> I usually avoid themes or plugins (other than ACF and a few 'crucial' ones). I'm not a fan of the theming system to the point where I often override or circu

> I usually avoid themes or plugins (other than ACF and a few 'crucial' ones). I'm not a fan of the theming system to the point where I often override or circumvrent the out-of-the-box queries and templating rules. I'm not alone! :) I used Wordpress 10 years ago. Then I used it again last year. I was shocked that it is still as unreliable as ever. I consider myself lucky if plugins only stop working after an update. Sometimes they break the whole website. I made the mistake to build my theme on top of the popular Origin theme. That one breaks or changes such it breaks my theme all the time. Over time I adapted my code similar to your guidelines to make it more resilient against other changes.