Riley Paulsen is a nighttime freelance web designer/developer based around agencies, small businesses, and nonprofits in the Indianapolis market. Weapons of choice include WordPress for custom theme and plugin development, AngularJS, and even a little Flash/Flex just for nostalgia sake—he’s totally not bitter about that last one… Riley has 9 years of web experience, about 120+ websites out in the wild, and holds Adobe Certified Expert distinctions in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash (definitely bitter).

During normal waking hours, he mentors, trains, and works with design and web students at Ball State University’s award-winning student media agency, the Digital Corps.

Outside of the web, Riley and his wife relish the cognitive dissonance and constant heated debate over the merits of fostering a Star Wars or Star Trek household…

Why Do You Use WordPress?
WordPress provides the perfect balance of ease-of-use for the end-user and powerful flexibility for the developer. With WordPress, my work can be semantically expressive without the need for complicated custom admin builds. It lets me leave my customers empowered, rather than beholden to the need for future developer help for changes.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
Luckily, I jumped on board right around the time Custom Post Types were becoming an official thing. (Roughly 2009.) I’d just come off of learning PHP from a legacy project that was notably 100% custom—and even with my limited knowledge at the time, I knew it didn’t need to be. From there it was kind of a twisted blend of the occasional WP site in-between straight PHP until I felt confident that I knew enough about the internals of WP to start relying on it completely. (I like to know all the verticals of a system before I commit to something.)

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
Check out all of the tutorials you can, and then just start building. Whether that’s on a one-click install at your webhost with some plugin experimentation, or a local development version building your own theme, chances are you really won’t be able to do _too_ much damage to the Internet if you break something.

Definitely read the Codex if you’re a developer, which, I know, is asking a lot, but compared to most development documentation, it’s super helpful.

Then, dig deep. If you’re a user, check out the most popular plugins, and ask yourself why people are using them; try out some alternatives and see if you can determine why the popular ones are so popular. If you’re a developer, learn about how the WP bootstrapping process happens—set up your IDE to index the source, and then Ctrl/Cmd click around to follow the winding path that is WordPress.

What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
Don’t forget that WordPress companies are really just website companies. The end goal is the same regardless of the tech behind the scenes. The fact that you’ve got a framework that provides so much functionality out-of-the-box is our little secret. Enjoy the hours saved.

Also, read the changelogs before updating plugins.

How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
I’ve been known to read the commit logs whenever I get a chance; Trac is also a good place to get an in-depth look at the how and why of WP. And, there’s nothing like waking up in the morning and realizing that you’re 500+ messages behind in the official WordPress Slack…

I’m a frequent contributor/reader to /r/WordPress and /r/ProWordPress over on Reddit. My favorite source for developer-related talk is Apply Filters, the podcast by Pippin Williamson and Brad Touesnard.

What’s a cool WordPress based site you’ve seen recently?
Hopefully countless ones. The best WP sites to me are ones where it’s running seamlessly in the background. That means no more two-column content+sidebar sites, please, theme developers…

For the nosy type, check out the browser extension called “”WordPress Version Check”” which will stick an icon up in your address bar indicating the version of WP each site you visit is running—assuming the site is using WP. The results might surprise you.

What do you like most about WordCamps?
I love that WordCamps don’t discriminate based on skill level. Everybody starts somewhere with website creation, and every single person I’ve met at WordCamps knows that and respects it. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned Core developer or a author finding your voice for the first time, everyone is an equally valuable part of the WordPress community. You’ll _never_ hear a “stupid question” remark at a WordCamp. (Unless a Drupal spy manages to infiltrate the premises…)

Where can we find you online?
Web: RileyPaulsen.com
Twitter: @rileypaulsen
Twitter: @adobeshortcuts

I am a branding coach who helps career-minded professionals develop a strategy for establishing their personal brands online.

Since Google never sleeps, more often than not your first impression will be made online. Having a WordPress website is key to standing out from your competition and becoming visible online.

Once your WordPress site is up and running you can rest assured that you will be making a good first impression, even while you sleep.

Why Do You Use WordPress?
I use WordPress because it’s easy to use and so versatile. I can use a basic theme and make no changes or I can make it highly customizable. The platform is flexible enough to provide many options for its users.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
I starting using WordPress in 2010. I was running for the local school board and knew I needed a website. A friend introduced me to WordPress, I built my site and never looked back.

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
For new WordPress users, I recommend YourWebsiteEngineer.com. It’s a tremendous resource for all things WordPress. I also recommend a free course I created to help my clients get started with WordPress at diywebsiteguy.com.

How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
I listen to the Your Website Engineer podcast by Dustin Hartzler every week. In the podcast, Dustin provides great tips, advice and updates on all things WordPress. It’s a must listen!

What’s a cool WordPress based site you’ve seen recently?

What do you like most about WordCamps?
Learning and networking. Everyone who attends is genuinely interested in helping others. It’s just a great atmosphere to be around like-minded people.

Where can we find you online?
Web: RyanRhoten.com
Web: DIYWebsiteGuy.com
Web: ThePersonalBrandingBlueprint.com
Twitter: @RyanRhoten
LinkedIn: Ryan Rhoten

I own & operates Silver Lining Productions based in Redondo Beach, providing WordPress support for small and medium sized businesses. He also runs the South Bay WordPress Meetup, teaches WP101 at the local adult school, speaks monthly at the SBDC and shares what he knows over at kitchensinkwp.com with a weekly podcast.

Oh, I also used to be a Professional photographer, but everyone is a photographer these days!

Why Do You Use WordPress?
I found that WordPress made sense to me after coming from a flat html based background. I spent about 20 days trying to use Joomla for a intranet for a company I was consulting for and luckily they lost funding and let everyone go. It was a blessing really! I found WordPress for a new project after that — never looked back!

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
I initially started using WordPress for my photography website business (silverliningphotography.net) as I needed a entire new site.

From there one thing led to another and I found a great community and requests for help.

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
Check meetup.com to find a local WordPress group. There are lots of them. Join. Get involved. If there isn’t one in your area, start one.

What makes WP great IS the community. Everyone starts at the beginning and it’s about helping those who come after you.

Also find a WordCamp within driving distance and GO!

What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
Realize that there is plenty of work out there. Don’t work from a place of scarcity, and undercut other developers. You can’t do it all, nor would you want to. Team up, worth together. Collaborate. Give back to the community.

How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
Like I mentioned before, Meetup’s, WordCamps as well as a few resources online.

There are some great Facebook Groups — ranging from total new people to advanced. Look into joining those.

email newsletters & podcasts:
The WhiP Newsletter
YourWebsiteEngineer.com

What’s a cool WordPress based site you’ve seen recently?

What do you like most about WordCamps?
Meeting people who know more then me! I always learn something that I can use.. and sometimes it’s not even WordPress related, more about working with others (Developers, Designers and Clients)

Where can we find you online?
Web: KitchenSinkWP.com
Twitter: @heyadamsilver
Twitter: @kitchensinkwp

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