My 2026 stack.

The current standard for any site that needs to be fast, indexable, and maintainable. App Router, React Server Components, hybrid static generation — nothing rivals it in 2026 for client websites.

Essential for any project that will live longer than a week. Errors are caught at compile time, refactoring becomes confident, and the next dev (or me in 6 months) understands the code without having to dig around.

Unmatched integration speed. Zero dead CSS in production. The design system lives in the config file, not scattered across 40 .scss files. Tailwind v4 with the new Oxide engine is even faster.

The best-integrated i18n library with the App Router. Multilingual routing, type-safe translations, native RSC support. Every client site with an international audience runs on it.

Managed PostgreSQL with a REST and real-time API included, full auth, file storage. Replaces a custom backend for 90% of client projects without sacrificing flexibility.

Native Next.js deployment, global CDN, Edge Functions, automatic branch previews. The best DX on the market for deploying and iterating fast. Preview URLs on every PR for client sign-offs.

Simple email API, excellent deliverability, clear logs, React SDK for templates. Cleanly replaces SendGrid or Mailgun for independent projects.

DNS management and DDoS protection for all client domains. The Cloudflare CDN improves response times across Europe and reduces bandwidth costs. Free tier proxying on most projects.

Not my default — Next.js remains my target. But when a client needs full content autonomy, a mature plugin ecosystem, or a WooCommerce integration, WordPress is the most pragmatic and team-familiar solution.

The reference tool for all design work: mockups, design systems, shared components with clients. Dev Mode and Variables make the design-to-code handoff much more direct.

For product image retouching, compositing, and web asset preparation. Used when Lightroom or AI tools are not enough for a client's specific visual requirements.

Creating logotypes, icons, vector illustrations, and brand identity systems. Clean, transferable source files compatible with both print and web.

For print deliverables: brochures, annual reports, rich presentations, books. When a client needs a document that will be printed, InDesign remains indispensable.

Motion graphics for social media, brand intros, and interface animations. Paired with Lottie, AE animations can be integrated directly into websites without quality loss.

For client projects requiring video content: brand presentations, testimonials, institutional videos. Used alongside AI video tools when a project needs finer editing.

My reference model for writing, code refactoring, and AI integrations in client sites. The Claude API is embedded in several projects for content generation or conversational assistants.

Complementary to Claude for questions where a second model provides a different perspective. GPT-4o is particularly useful for image analysis and multimodal tasks in client briefs.

For research, competitive benchmarks, and any question that requires citable, verifiable sources. Replaces Google for technical searches where accuracy matters.

Useful for projects integrating with the Google ecosystem (Workspace, Search, Analytics). Gemini 2.0 Flash is competitive on long tasks and large document analysis.

No-code/low-code orchestrator for connecting tools: webhooks, batch processing, AI enrichment, notifications. Self-hostable, avoiding Zapier dependency and keeping costs down at high volumes.

The best model for creative direction: moodboards, visual concepts, brand identity explorations. v7 produces consistent, styleable results that I can push further in Photoshop.

Trained on licensed content, so legally usable in commercial client deliverables. Integrated directly into Photoshop and Illustrator for generative retouching and extensions.

Accessible via the OpenAI API, useful for client projects needing automated image generation: catalogs, content variations, large-scale personalisation.

For short creative videos, visual effects, and transitions that would be impossible to do manually. Gen-3 Alpha produces coherent videos from prompts or source images. The industry reference tool.

A serious Runway competitor with often superior motion quality on realistic shots. Useful for brand videos and product content that requires a photo-realistic render.

For videos longer than 10 seconds with strong temporal coherence. Still rolling out, but already usable for brand presentation projects and creative concepts.

My own scanning tool. Checks GEO signals (llms.txt, Schema.org, speakable tags), Core Web Vitals, and AI crawler accessibility. Built in-house for studio needs, available in a public version.

Significantly speeds up repetitive tasks and code migrations. Used for large-scale refactoring, test generation, and legacy codebase porting. Estimated time saving: 40-60% on migration projects.

Feature branches, systematic PRs even when working solo to keep a clean history. GitHub Actions for automated checks (TypeScript, lint). Essential for long-term client project maintenance.

Shared workspace with clients: briefs, moodboards, roadmaps, meeting notes. Every project has its own dedicated Notion space, which cuts out endless email threads.

For mockup reviews and feature demos: I record a commented screencast that the client watches at their own pace. Drastically reduces validation meetings.

Integrated in every client project requiring payments: e-commerce, SaaS subscriptions, order forms. The Stripe API is the most documented and reliable on the market.

For multi-phase or multi-stakeholder projects: bug tracking, prioritised roadmap, sprint cycles. Much faster than Jira for an independent studio.

Replaces Spotlight and amplifies daily productivity: code snippets, window management, GitHub search, instant translation. Raycast extensions for Vercel, Linear, and Figma save several minutes a day.