We Rebuilt Our Agency Site With AI. In Under a Week.
Here's every decision, tool, and deploy cycle — from “WPBakery has to go” to a live Next.js 15 site with AI-generated images, full schema markup, and a direct pipeline to our AI team.
The same process. Available for your site.
WordPress Was Killing Us.
For years, sumiedesigns.com ran on WordPress with WPBakery Page Builder. And for years, it worked — until it didn't. Page speeds were brutal. The builder fought us on every layout change. Plugins conflicted. Images were heavy, stock, and generic. The maintenance burden alone was costing us hours every month just to keep the lights on.
Worse, it looked exactly like what it was: a template site from a company that builds cutting-edge digital experiences. If we were going to pitch AI-powered marketing and modern web builds to clients, we needed a site that proved we could do it — built the same way we'd build it for them. WPBakery had to go.
“If we're selling AI-powered marketing, our own site needs to be built with AI.”
— Sean, Founder, Sumie DesignsSeven Days. Start to Live Site.
Decision & Stack
Made the call to scrap WordPress entirely. Chose Next.js 15 with the App Router, Payload CMS v3 for content management, and KnownHost VPS for deployment. Ashley and Norm were brought in as the primary build agents.
Design System
Defined the full visual language: color palette, typography stack (Aclonica + Baloo Bhai 2 + Roboto Condensed), layout grid, component patterns, and reusable section structures. All inline styles — no Tailwind, no CSS frameworks.
Full Build Sprint (165 Deploys)
The heaviest day. Ashley and Norm executed over 165 deploy cycles — building, testing, pushing, and refining across all 23 pages. Imagen 4.0 generated the custom AI image suite. Every section coded to spec.
Mobile Responsive Pass
Full audit and refactor for mobile responsiveness across all breakpoints. Every section adapted for 900px and 520px screens with tested layouts, readable type, and touch-friendly interactions.
SEO & AEO
Full JSON-LD schema markup implemented across every page type: Organization, WebSite, LocalBusiness, BreadcrumbList, FAQPage, and Article schemas. Metadata, Open Graph, sitemap, and robots.txt all configured.
DNS Flip & Live
Pointed DNS to the new VPS, confirmed propagation, ran final QA pass, and flipped the live switch. sumiedesigns.com was fully rebuilt and live — in under seven days from the first commit.
The Stack Behind the Build.
Next.js 15
App Router, React Server Components, static generation, and file-based routing. The modern standard for fast, SEO-ready web applications.
Payload CMS v3
Headless CMS built for Next.js. Code-first configuration, full TypeScript support, and clean API endpoints — no plugin soup.
Ashley + Norm
Our in-house AI agents handled architecture, component builds, copy, and QA. Over 165 deploy cycles coordinated entirely through AI-driven workflows.
Imagen 4.0
Google's Imagen 4.0 generated every custom hero image, section visual, and product shot — trained to match the site's style and brand palette.
KnownHost VPS
Dedicated VPS hosting with PM2 process management, Nginx reverse proxy, and SSL. Built for performance and uptime, not shared-hosting slowdowns.
Full JSON-LD Schema
Organization, LocalBusiness, WebSite, BreadcrumbList, FAQPage, and Article schemas — every page structured for search engines and AI answer engines.
Before vs. After.
| Dimension | Before (WPBakery) | After (AI Build) |
|---|---|---|
| Build Tool | WPBakery Page Builder + WordPress | Next.js 15 + Payload CMS v3 |
| Images | Generic stock photography | Custom AI-generated (Imagen 4.0) |
| Contact Forms | Contact Form 7 + plugin dependencies | Native Next.js API routes, zero plugins |
| Mobile | Inconsistent, required per-page fixes | Fully responsive at all breakpoints by design |
| SEO Structure | Yoast SEO plugin, limited schema | Full JSON-LD schema on every page type |
| AI Optimization | None | AEO-ready: FAQPage, HowTo, Article schemas |
| Load Time | Slow (plugin overhead, unoptimized images) | Fast static delivery, optimized assets |
| Dev Process | Manual drag-and-drop, plugin conflicts | AI-driven, 165+ automated deploy cycles |
The Same Process. For Your Business.
The rebuild proved something we'd been telling clients for months: AI doesn't just speed up development — it fundamentally changes the economics of it. What used to take a dev team six to eight weeks now takes seven days. What used to cost $10,000–$20,000 in developer hours now costs a fraction of that. The quality didn't drop. It improved.
We're not talking about a template swap or a WordPress theme refresh. We're talking about a custom-coded, performance-first, SEO-structured web presence — built by AI agents working at a pace and consistency that human dev teams simply can't match. And we do it for our clients the same way we did it for ourselves.
“We just rebuilt our own agency site with AI in under a week — then did the same for a Charlotte contractor waiting on approval. Want to see what we can do for yours?”
— Sean, Founder, Sumie DesignsReady to See What AI Builds for You?
Stop waiting months and spending a fortune on a new website. We'll build something better — faster, smarter, and built to rank — using the exact same AI-powered process we used on our own.
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