Pedro @ Block Agency

Building agency websites for almost 20 years. Founder of Block Agency. Product designer & web developer. Async only.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

Just over a year on Upwork, and I’m proud to share I’ve earned the Top Rated Plus badge.

This milestone reflects not just hard work, but the trust and collaboration of incredible clients.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

@MarrComSt @mobbin Heads up, your WAF blocks any User-Agent containing "claude".

claude-code/2.1.121 → 403 on /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/mcp
Mozilla/5.0 → 200
curl → 200

OAuth discovery breaks for the very client your MCP targets.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

Most clients who ask for a redesign don't need one.

They need someone to figure out what the site is failing to communicate. And say it.

The visual is usually fine. The message underneath it isn't.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

Most WordPress problems I've seen aren't WordPress problems.

Four page builders stacked on each other. A theme with 200 options nobody configured. Three plugins doing the same thing different ways.

The platform gets the blame. The build deserves it.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

AI can generate a layout in seconds.

What it can't do is figure out what the page needs to say, to whom, in what order, and why any of it should make someone stay.

That part is still the job. And honestly, it's the harder part.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

Marketing handed me a mockup. Functional, but built by someone thinking about content, not about the person reading it.

I stripped it back. Fewer decisions for the user to make. Clearer path to the one thing they needed to do next.

Same information. Different priorities.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

Copy shapes the layout. Not the other way around.

When the structure gets locked first and the copy fills in later, the message ends up fitted into boxes it was never meant for.

Looks fine. Doesn't say much.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

Good web design usually feels calm.

Not empty.
Not boring.
Not overworked.

Just clear.

That’s part of why I’ve become less interested in trendy websites over time.

The older I get, the more I care about work that still makes sense 2 years later.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

Honestly, I think most WordPress problems come from bloat.

Not WordPress itself.

Too many plugins.
Too many layers.
Too many things added without a clear reason.

Then the site gets slow, fragile, harder to maintain, and WordPress gets blamed for all of it.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

One thing I’ve learned from agency projects:

clients rarely get stuck on “design taste” for long.

They get stuck on messaging.

What do we lead with?
How do we explain this clearly?
What matters most to the buyer?

That’s usually the harder part.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

A lot of web design is really sequencing.

Not decoration.

What shows first.
What supports it.
What earns trust.
What can wait.

When the order is right, the design feels easier.

When it’s wrong, even good design feels harder than it should.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

Most agency websites don’t need a more creative hero.

They need a clearer one.

A lot of founders land on their own homepage and still have to “explain the business” out loud.

That’s usually the sign.

The design isn’t doing enough.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

A simple rule for agency homepages:

Visitors arrive with three questions.

What do you do
Who do you help
Why should I trust you

If the homepage doesn’t answer those in the first few seconds, people start guessing.

And guessing usually leads to leaving.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

@jonathanmahomes Yeah, exactly.

Speed just buys you a bit more attention.

But if the page doesn’t answer what they came for, they’re gone anyway.

Both have to work together.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

Website speed is still massively underestimated.

A slow site doesn’t just feel annoying.

It changes behavior.

People leave faster.
Ads become less efficient.
Conversion drops.

Performance is not a technical detail.

It’s part of the user experience.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

@huge_icons Namecheap

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

Most agency redesigns fail for a predictable reason.

They redesign the homepage.

But keep the same messy structure.

Navigation stays confusing.
Pages stay scattered.
User paths stay unclear.

A nicer UI can’t fix broken architecture.

Structure first.

Design second.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

That’s usually how it goes.

Clients rarely ask for a “redesign”. They come in with a symptom.

Onboarding, drop-offs, low conversions… then you start pulling the thread and realize it’s a bigger system issue.

The interesting part is not the screen itself, but how everything connects behind it.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

@rxhit05 Talk to people, but more importantly… watch what they already pay for.

If someone is spending money (or time) on a workaround, there’s usually real pain there.

Ideas are everywhere. Willingness to pay is the filter.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

Good breakdown.

I’d just add that a lot of gains usually come before link building.

Fixing intent, cleaning up pages, and improving internal linking often moves the needle faster than backlinks in the early stages.

Links help, but only after the foundation actually makes sense.

[Pedro @ Block Agency @pedro_reyesh]

@KatieKeithBarn2 Honestly still pretty simple on my end.

ChatGPT/Claude for outlining and refining ideas.

GSC + real search data for deciding what to actually write.

AI is great for speed, but if the topic isn’t grounded in real demand, it usually doesn’t go anywhere.