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Bennet WordPress Theme: A Designer’s Field Log From First Pixel to Final Push

I rebuilt my portfolio last month with the Bennet WordPress Theme and kept a field log as I went: what I changed in the demo, how I mapped case studies, which blocks I deleted, the typography tokens that made client decks look “print-clean” on phones, and the little decisions that moved recruiter dwell time. I short-listed a few options from Best WordPress Themes and took notes with gplpal as my reference. Bennet won because it is opinionated in the places that matter to a working designer (grid, rhythm, and image discipline) without boxing me into one aesthetic.

Install, baseline, and a clean starting grid

Fresh WordPress on PHP 8.2 with HTTP/2, Brotli, page cache and object cache. I imported the lean Bennet demo—no sliders, no marquee. Permalinks resolved to /work/%postname%/ for projects and /about/ for the bio. Time zone matched my city. Body text at 17–18 px with a 1.6 line height; H1 at 44–48 (desktop) and 30–34 (mobile); H2 at 28–32. I set an 8-point spacing system so image captions, pull quotes, and metrics blocks don’t jostle when a paragraph grows. Color tokens: ink for text, bone for surfaces, carbon for borders, and a single accent (citrus) for CTAs and highlights. Motion stays minimal: fades at 150–180 ms; reduced-motion preference disables even that.

Mapping real case studies (not brochure filler)

Bennet’s project template ships with a hero, overview grid, media sections, and a tidy “role/scope/tools” cluster. I trimmed “tools” (nobody hires software), kept “role” and “time to impact,” and added a “what changed” line with one metric (“+22% signup completion after 2 iterations”). Each project used a consistent narrative: problem → constraints → key decisions → measured result → one hindsight note. Images export at 1600–1800 px for heroes (~120–160 KB) and 1200 px for in-flow screens (~70–100 KB). Every media block declares width/height, so the grid never hiccups.

Blocks I kept, blocks I killed

Kept: project grid with masonry off (strict rows are calmer), pull-quote, before/after slider (only once per case), and a compact testimonial card. Killed: counters, progress circles, and auto carousels. I used a two-column “process” layout for story beats and a “specs” table for measurable deltas. Bennet’s gallery respects fixed heights, which kept CLS flat even on my test Moto G.

Performance and the boring wins

Measured on throttled 4G, mid-range Android, cold cache:

• Homepage LCP ~1.9–2.2 s (still hero, critical CSS inlined).
• Project pages ~2.0–2.4 s depending on media count.
• TBT <120 ms after trimming icon packs and deferring noncritical scripts.
• CLS <0.04 site-wide because every image, badge, and sticky bar has reserved space.
  Static maps are screenshots above the fold; the interactive map hides behind a “Directions” button on Contact.

SEO and content hygiene for portfolios

One H1 per page. Slugs read like people speak (/work/subscription-onboarding/). Alt text names what’s visible (“mobile onboarding step 3 with progress at 60%”). Internal links form small triangles: Project ↔ About ↔ Index. FAQ on the About page covers “availability, timezone, handoff format.” Bennet’s structure is GPL-licensed, so my tweaks live in a small child theme and survive updates.

How Bennet compared in practice

Multipurpose builders looked flexible until I needed strict rhythm—editors could nudge paddings and the grid dissolved. A flashy “creative” theme turned case studies into posters; recruiters bounced. Bennet sits in the useful middle: opinionated grid, quiet typography, and blocks that encourage outcomes over adjectives. It made my work look considered rather than decorated.

Limits and edges I found

If you need cinematic scrollytelling with heavy video, host those as campaign pages; don’t drag them into the main portfolio. Multilingual bios require disciplined translation; Bennet won’t manage governance. If you sell digital goods or templates, you’ll want a separate shop section; Bennet plays fine with a catalog, but the portfolio should stay crisp.

What I would repeat (and what I’d skip)

Repeat: write one metric per project, cap galleries to 10 images, keep testimonials short (two lines), and place the contact CTA after the second project, not the last. Skip: auto-playing background video and tag clouds. My weekly routine now is simple—re-encode any hero over ~160 KB, read a project on a cheap phone, and trim whatever stalls the thumb.

Bennet didn’t make my work; it got out of the way so the work could read like work. If you want a portfolio that feels intentional and loads like a product, keep gplpal in your notes, start from a calm Bennet demo, and tune the rhythm once—then ship.