WP-Tonic | WordPress | SaaS | Bootstrap SaaS | Startups

I'll be honest, we intended to talk the most useful e-commerce plugins for WordPress, but ended up talking mostly about WooCommerce. That said, there's a ton of information in here about WooCommerce plugins and extensions, including what  plugins you'll need for specific functionality in WooCommerce.

Our WordPress panel this week:

Sallie Goetsch: from WP Fangirl

Jackie D’Elia: from Jackie D’Elia Design

John Locke: from Lockedown SEO

Jonathan Denwood: from WP-Tonic.com

==================

Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of managed WordPress hosting.

Head over to https://liquidweb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.

==================

Table of Contents for Episode 178

0:00 Podcast intros.

3:17 WordPres News Story #1: GoDaddy Accquires Sucuri

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/godaddy-acquires-sucuri-to-advance-digital-security-for-customers-300427537.html

13:16 WordPress News Story #2: Pippin's Plugins: Reflection on a Price Increase

https://pippinsplugins.com/reflection-on-a-price-increase/

28:52 Main Topic: Best WooComerce plugins and other e-commerce plugins for WordPress)

29:55 The importance of discovery in an e-commerce project. Things you have to consider before writing requirements on an e-commerce project.

39:50 What if you need to create a WooCommerce store in multiple languages?

44:37 Payment gateways for WooCommerce.

46:07 Some shipping plugins for WooCommerce. Some misc plugins for various functionality.

52:00 Product modification. Cart rules. Discounts for buying certain amounts. Minimum and maximum purchase rules.

56:25 Integration with WooCommerce and QuickBooks. Is it possible? Yes. Is it elegant or easy? Hmmm...

===================

Links mentioned during the show:

WPML

WooCommerce Multilingual

Polylang

Say what?

Min/Max Quantities for WooCommerce

Stripe for WooCommerce

UPS Shipping Method for WooCommerce

Shipping Tracking for WooCommerce

WooCommerce PDF Invoices

WooCommerce USPS Shipping Plugin with Print Label

WooCommerce Products Designer

Registrations for WooCommerce

Gravity Forms Product Add-ons for WooCommerce

WooCommerce Product Options

WooCommerce Advanced Fees

WooCommerce Bulk Discount

WooCommerce Tab Manager

TaxJar for WooCommerce

Integrating QuickBooks with WooCommerce

https://zapier.com/zapbook/quickbooks/woocommerce/

https://woocommerce.com/products/quickbooks-pro-cloud-cart-connector/

https://appcenter.intuit.com/quickbooks-online-with-woocommerce

=======================

Some more we didn't have time to mention:

WooCommerce EU VAT Compliance

WooCommerce Menu Cart

YITH WooCommerce Compare

WooCommerce Lightbox

WooCommerce Product Gallery Slider

Booster for WooCommerce (formerly WooCommerce Jetpack)

Ultimate WooCommerce Brands Pro

WooCommerce Email Enquiry Ultimate

===================

Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/178-best-woocommerce-plugins/

===================

Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

===================

WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of a weekly WordPress business podcast.

Jackie D'Elia has had a long career in web development and programming. For the past several years she has been an independent WordPress developer, primarily on the Genesis platform. During the last year, Jackie has been a regular member of our Saturday podcast panel. We talk to Jackie about her experiences in web development, and what it takes to become a top-quality front-end / WordPress developer.

Jackie D'Elia Design

https://jackiedelia.com/

Rethink.FM: The forward thinking podcast for WordPress and front end development

https://rethink.fm/

==================

Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of managed WordPress hosting.

Head over to https://LiquidWeb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.

==================

Table of Contents for Episode 177

0:00 Podcast intros.

2:22 Jackie's origin story into web development.

6:40 How is the WordPress community stack up compared to other web communities?

9:00 Jackie discusses her journey through WordPress, and her current setup for developing sites.

13:32 How does Jackie block out time for continuing her web learning?

17:41 What are some of the things Jackie has changed in her processes since starting her podcast, Rethink.fm?

18:59 The desktop mindset, and why agencies don't follow a content-first or mobile-first process.

23:12 Has Jackie encountered any resistance to being a web developer as a woman, or as a person of a particular age? Why these are strengths and not weaknesses.

25:50 Pros and cons between a hosted e-commerce and hosted e-commerce site. Jackie's advice for e-commerce from 10 years of running a business.

30:27 How is Jackie handling the increasing use of JavaScript in WordPress? Her recommendations for integrating JS into a website.

