
- With Bud + Tailwind + Blade, output is minimal and efficient
- Pages often score higher on PageSpeed Insights / Core Web Vitals
On real projects, switching to Sage has shown reduced Time to First Byte (TTFB) and faster FCP/LCP metrics, making it ideal for performance-conscious teams.
4. Team-Friendly & Scalable for Agencies
Sage is built with teams and long-term maintenance in mind:
- The codebase follows predictable structure conventions
- Blade components make it easy for developers to onboard quickly
- Everything is version-controlled with Git and dependency-managed with Composer
It also plays well with CI/CD workflows: deploys, staging environments, asset builds, and even testing can be automated – a huge advantage for growing teams or agencies handling multiple projects at scale.
In short: Sage 10 offers a modern, developer-first approach to WordPress theming. It saves time, reduces code complexity, and supports scalable, professional workflows – exactly what’s expected in 2025 and beyond.
5. When You Shouldn’t Use Sage 10
Despite its advantages, Sage 10 isn’t the right fit for every WordPress project. Like any advanced development tool, it comes with trade-offs – particularly around complexity and setup time.
It’s Not for Beginners
If you’re new to WordPress or unfamiliar with tools like Composer, Node.js, Blade, or Git, Sage will feel overwhelming. It’s not designed for “plug and play” use. Installing and customizing Sage requires a command-line workflow and at least intermediate dev experience.
No Theme or Plugin Install via Dashboard
One of Sage’s core principles is treating a theme like source code — not something you upload via the WordPress dashboard. That means:
- You can’t install Sage via Appearance - Themes
- You can’t update plugins/themes via the admin panel Everything is handled via Composer, which is great for versioning — but not ideal for non-technical clients.
Not Compatible with Page Builders
If you’re planning to use Elementor, WPBakery, or similar page builders – Sage is likely not the right tool. Its templating system (Blade) and Tailwind-based styling assume you’ll write code, not drag-and-drop components. While technically possible to integrate some builders, it defeats the purpose of using Sage.
Overkill for Simple Projects
If you’re building:
- a basic landing page,
- a short-term promo site,
- or a blog with minimal customization…
…Sage might be too heavy. A lightweight custom theme or even a builder-based site might serve you better — faster to build, easier to manage.
Sage is powerful — but it assumes you’re a developer (or working with one). If your project needs a fast, flexible, visual workflow without much backend complexity, a traditional theme might be a better fit.
But if you’re building a scalable, maintainable, long-term product – Sage + Bedrock is a game-changer.
6. Real Developer Opinions on Sage 10 (US & Global)
Sage 10 has earned a strong reputation among developers who want a cleaner, more scalable approach to WordPress. Here’s what actual developers say about it in public discussions:
1. “Roots/Sage theme is super cool … feels like I’m developing a modern full‑stack app!”
2.“As a full stack web developer, my opinion is that it is the way WordPress should have been built. It’s decoupled, it’s easily checked in to source control.”
From the official Roots documentation:
“If you have to use WordPress, use Bedrock for your web app and Sage to develop your custom theme.”
roots.io
In a review by Curious Minds Media, a US-based agency that builds with Sage:
“Sage 10 comes with modern architecture, Blade Templating, Bud.js … allowing the developer to use modern tools and techniques.”
Curious Minds Media
These insights reflect why Sage is often the default choice for developers and agencies in the U.S. looking for stability, performance, and scalable codebases.
7. When to Use Sage 10 + Bedrock — and When Not To
Sage 10 + Bedrock is ideal for projects that require clean architecture, performance, and long-term maintainability. You should consider this stack if:
- You need fast-loading pages, modern build tools, and clean, version-controlled code
- You're building a custom front-end with business logic, dynamic content, or advanced layouts
- The project is managed by a developer team (or a single developer comfortable with Composer, Git, and CLI)
- Your client values code quality and understands that customization comes through code - not drag-and-drop
However, this stack might be overkill if:
- You're building a simple landing page
- The project is short-term and speed of delivery matters more than architecture
- The client insists on using a visual builder like Elementor or WPBakery
- There’s no developer in-house to maintain Composer- or Blade-based structure
In short, Sage + Bedrock is for those who treat WordPress like a serious framework – not a drag-and-drop CMS.
8. Getting Started with Sage 10 + Bedrock (Quick Start)
Curious to try Sage + Bedrock on your next project? Here’s a high-level roadmap to get started:
1. Install Bedrock via Composer
- composer create-project roots/bedrock my-site.com
2. Set up your .env file for database credentials, environment, and keys
3. Install Sage theme via Composer inside the web/app/themes/ directory:
- composer create-project roots/sage your-theme-name
4. Set up the frontend tooling:
- cd web/app/themes/your-theme-name
- npm install
- npm run dev
5. Create your first Blade template inside resources/views – for example, front-page.blade.php
6. Add styling with Tailwind (included) or extend with your CSS framework of choice
7. Configure deployment, e.g., using GitHub Actions, Capistrano, or Deployer
With this setup, you can build WordPress projects like you’d build Laravel apps – structured, testable, and scalable.
Conclusion
Sage 10 and Bedrock represent a major shift in how developers approach WordPress. Together, they transform WordPress from a legacy CMS into a modern, structured, and developer-friendly framework – with all the benefits of version control, clean code, performance optimization, and scalable workflows.
As of 2025, this stack is becoming the go-to standard for serious WordPress professionals – especially in the U.S., where clients demand clean architecture, maintainability, and faster page speed scores out of the box.
If you’re building custom websites, work in a team, or want to treat WordPress like real software – Sage + Bedrock is the future-proof foundation you’re looking for.
Ready to Build Smarter with WordPress?
At dits.agency, we specialize in custom WordPress development using modern stacks like Sage 10 + Bedrock. Whether you’re building a scalable marketing site, a component-based theme, or need help migrating from legacy WordPress, our team is here to help.
Let’s bring your project up to modern standards – with clean code, better performance, and future-proof infrastructure.
Contact us today for a free consultation or code audit.
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