Sage and ACF Blocks
Custom WordPress Theme (Sage-Based, PHP Architecture, ACF Blocks, Tailwind)
Project summary
I completed a test project where I built a lightweight but highly functional WordPress theme based on the Sage framework.
The theme uses Sage as a foundation, but the architecture was adapted to run entirely on classic PHP templates (without Blade), which makes it fully compatible with traditional WordPress development practices.
A key part of the project was implementing custom Gutenberg blocks built with ACF + StoutLogic ACF Builder.
These blocks are PHP-rendered, well-structured, and fully integrated into the Sage build pipeline (SCSS, JS, Tailwind, assets). The build system watches not only JS/CSS but also PHP and block templates, making the development workflow smooth and consistent.
Even after removing Blade, the structure and philosophy of Sage remain intact — meaning the project can be scaled using the classic Sage architecture if needed.
Project summary
Core
- WordPress theme development (custom)
- PHP 8+
- Sage framework (without Blade templates)
- Composer autoloading
- Custom Gutenberg blocks (ACF-based, PHP-rendered)
- Advanced Custom Fields Pro
- StoutLogic ACF Builder
Frontend
- Tailwind CSS
- SCSS modular architecture (component-based)
- ES modules, modern JavaScript
- Bud.js (build system)
- Separate JS/SCSS per block and per component
Features
- Clean PHP template system (resources/views/)
- Block-based structure:
resources/blocks/
/ (SCSS, JS, PHP) - Automatic asset compilation (fonts, images, scripts, styles)
- Custom navigation walker with ACF-powered menu icons
- Optimized production build pipeline