37:09 Jackie's methodology for staying focused.

41:10 The difference between working with a team as opposed to working by yourself.

43:48 What advice does Jackie have for solo consultants trying to make it in freelancing?

45:54 What percentage split does Jackie network among, between prospects and colleagues?

48:48 Podcast outros.

===================

Links mentioned during the show:

dBase

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DBase

Thesis

http://diythemes.com/

Genesis Framework

http://my.studiopress.com/themes/genesis/

PostCSS

https://github.com/postcss/postcss

DesktopServer

https://serverpress.com/

Novell NetWare

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetWare

Team Treehouse

https://teamtreehouse.com/

Lynda from LinkedIn

https://www.lynda.com/

Know The Code

https://knowthecode.io/

Multiple Intelligences Self-Assessment

https://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-assessment

Multiple Intelligences

http://www.institute4learning.com/resources/articles/multiple-intelligences/

Rethink.fm #8: Designing User Experiences

https://rethink.fm/podcast/episode-8-designing-user-experiences/

Rethink #1: Content First Strategy

https://rethink.fm/podcast/episode-1/

Letting Go of the Desktop Design Mindset

https://jackiedelia.com/letting-go-desktop-design-mindset/

Let's Encrypt

https://letsencrypt.org/

How to Properly Add jQuery Scripts to WordPress

https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/adding-jquery-scripts-wordpress/

Javascript for WP

https://javascriptforwp.com/

===================

Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/177-jackie-delia/

===================

Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

===================

WP-Tonic is a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of a twice a week WordPress podcast.

Our WordPress panel shares the biggest mistakes they have made on website projects. If you've done one website or a thousand, chances are you will identify with at least one thing on this list. We talk not only about our botch-ups, but how our processes changed afterwards as a result. There's something for everyone in this episode.

Our WordPress panel this week:

David Hayes: from WPShout

Sallie Goetsch: from WP Fangirl

Jackie D'Elia: from Jackie D'Elia Design

Lee Jackson: from Angled Crown

John Locke: from Lockedown SEO

Jonathan Denwood: from WP-Tonic.com

==================

Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of managed WordPress hosting.

Head over to https://LiquidWeb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.

==================

Table of Contents for Episode 176

0:00 Podcast intros.

3:18 WordPress News Story #1: Jetpack Introduces Theme Installation from WordPress.com, Sparks Controversy with Alternative Marketplace for Free Themes

https://wptavern.com/jetpack-introduces-theme-installation-from-wordpress-com-sparks-controversy-with-alternative-marketplace-for-free-themes

17:38 WordPress News Story #2: WooCommerce 3.0.0 Scheduled for Release April 4th

https://wptavern.com/woocommerce-3-0-0-scheduled-for-release-april-4th

26:56 Main Topic: Our Biggest Website Mistakes

27:06 Lee's classic mistake: not backing up a Multisite before updating it. Also, making assumptions about a client's expectations.

32:12 David looks at the two classes of website mistakes. How he edited a plugin in production without having FTP access. Another story about not having a restorable backup. Also, have a clear-cut business plan before you invest thousands of hours of time.

36:49 Why Jackie is obsessed with backups, and the story behind it. Don't change DNS records without having a screenshot of the old records. FTP-ing files to the wrong site.

43:01 Sallie's horror story about MX records and email forwarding. Many mistakes are around communication or discovery.

46:16 Always check out prospects before you allow them to be a client. Some scams that get run on web designers. Not all hosting panels handle DNS records the same way. Migrations are tricky.

54:05 Jonathan has some great stories about some nightmare projects. How to do research on potential clients.

59:20 John learned some lessons early on about scope, stakeholders, communication, and doing too much for too little.

1:04:27 Everyone needs their stupidly low priced website to learn their lesson. Think about what value you are providing, and how much you actually need to stay in business.

1:06:57 Jonathan has an interesting client who tried to lowball him on price.Don't lowball yourself on price. Realize your value.

1:14:48 Podcast outros

===================

Links mentioned during the show:

Semantic Versioning 2.0.0

http://semver.org/

9 WordPress Experts Share Their Biggest Website Mistakes

https://wpmastery.xyz/9-wordpress-experts-share-biggest-website-mistakes/

An Easier Way to Create a Website Spec

https://angledcrown.com/website-specification/

How to create an intro packet (and why you should!)

https://erinflynn.com/intro-packet/

Hearing Impaired Web Design Scam

https://teamtreehouse.com/community/web-design-scam-heads-up

https://siteber.com/website-design-for-hearing-impaired-scam/

===================

Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/176-biggest-website-mistakes/

===================

Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

===================

Join us live on WP-Tonic live, each Saturday at 9 am. We discuss the week's WordPress news, then we go deep on one WordPress topic.

https://www.wp-tonic.com/blab/

===================

WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance service, and the publisher of a twice-weekly WordPress business podcast.

