In this podcast, we are talking about WordPress in the eCommerce space, including a look at what is happening with WooCommerce and how Jetpack plays into the equation.

Today I’m chatting with two special guests: Todd Wilkens, head of eCommerce at Automattic and Matt Mullenweg, founder of Automattic and WordPress. They both shared some great insights on issues related to WordPress and eCommerce. And yes, we also did take time to offer perspectives on the new WordPress editor.

We chatted about:

• What we are seeing in the eCommerce and WordPress space with new integrations— and what this means for the future.
• How the new WordPress editor Gutenberg plays a specific role in WordPress and eCommerce sites.
• The reach of blocks with eCommerce plugins as add-ons to existing post types, or from top-to-bottom product page layouts.
• What WooCommerce is working on and how blocks are playing a big role in the future with added features.
• How Jetpack and its WooCommerce integrations will become a stand-alone option for users who want to monetize their blogs.
• The perception of Jetpack (and the reality).

I also added my own experience with the WordPress editor and talked with Matt about how it had enabled me to improve my workflow.

Today’s transcript is brought to you by GreenGeeks Web Hosting, where you will find WordPress hosting that’s fast, scalable and eco-friendly.

Bob: Hey everybody. Welcome to Episode 140. Bob WP here, and I have two very special guests today. First of all, I have Todd Wilkins, who is the head of eCommerce at Automattic. Welcome to the show, Todd.

Todd: Thanks Bob.

Bob: And I have Matt Mullenweg here, founder of Automattic, and WordPress, and somebody I’ve tried to get on the show a few times, and finally we found the sweet spot. I appreciate you taking the time to be with us, Matt.

Matt: Great. I’m really excited to be here, too.

Bob: What I wanted to really dive into is, I mean it’s very broad: WordPress, eCommerce, and WooCommerce. I thought what better way to start it off than to explore a little bit around the space we’re in right now as far as WordPress and eCommerce. With the fact that eCommerce having done their integration, their plugin at the beginning of December (which I think is one of the first times I have seen a really a third party integrate as well as it did). Do you think this is a pivotal time right now, and that others might start looking at this and be thinking about the publishing power of WordPress, and how they, well, I don’t want to say jump on the bandwagon, but the opportunities that might be there?

Todd: Maybe I’ll take a first shot shot at this one. I know Matt has a lot of thoughts too, but since eCommerce is near and dear to my heart, I think there are two parts to your question. So, one is about companies like BigCommerce coming in to work and integrate with WordPress. That’s not surprising to me, especially as someone who, I haven’t been immersed in WordPress my whole career, so I’ve been on the inside and the outside, but WordPress is, clearly, it’s the most successful content platform on the web. It’s one of those effective customer engagement platforms on the web.

On top of that, you have this kind of amazing evolution going on right now with the Gutenberg blocks, and templates, and styles, and the new editor, and the new customer to this. There’s so many things happening with WordPress right now, so it has t