RULE: Stop quoting Elementor / Divi / WPBakery as the default for new Candid client builds. Block themes lead the pricing menu.

Rule: For all new Candid Creative client builds, stop leading scoping conversations with page builders (Elementor, Divi, WPBakery). The default starting point is WordPress + Gutenberg + a block theme (Kadence or Blocksy). Page builders may still be appropriate for specific clients (Use Case F from Reference: alternative-stack recommendations by use case and budget (Candid 6-tier framework) — existing portfolio inheritance), but they are not the new-build default.

Why:

• Performance: [[platform-cwv-pass-rates-june-2025]] (WP 43.44% vs Duda 83.63%), Anubiz Host: Elementor adds 500KB+ of CSS/JS to every page; simple pages can have 2000+ DOM elements, WPPoland: Elementor → Gutenberg rebuilds yield ~40% mobile site speed increase (multi-client benchmark)
• Lock-in: GeneratePress official: "You cannot convert Elementor's code to the code required by the Block Editor" (migration is rebuild, $1.5k-$8k)
• Pricing power: Elementor Pro Nov 2023: removed ACF/Pods integration from Essential plan for new customers, Bricks Builder retired $199 unlimited-sites lifetime license in January 2024
• Security: Bricks CVE-2024-25600: unauthenticated RCE (CVSS 10) — exploited in the wild ~24 hours after patch release (24-hour exploit window)
• Accessibility: Elementor GitHub Issue #11779 (open): "Elementor is not fully compliant out of the box and breaks many accessibility rules" (accessibility-as-paywalled-upsell)
• Schema gaps: Elementor does not generate schema markup by default — Schema Pilot: "None of the layouts or widgets add structured data", Pronto Marketing: Elementor FAQ Accordion + Element Caching breaks FAQPage JSON-LD ("Missing field text")
• AI extractability: AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot) generally do not execute JavaScript — client-side React/Vue without SSR is invisible (JS-heavy rendering invisible to AI crawlers)

How to apply:

• Internal scoping docs + pricing menu updated to lead with Gutenberg + block theme
• The page-builder option is presented in the proposal as a downgrade ("budget tier") or carried forward only for existing-portfolio audits
• Use Reference: alternative-stack recommendations by use case and budget (Candid 6-tier framework) to match client to stack per use case
• Stage rollout per Candid Creative page-builder transition roadmap: 4 stages over 12 months
• Existing Elementor/Divi clients are NOT subject to this rule — they get migration audits at next redesign, not reflexive rebuilds