I’ve been fascinated by computer programming since I was a young teenager because it enabled me to create “something out of nothing”. This led to a career in web development where I’ve worked in a variety of work environments: from enterprise, to agency, and most recently remote working. Currently, I work as a JavaScript Engineer at Automattic where I’m putting my passion for building rich interactive web interfaces to use in helping to build an improved WordPress.com experience.

Why Do You Use WordPress?
WordPress is extremely approachable and flexible enough that I’ve yet to encounter a web-related problem that it can’t be used to solve. It’s become natural for me to lean on WordPress because it allows me to hit the ground running and offer a simple and familiar administration experience for myself and clients.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
I began using WordPress at a local web development agency two years ago. During my time there, I helped to build dozens of WordPress sites for clients both small and large. Once I had become familiar with WordPress and had optimized my own workflow, I found myself building quality sites for clients with very fast turnover.

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
Seek out and learn from others who have WordPress experience. You can discover a variety of perspectives by attending your city’s local meetup group and, of course, WordCamps.

Many web hosts offer cheap one-click WordPress installers. Use this to your advantage and set up a throw-away site where you can take the WordPress dashboard for a test-drive without worrying about damaging your own personal or business site.

What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
Find ways to re-use assets between projects. Find or create a starter theme from which you can quickly build new sites. Use a consistent design approach between projects. Build plugins when you can foresee development tasks being repeated in future projects. Don’t ignore quality as it can bite you and your reputation when clients approach you later with bug reports. Sacrificing quality can make your own life difficult when clients request additional enhancements after launching a site.

What do you like most about WordCamps?
By offering a variety of speaking topics, I can be guaranteed that I’ll always come away learning something new.

Where can we find you online?
Web: AndrewDuthie.com
Twitter: @andrew_duthie
GitHub: aduth

Gery L Deer is a copywriter, author, technical consultant and marketing specialist with GLD Enterprises Communications in Jamestown, Ohio. Since 1998 his company has provided copywriting, public relations, marketing and IT support services. As a leading expert on the subject of content-based marketing, Gery helps clients to create quality SEO, user-focused web and public relations content.
He is also a weekly columnist with the CivitasMedia newspaper group and an expert contributor for the WDTN-TV2 television program, “Living Dayton.”

Why Do You Use WordPress?
As a marketing and public relations specialist, with a background in IT and programming, I understand the challenges faced by my clients with regard to the difficulty and expense of website development and maintenance. I use and recommend WordPress to clients because it provides a functional and user friendly web platform.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
I started using WordPress around 2010, while managing about a half-dozen websites for my own businesses and clients. We needed a better way of managing the site content and I wanted something that clients could handle on their own.

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
The best tip I could offer is to just jump in and start playing – but have patience. Like any other software application, WordPress has it’s difficulties. But with a little effort and some practice it’s not hard to learn the basics and there are plenty of online resources for those seeking help.

What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
To those interested in WordPress design or development as a business, I would recommend first establishing what value you bring to the client and clearly define the benefits of working with you over trying to do it on their own. It seems today like everyone is an expert on WordPress (or other web development platform), but that’s not really true. Pin down what really sets you apart and where you add value to the process.

How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
I try to keep up with WordPress news and tips through social media but when I want to know something, I generally look up the specific issue.

What’s a cool WordPress based site you’ve seen recently?
I just recently saw the Ford social website. It’s not a “whiz bang” type of page or anything, but what impressed me was that such a big company was using WordPress as the foundation for an interactive page.

What do you like most about WordCamps?
I have not yet attended, but have heard good things.

Where can we find you online?
Web: gldenterprises.net
Twitter: @gerydeer
Facebook: GLD Enterprises Commercial Writing
LinkedIn: Gery Deer

Cyrissa Carlson has a Masters in Art Education and owns Immerse Photography. She has recently left her full time elementary art position to teach photography workshops and photograph her clients full time. She is known for her Social Media savvy and, drawing from her ten years of classroom experience, her ability to take a technical subject (photography) and make it accessible to everyone.

She has been a featured guest on the CreativeLive stage in San Fransisco, was a guest blogger for Senior Style Guide, and has published work in the Journal for the Ohio Association for Gifted Children. Her photographs have been featured in national publications and her photos are currently on numerous local websites and publications.

When she’s not hanging out with her family or teaching, she may be found photographing families, dancers, seniors, weddings, or traveling nationally for branding photoshoots.

