Nile Flores is a sassy Southern Illinois mom who is a both a WordPress designer and developer, and a well known blogger. Nile has been using WordPress since it began and has strong skills in user, designer, and developer levels.
Nile also consults and mentors website owners and bloggers alike, encouraging them to take their site to the next level. When Nile isn’t knee deep in code or creating graphics, she’s having fun raising her son, writing, painting, and attending karate twice a week.
Why Do You Use WordPress?
WordPress is a full functional content management system that I’ve rarely had to say that some type of site can’t be done with it. WordPress is great for businesses and bloggers alike, allowing people to sell their products or blog about what they’re passionate about.
I use WordPress for these very things.
When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
I actually used b2 cafelog prior to WordPress… so I’ve done the conversion from b2 to WordPress, making it a beginning. I know within the first day an official release of WordPress was available, I was already converting my site over. It did take 3 days as I had to clean up my hacked b2 core… which I’ve been told that I wasn’t the only one guilty of that.
I mainly used b2 and then later WordPress for the blogging, but I was already designing and developing in those early days. Also, my blogging was more personal and wide ranged in topics back then.
What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
I usually recommend reading WordPress for Dummies. It’s a brilliant resource for newbies. In fact, the best thing to do if you’re a newbie to WordPress, is to read the book and just dive into familiarizing and playing around. If you don’t have your own website, even signing up at WordPress.com works great as you can play around for free, especially if you’re looking for using the full software on your own web hosting account… or if you’re having someone design your site. It makes it easier on waiting. 😉
Once you’re comfortable, then you can try WPBeginner, and even my site Blondish.net for lots of WordPress tutorials.
What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
The biggest advice for anyone in business that is developing a site on WordPress is to be open to blogging. It really is a great companion to any business, especially in flexing that authority and building trust.
Other than that, if you’ve got a developer that says that you can’t do something or can’t pro actively suggest a better solution, find a new developer because that means they aren’t as experienced in WordPress as you need them to be.
How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
I write a lot of tips myself on Blondish.net, and run a WordPress group on Facebook called All About WordPress. Between that, I read WPBeginner.com, WPTavern.com, PostStat.us, any feed from Make.WordPress.org, and the WordPress.org blog.
What do you like most about WordCamps?
I like the diversity of each community that the WordCamp holds. They have specific needs and are sometimes at different levels. Some WordCamps have a need for more developer tracks, and others desire more blogging based tracks. However, even within those general topics, the need is also different.
Aside from that, I enjoy meeting other WordPress users. 🙂
Where can we find you online?
Web: blondish.net
Twitter: @blondishnet
Facebook: Nile Flores
LinkedIn: blondishnet
Google+: +NileFlores