Web Design Software Resources

To me Framer and Sketch don’t really compete any more. I use Sketch more as a Vector editing tool at this point and do my website editing directly in Framer.

They don't really compete anymore. Sketch is a vector design tool. Framer is the AI design agent and AI website builder: design on the canvas, use agents to restyle, rewrite, and build sections, then publish the live site. If you're shipping a website, Framer is the better place to do that work.

Knowing its limits while navigating short cuts, all while following best practices with design and coding within the language that is native to the wordpress database

Absolutely. SEO is all about content, off-page, and website speed. You can do the first two with any theme. But achieving the 3rd one can be trickier with other themes. But Astra involves built-in performance that loads the pages much faster than average themes out there.