Why Do You Use WordPress?
While I previously used WordPress in my classroom, more recently, I have created a site for my brand new online photography courses. The demand for my photography workshops has exceeded my ability to meet everyone face to face. By creating e-courses, I’m able to meet everyone where they are… both in experience and geographical location.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
I was one of the first teachers in our district to begin using WordPress in my elementary art classroom! I featured student artwork, shared exciting art events, and blogged about our daily classroom messes!

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
Ask as many questions as you possibly can and do not underestimate your online resources! YouTube can be a great source training and their are lots of incredible resources out there!

Also, don’t be afraid to be yourself. There are so many cookie cutter companies out there… don’t be afraid to shine online!

What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
Your photographs make just as big of an impact as your content and WordPress site design! Invest in workshops and courses that will train you how to take a better photo! There are two workshops that I’m currently offering that will help you along this journey!

Small Business Photography is geared toward entrepreneurs and focuses on product photography and Social Media basics.

My Beginning Photography Course teaches you basic camera knowledge, beginning composition, techniques I use, and an introduction to the semi-manual modes. Sound like something you need? I’d love to have you join me!

Where can we find you online?
Instagram: immerse
YouTube: Immerse Videos
Facebook: Immerse Photography

“Instagram is my favorite Social Media Platform!
http://bit.ly/immerseinstagram

You’ll find lots of training and photography basics on my YouTube channel!
http://bit.ly/immerseYOUTUBE

And, of course, Facebook is always a great place to see what’s going on at Immerse Photography!
http://bit.ly/immersefacebook”

As an award-winning podcaster, I help others launch and improve their own podcasts for sharing their passions and finding success. I create training resources and podcasting tools (like My Podcast Reviews); I offer one-on-one consulting and group training; I am a keynote speaker on podcasting and social media; and I host a network of award-nominated shows covering how to podcast, clean-comedy, and the #1 unofficial podcast for ABC’s hit drama Once Upon a Time. I also write about entrepreneurship and technology.

Why Do You Use WordPress?
WordPress has always been easy and beautiful to me. I’ve spent time with other content-management systems and I always saw WordPress as my oasis.

It’s simple to use, yet extremely powerful to create any website I can imagine!

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
I started my first website in 2003 with Microsoft FrontPage. I added a blog in 2004 with Movable Type, but I found Movable Type quite cumbersome. I had dabbled a little with WordPress 1.2. Then, in late 2005, I redesigned my website (this time, using Dreamweaver) and I converted my blog to WordPress 1.5.

Then, when I launched my first podcast in 2007 (the Ramen Noodle clean comedy), I knew that I would use WordPress because of its great power for podcasters.

I’ve been using WordPress ever since then and it is now my only choice for creating and managing websites.

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
Don’t go crazy with plugins and widgets on your site. Keep everything simple and focused on providing a great experience for you and your visitors.

Whether you blog, podcast, or sell products and services, post new content to your site regularly. The easiest way to make this a habit is to schedule it into your week.

What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
First, focus on a niche market. Learn it so well that you can become the best WordPress designer or developer for that niche because you understand the needs and audience.

Then, look for products you can create from the tasks you regularly repeat. For example, a WordPress plugin for a specific niche, or a training series on how to use WordPress for that niche, or a collection of themes designed for effectiveness within that niche.

How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
I subscribe to popular web-design and WordPress-specific blogs via RSS. I read these with Mr. Reader on my iPad, or Feedly for my iPhone or desktop browser. From these, I learn about new plugins, trends in web design and development, and amazing things people can do with WordPress.

What do you like most about WordCamps?
I love networking with other people doing great things with my favorite website platform! I also enjoy speaking and opening people’s eyes to what they can do with WordPress.

Where can we find you online?
Web: DanielJLewis.net
Twitter: @theRamenNoodle
Google+: +DanielJLewis

Subscribe to my podcast about podcasting: TheAudacitytoPodcast.com
Subscribe to my clean-comedy podcast: CleanComedyPodcast.com
Subscribe to my Once Upon a Time podcast: ONCEpodcast.com

I’m a husband to a wonderful wife and father to 2 great kids. I’ve been a web developer for 20 years, full time WordPress for 5. I work for XWP, formerly X-Team.

Why Do You Use WordPress?
It makes it easy to accomplish the things I want to do on the web. The admin tools are great for managing the content on the front, and I don’t need to worry about it. The fact that it’s Open Source is a huge bnous as well, because I can (and have) contributed to the core project.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
I looked at it when it first came out and didn’t like it much. I felt I could build something just as good (and did). I never continued my own work though, and in 2010 when WordPress 3.0 came out with good custom content type support I fell in love. I haven’t looked back since.

