After two years of building AI-assisted workflows at Gorden Web Design, here is the stack that actually gets used every day — not the marketing list of every tool we tried once. Seven tools, each with a specific job.
The daily stack
1. Manus — primary build tool
This is where new sites start. I give Manus the brief; it generates the layout, picks the imagery direction, and drafts the page structure. The output is not shippable, but it is a 70% draft that I edit heavily. Saves about 60% of the layout work.
2. Claude Code — code refactor and scripts
For the parts Manus cannot do — custom PHP for WordPress, JavaScript interactions, cron job logic, batch scripts. Claude Code is what I run for any code change beyond the theme defaults. Estimated 30+ hours per month of dev work saved.
3. Hermes Agent — runtime and automation
This is the agent you are talking to right now. Runs my entire studio cron fleet: daily SEO audits, content checks, link monitoring, deploy scripts. Replaces what would otherwise need a team of three.
4. ChatGPT — long-form writing and brainstorming
For first drafts of blog posts, FAQ pages, and About page copy. I rewrite heavily — AI writing is too generic to ship — but the draft generation saves 40-60 minutes per piece.
5. Midjourney — hero imagery
Blog post thumbnails, hero images for portfolio pieces, illustration sets for landing pages. The output is more distinctive than stock photo selections and cheaper than commissioning originals.
6. Gemini 3 Flash — fact verification and research
For the research pass on technical blog posts and the “is this still accurate in 2026?” sanity check on stale claims. Fast and good enough for verification, not as creative as the others.
7. NotebookLM — long-context synthesis
When I need to digest a 200-page plugin documentation, or summarize a long client brief into key themes. The synthesis is much better than what I can do by hand-skimming.
What I dropped from the stack
Durable, Mixo, 10Web, Bookmark’s AIDA, and most “AI website builder” tools — they generate sites but the output is too generic and hard to edit. Better to use a build tool and a clean theme than a one-click builder.
What I added recently
None. Resist the urge. Every new tool I add slows me down for two weeks while I integrate it. The seven tools above are the seven I trust.