Chris Coyier has been building websites for over 15 years. He joins Jesse to talk about CodePen 2.0, the open web, and why URLs are the foundation of everything. They also discuss why CodePen has zero AI features for users and what makes that a strategic advantage. 

• CodePen
• CSS-Tricks
• Porkbun
• Dribbble
• Jason Santa Maria
• Jetpack
• WordPress Playground

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What if hosting companies sold solutions instead of server specs? Jesse Friedman and Cory Miller of Hosting.com explore why aligning your product with customer intent, rather than infrastructure metrics, could be the key to reducing churn and growing long term. 

• Hosting.com
• Post Status
• Rocket.net
• iThemes
• 10up
• WebDevStudios
• Crowd Favorite
• CloudFest
• PressConf

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WordPress runs on 60 to 70 percent of most hosting company infrastructure - so why aren't more hosting companies actively investing in the WordPress ecosystem? Host Jesse Friedman and Cory Miller explore the business case for giving back to the WordPress community. 

• Hosting.com
• iThemes
• Liquid Web
• Post Status
• My Agency Success
• WP Vibe
• Five for the Future
• WordPress Boston Meetup
• Microsoft NERD Center
• WordCamp Asia

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Can a plugin teach WordPress users better security habits? Dan Knauss introduces WP Sudo, which forces re-authentication before high-risk admin actions. Jesse and Dan also explore what hosting companies owe the open source ecosystem and why community investment creates long-term customer gravity. 

• Post Status
• WP Sudo
• Two-Factor Authentication Plugin
• Fortress
• Ryan Holiday
• Rick Rubin
• Jesse's Blog (Snail Mail)
• Open Source Pledge
• Make WordPress Slack
• Hilary Mason
• Patchstack
• WordCamp Canada
• WordCamp US

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Hosting companies compete on price while quietly cutting security features customers assume they're getting. Jesse Friedman and Dan Knauss break down the gap between what managed WordPress promises and what customers actually receive out of the box. 

• MalPress
• Post Status
• Multi.dev
• Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
• Review Signal
• WordCamp Canada 2025
• WordCamp Asia
• Dan Knauss GitHub
• Dave Winer
• CIS Benchmarks

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Very few who buy a website or hosting cares about MySQL or bandwidth. While at WordCamp Asia, Stacy L. Osten and host Jesse Friedman break down why hosting companies should package niche solutions instead of server specs, and how influencers can distribute those solutions to the right audiences. 

• WooCommerce
• Jetpack
• Pressable
• WordPress.com
• Tumblr
• Day One
• Woo Payments
• Data Liberation Project
• WordCamp Asia

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Stacy L. Osten runs Automattic's affiliate and influencer programs across WordPress.com, Pressable, Jetpack, and more. At WordCamp Asia, Stacy and Jesse Friedman talk about helping creators own their audience, diversify their content, and stop relying on platforms that could disappear tomorrow. 

• Pressable
• Jetpack
• WooCommerce Marketplace
• Tumblr
• Day One
• Porkbun
• Mailpoet
• Linktree
• Redirection Plugin
• Jesse.blog
• WordCamp Asia

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Thomas Raef from We Watch Your Website argues that every hosting company should be analyzing access logs and scanning for threats in real time using AI, not waiting until a site is already compromised to review what went wrong. In part two of his conversation with Jesse Friedman, the two explore what it would actually take for hosts to bring that capability in-house and why farming security out to third-party vendors is not always the most cost-effective path.

The conversation turns to a thorny question at the heart of WordPress security and open source. Raef has built AI-powered skills files that detect vulnerabilities, but open-sourcing them could give hackers a roadmap. Jesse suggests that organizations like the Secure Hosting Alliance might provide a trusted channel for sharing these tools among verified hosting companies without exposing them to bad actors.

Beyond detection, Raef reveals that his plugin analyzer can produce corrective code when it finds a vulnerability, potentially cutting the WordPress plugin review cycle from weeks to days. Jesse and Tom discuss why this kind of contribution could be a game-changer for the volunteer-driven plugin review process, and why fixing the source of vulnerabilities is always better than handing out band-aids after the fact.

• We Watch Your Website
• Secure Hosting Alliance
• Patchstack
• Jetpack
• Wordfence
• What the Frick Is Managed Hosting (Season 1 Episode)

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Over 65% of hacked WordPress sites trace back to stolen user credentials, not outdated plugins. Jesse Friedman and Tom Raef of We Watch Your Website break down why local device hygiene and credential management are the most overlooked security risks hosting companies and agencies need to address. 

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Jesse Friedman revisits a conversation with Brad Williams, co-founder of WebDevStudios, about the critical partnership between WordPress agencies and hosting companies. They discuss why relationships matter more than vendor transactions, the "triangle dynamic" between agencies, hosts, and clients, and what managed WordPress hosting means from an agency perspective. Brad shares practical strategies for building partnerships that help clients succeed. 

• WebDevStudios
• X.com
• Pressable

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