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
Get to know people. Go to meetups, WordCamps, join online communites, etc. Be polite, respectful, and humble. Those people will support and guide you everywhere you need to be.

What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
Get to know WordPress very well. Understand its strengths and limitations. This way you won’t be surprised when there’s something you want that’s either expensive or impossible, and will also give you the knowledge to be creative with the tool and build something new and interesting.

How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
Mostly twitter. I follow WPTavern and PostStatus in my feed reader.

What’s a cool WordPress based site you’ve seen recently?
Aren’t they all cool?

What do you like most about WordCamps?
The knowledge echanges that happen non-stop, everywhere. In sessions, in the halls, in hotel lobbies, after parties, shared cab rides, etc. The knowledge never stops moving.

Where can we find you online?
Web: topher1kenobe.com
Twitter: @topher1kenobe
Facebook:

Pam engineers happiness for WordPress.com users from New Orleans, Louisiana. In her free time, she enjoys photographing and blogging about her identical triplet sons, running slowly, and reading about cooking (far more than actually cooking.)

Pam started her blog, pyjammy.com, in 2001 as a way to document the training for her first marathon. She now blogs about family, photography, and travel, and also writes for the New Orleans Moms Blog (neworleansmomsblog.com).

Why Do You Use WordPress?
I use WordPress because it’s intuitive, flexible, and comes with an enormous community of users.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
In 2008, I moved my blog to WordPress.com and from then on became passionate about pointing others to it. I started developing WordPress sites for others, and eventually landed a job as a Happiness Engineer at Automattic.

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
When you set up a site, just play around. Click all the buttons, test all the features, learn everything you can by doing.

How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
I’m so lucky to have my dream job working for Automattic, and there is no shortage of information about everything WordPress in our daily communications.

What’s a cool WordPress based site you’ve seen recently?
http://blog.longreads.com/

What do you like most about WordCamps?
This is my first WordCamp, but I’m excited to meet other users and get ideas for my local WordPress meetup in New Orleans, of which I’m an organizer.

Where can we find you online?
Web: pyjammy.com
Twitter: @pyjammy

Steve Grunwell is a Senior Web Engineer at 10up, a World-class WordPress development company. Specializing in WordPress and application development he has worked with brands and organizations including Experience Columbus, the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, Elmer’s, and the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

Steve has released several plugins in the WordPress.org repositories, including one from the grounds of The White House during the first annual National Day of Civic Hacking in 2013. When he’s not writing software he enjoys hiking, music, and writing about writing software on his blog.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
My first WordPress site was an extension of a poorly-built, straight HTML site right around the time WordPress 3.0 came out. I ended up overwriting style.css in TwentyTen, which then proceeded to break when we updated the theme (moral of the story: child themes).

From there I started using WordPress (properly) on more and more client sites, and really started enjoying the platform.

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
Consider setting up a free blog on WordPress.com and just play with the settings. Try out new plugins and themes, discover how and why they work. You can keep the blog private, that’s fine, but play in the sandbox of WordPress.

For developers getting started, poke around the source code. See how a plugin works, and when you find an action or filter track down what that hook is actually doing in core. One of the fundamental APIs in WordPress is the Plugin API – get to know it, how it works, and when to use it.

What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
The threat to WordPress comes not from other platforms like Drupal or Joomla, but from the “”so easy a baby could do it”” site-builders like Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly. We as designers and developers know that it’s generic, uninspired, and garbage code, but clients who don’t know any better often don’t understand (or care).

Focus on the value you can bring your clients: a site that will be able to grow with their company; a swift, performant page load; a unique design from someone who’s taken time to understand their branding, goals, and audience.

How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
I spend a lot of time on Twitter, where I follow a lot of important people in the WordPress community. I also work at 10up (a major player in the WordPress ecosystem), so there’s a lot of discussion about WordPress with the rest of the team.

What do you like most about WordCamps?
WordCamps are a great opportunity for beginners and seasoned professionals alike to come together and bond over WordPress. Whether you’re completely new to the community and looking for help or you’re a developer looking to network, WordCamps bright out the whole spectrum of the community.

Where can we find you online?
Web: SteveGrunwell.com
Twitter: @SteveGrunwell
GitHub: stevegrunwell
Google+: +SteveGrunwell

Kyle is the co-founder of a Jackson, Michigan based firm called Real Big Marketing which specializes in using WordPress to solve complicated problems for businesses. He is also the author of and a contributor to dozens of WordPress plugins, is the co-organizer of the Jackson WP meetup, is a co-organizer of WordCamp Ann Arbor, plays in a band and is an aspiring beer snob.

