Understanding the Transition: Modernizing a WordPress-Integrated Tech Stack

Navigating a Major Technology Shift in WordPress-Centric Projects

As a seasoned frontend developer with roughly two years of experience in a SaaS agency, I’ve mostly been involved with projects that, while labeled as “frontend,” are deeply intertwined with WordPress systems and a custom Laravel-based backend. My daily toolkit has predominantly consisted of vanilla PHP, JavaScript, and jQuery—technologies that don’t necessarily push the envelope but serve our needs reliably.

Recently, our leadership team announced a strategic initiative to modernize our architecture. The intended stack upgrade includes:

• Adopting Acorn PHP, inspired by Laravel’s ecosystem

• Replacing vanilla JavaScript with TypeScript for stronger type safety

• Implementing RabbitMQ for asynchronous processing, utilizing Node.js alongside it

In this transition, I’ve assumed responsibility for all JavaScript and TypeScript-related tasks. While I’m comfortable with JavaScript fundamentals, working extensively with TypeScript at scale and integrating with tools like RabbitMQ or a Laravel-like PHP environment such as Acorn is new territory for me.

Seeking Expert Perspectives

If anyone has hands-on experience with these technologies—especially within WordPress-heavy or agency-style environments—I’d appreciate your insights. What challenges might I encounter? Are there common pitfalls or best practices I should keep in mind when integrating these tools?

Particularly, I’m interested in understanding:

• Potential issues when working with TypeScript in a WordPress context

• Lessons learned from scaling JavaScript/TypeScript projects in similar setups

• Backend considerations when deploying Acorn PHP alongside a Node.js-based message broker like RabbitMQ

Your advice can help us navigate this transition smoothly and make informed decisions to optimize our development process. Thanks in advance for sharing your expertise!