Impressive Hosting

What does it mean to own your influence? In a special episode recorded at WordPress Campus Connect in Sylhet, Pakistan, Jesse Friedman makes the case that building on the open web is an act of independence. He challenges students to protect it, contribute to it, and never take it for granted. 

• WordPress Campus Connect
• Cory Doctorow
• Jason Silva - Radical Openness
• Brute Protect
• Web Designer's Guide to WordPress
• i2 Coalition
• Rhode Island WordCamp

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Owning your slice of the web has never mattered more. That is the through line of this roundtable episode, where Jesse Friedman, Leanne Hogben, Ronald Gijsel, Elise Prather, and Joshua Goode make the case that domains and hosting together form the foundation of brand independence. Joshua Goode goes further, arguing that in an AI-saturated world, having your own domain and your own hosting is how you control whether AI scrapes your content, pays for access, or gets blocked entirely.

The episode covers serious ground on AI without losing its practical edge. Josh outlines WP Cloud's plans to embed optional AI tooling into performance monitoring so hosts and their support teams can quickly diagnose and fix site issues. Elise reports on a shift she is seeing in e-commerce, where AI-driven payment orchestration is quietly improving approval rates and lowering fees. Ronald highlights how AI now helps customers go from a rough idea all the way to a launched product, and how WordPress is uniquely positioned as a platform that stays alive and improvable rather than becoming a throwaway project. Leanne describes the evolution of domain search from keyword matching to conversational AI that understands the concept behind a business.

For registrar decision makers, the most actionable section may be the closing discussion on domain use cases. Jesse walks through how he uses short redirect paths to funnel social media audiences back to his own site, bypassing platform algorithms designed to keep users locked in. Ronald describes using domain portfolios for deep linking to specific business functions like directions, return policies, or booking pages. Leanne underscores that a domain is the portable layer that lets creators move between platforms without losing their audience. The takeaway for registrars is clear: domains paired with scalable WordPress hosting create a product stack that solves real problems customers face every day.

• Pressable
• Bluehost Cloud
• Convesio
• Pork Bun
• HostGator
• Yoast
• Jetpack
• jesse.blog
• leanne.blog
• .blog Registry

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Jesse Friedman brings together domain experts from across Automattic for a unique registrar registry roundtable. Leanne Hogben, Head of Registry Services, Ronald Gijsel, Head of Registrar, Elise Prather, VP, Partnerships & Growth at WP Cloud, and Joshua Good, Technical Solutions Engineer, share insights on how domains and hosting intersect in the WordPress ecosystem.

The conversation covers the upcoming opportunity to apply for new domain extensions starting in April 2026, the first time since 2012 that new generic top-level domains will be available. The team explores how registrars can move beyond transactional domain sales to offer complete publishing solutions, and why diversity in hosting providers strengthens the open web.

For hosting companies and registrars looking to expand their offerings, this episode provides practical insights on leveraging domains as the entry point to WordPress hosting. The discussion includes strategies for niche hosting solutions, the technical considerations for different use cases like e-commerce versus blogs, and how infrastructure-as-a-service approaches can help domain companies compete with established hosts.

• ICANN
• Big Scoots
• Gravity Ads
• Pressable
• WooCommerce
• Newspack
• Tumblr

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Jesse Friedman interviews Jake Goldman of Fueled, and they explore how AI will reshape website experiences while arguing that commerce sites will remain essential. Not everything moves to chatbots and voice interfaces. 

• 10up
• Fueled
• WordPress VIP
• ElasticPress
• Jetpack
• WordCamp Boston
• Site Kit
• Distributor
• ClassifAI
• Jake Goldman on LinkedIn

What does it take to build a successful WordPress business while staying true to open source values? Jake Goldman shares lessons from growing 10up into a leading WordPress agency and how those principles apply to hosting companies today.

The discussion covers Goldman's transition from 10up to Fueled, exploring how WordPress fits into broader digital experience strategies. They examine why managed hosting specialization matters for enterprise clients and how hosting companies can build trust through focused expertise rather than generic solutions.

This episode provides actionable insights for hosting professionals and agency owners. Goldman's experience building and scaling WordPress-focused businesses offers a proven framework for success, while his thoughts on AI and collaboration point toward exciting opportunities ahead.

• 10up
• Fueled
• WordPress VIP
• WooCommerce
• Red Hat
• Lullabot
• Good Housekeeping
• Hearst
• Jetpack
• Bluehost

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Season two shifts focus from hosting basics to bigger questions. Jesse discusses how hosting companies can be profitable while educating customers about independence, ownership, and building beyond social media platforms. 

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Season two of Impressive Hosting kicks off with Jesse reflecting on key lessons from season one. He discusses why hosting companies have a responsibility to preserve the open web and protect WordPress users from poor first experiences. 

• Referenced Episodes
• How is the Secure Hosting Alliance Building a Safer, Freer Internet?
• What the Frick is Managed Hosting?
• How Did Convesio Scale Their Hosting Business Without Racing To The Bottom?
• What Happens in WordPress Hosting When Customers Choose What They Need?
• Who's Really Responsible for WordPress Security: Hosts or Customers?
• What Do Effective Partnerships Look Like in the WordPress Hosting Community?
• Why is Empathy Crucial to Great WordPress Hosting and Development?
• Why Do Great WordPress Hosting Companies Need Great Developer Relations?
• How Can Hosting Companies Better Support WordPress Learning?
• What Does Great Vertical WordPress Hosting Look Like?
• How and Why Should Registrars Support the WordPress Ecosystem?

• Other mentions
• Pressable
• Bluehost Cloud
• Patchstack
• Pantheon
• Convesio
• HostIQ / Ivapix
• Newspack
• Porkbun
• i2 Coalition
• Secure Hosting Alliance
• WordPress Data Liberation Project
• "Radical Openness" by Jason Silva (video)
• Joshua Goode
• Elise Prather

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The domain industry is evolving beyond simple registration. Jesse and Eddie Barksdale discuss how Porkbun integrates AI site builders, community support, and strategic timing to help customers transition from domain ownership to live websites. 

• Porkbun
• WordCamp US
• WP VIP

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Porkbun just hit 3 million domains under management. Eddie Barksdale shares how registrars can guide customers from domain registration to WordPress hosting without overwhelming them with upsells. 

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Security isn't optional for news sites—they're constant targets for attacks. Claudiu Lodromanean discusses how Newspack protects publishers with two-factor authentication, monitoring systems, and proactive alerting. Most hacks come from password reuse, not sophisticated exploits. 

• Newspack
• Jetpack
• Elasticsearch
• WooCommerce

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