Why Do You Use WordPress?
WordPress does an amazing job of making things that are inherently complex very simple. Everything from basic content management, to user authentication to design implementation to serious development is made easy with this powerful and free software. Plus, it is getting better and better as time goes by.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
Those were dark times indeed, the days when my development workflow was “cowboy” coding and my tool belt contained Adobe Dreamweaver and some hideous HTML templates. I was employed at some lousy place making lousy sites with a lousy boss for lousy pay. Then I was introduced to WordPress. Shortly after I started my own business and life has been great since.

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
1. Your local meetup – Attend as often as possible and actively participate. Speak if you can.
2. WordCamps – Attend as many as possible and never sit alone. This community is your biggest asset.
3. Identify your specialties and then figure out who are the leaders in those disciplines. For example, if you’re a front end dev you need to follow Chris Coyier and css-tricks.com. If you’re into BuddyPress follow John James Jacoby. If membership sites are your thing, Chris Lema might be your guy. If you like designing things checkout Michelle Schulp. If beer is your passion, talk to me. All examples and not a complete list but you should get the idea.

What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?

• Have confidence in yourself.
• Embrace the community and make friends.
• Speak at meetups and WordCamps.
• Raise your rates.
• Wear your seat belts.
• Don’t edit the parent theme.

How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?

• WP Tavern
• Post Status
• ManageWP.org
• Twitter

What’s a cool WordPress based site you’ve seen recently?
I think the new ManageWP plugins directory is pretty cool https://managewp.org/plugins/best

I’m also pretty proud of what we were able to come up with for a plugin we released recently http://renderwp.com

What do you like most about WordCamps?
WordCamps are where I get to spend time with good friends, make new friends, speak and drink some beer, all of which are things I’m passionate about.

Where can we find you online?
Web: RealBigMarketing.com
Web: KyleBlog.net
Web: RealBigPlugins.com
Twitter: @MrKyleMaurer

Cameron has been blogging since you were in grade school (well, some of you). He pioneered the blog format in the late 1990s and remembers an eager, bright-eyed young man named Ma.tt being excited to meet one of the “founding fathers of blogging” in 2003.

He’s designed and built web sites for presidential candidates, the U.S. Army, the World Economic Forum, Teach for America and lead the migration of 70+ web sites from a terrifically-bad, proprietary SaaS to WordPress Multisite for New Jersey’s largest public school district.

He hails from Northern Michigan and currently lives in Northern NJ with his family. He is leading the charge for embracing “WordPress in Schools” and his goal is to eventually have all 14,000+ public school districts in this country using WordPress in some way through a services-based company called SchoolPresser.

Why Do You Use WordPress?
I used to be a heavy Drupal user but got tired of waiting for Drupal 8.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
Probably around 2004.

Where can we find you online?
Web: CameronBarrett
Web: SchoolPresser.com
Twitter: @camworld
LinkedIn: Cameron Barrett

I have a background in Accounting/Tax Analysis and Real Estate. Currently, I manage several sites, work as a social media manager, brand ambassador, travel writer, speaker, and of most importantly, a mom to seven.

Why Do You Use WordPress?
I use WordPress because I don’t know enough about coding other than to get myself in trouble.

WordPress offers such a simple way for anyone to have an online presence without having to know, learn or hire a developer.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
I was forced, lol I say forced to WordPress back in 2010 when I could no longer use Frontpage to edit sites. Why was I upset? I can’t believe I had not been using it all along!

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
I tell people that are thinking of setting up a site to think long term. A small investment now can save a fortune in time and money down the road.

Also, make sure to only use WP endorsed products. Once you are up and running, if you want to play around with after market plugins, that is up to you. Just starting out, use the verified products. Trust me, spending days trying to figure out why you can’t justify an article when it was a bad plugin all along is not worth it.

What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
Same advice, think long term. Yes, you can be up and running within a few minutes, but taking a little time and planning for growth from the start will save time, efforts and money down the road.

How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
I read anything that comes out about WordPress.

What’s a cool WordPress based site you’ve seen recently?
I can’t say there is one that is my favorite. I visit about 15 sites daily to catch up on things and to interact. That is the best thing about WordPress, you can make your site your own…even if using the same theme as someone else. There are so many options that the sky is the limit.

What do you like most about WordCamps?
I love hearing all the “insider” information and being able to put faces with names/handles. Of course I feel like the Momma of the group but that’s ok.

Where can we find you online?
Web: SherrylWilson.com
Twitter: @SimplySherryl
Facebook: Simply Sherryl
LinkedIn: Sherryl Wilson
Google+: +SimplySherryl