We talk with James Laws, founder of WP Ninjas, and co-creator of Ninja Forms. In this episode James share his insights on building a WordPress product company, managing internal growth, and advice for podcasters in the WordPress space.

WP Ninjas

https://wpninjas.com/

Mastermind.FM

http://mastermind.fm/

Adventures in Businessing

http://aib.fm

==================

Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of managed WordPress hosting.

Head over to https://LiquidWeb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.

==================

Table of Contents for Episode 175

0:00 Podcast intros.

2:53 James' origin story, and getting into web development.

3:59 Where the idea for WP Ninjas originally came from.

6:35 Did the market saturation of contact form plugins dissuade James from creating another plugin?

10:50 Why sharing information helps everyone's business grow. Advice for joining a mastermind, and what James looks for in a mastermind.

13:03 How a business changes as it grows. How choosing a business model can have a significant impact on your business.

19:53 How internal process must change and adapt as your web development company grows.

25:30 How important is service and support to growth for a WordPress product?

30:39 Thoughts on marketing in the WordPress ecosystem in 2017.

39:32 Some tips for people looking to market a plugin to the WordPress ecosystem.

44:26 The importance of UX design in a WordPress plugin.

54:00 Thoughts on e-commerce with Ninja Forms.

59:00 What advice does James have for people looking to start their own podcast?

1:04:21 Podcast outros

===================

Links mentioned during the show:

WP Candy:NinjaForms plugin chops its way into WordPress Dashboards (2011)

http://wpcandy.com/reports/ninjaforms-launches-competes-with-gravityforms/

Andon (manufacturing)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andon_(manufacturing)

The Value of Sponsoring a WordCamp from a Business’ Perspective

https://wptavern.com/the-value-of-sponsoring-a-wordcamp-from-a-business-perspective

Focus Lab

http://focuslabllc.com/

===================

Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast-episodes/

===================

Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

===================

WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of a twice-weekly WordPress podcast.

The WP-Tonic panel looks at how to tackle large scale web projects. What sort of preparation and research goes into more complex projects? We analyze project management, organization, communication, and delegation in this can't miss episode.

==================

This Weeks WordPress Panel

Sallie Goetsch: from WP Fangirl

Christopher Hawkins: from Cogeian Systems

Kim Shivler: from White Glove Web Training

John Locke: from Lockedown SEO

Jonathan Denwood: from WP-Tonic.com

==================

Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of managed WordPress hosting.

Head over to https://LiquidWeb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.

==================

Table of Contents for Episode 174

0:00 Podcast intros.

2:11 WordPress Story #1: Clef is Shutting Down June 6th

https://wptavern.com/clef-is-shutting-down-june-6th

5:56 WordPress Story #2: WordPress Collaborative Editing

https://ma.tt/2017/03/wordpress-collaborative-editing/

13:47 WordPress Story #3: Getting The Most Out of a Freemium WordPress Business Model

https://torquemag.io/2017/03/getting-freemium-wordpress-business-model/

23:52 Main Topic: Planning Large Scale Web Projects

24:47 How do you know when you have a large project on your hands?

27: 28 What factors do you have to address in  large website project? What happens in discovery?

33:45 The reason you will want to do a paid discovery session instead of a free consultation on large web projects. Also, how many stakeholders should be in the room on a discovery sessions for a large project?

41:19 Breaking large projects into phases - what gets prioritized?

42:58 Handling communication between clients and web team members on a large ongoing website project.

46:09 Project management software, assignments, and timelines - making sure things get done by the right people on time.

53:05 How many meetings are the right amount? Anticipating the amount of communication that the organization will need.

55:11 What are things you need to watch out for on a large membership site?

57:27 Managing timelines and budget when it looks like you are behind schedule or over budget.

1:05:38 Rapid fire: Best advice for managing large scale web development projects.

1:10:29 Podcast outros.

===================

Links mentioned during the show:

Google Authenticator

https://wordpress.org/plugins/google-authenticator/installation/

Authy

https://www.authy.com/integrations/wordpress/

Two-Factor

https://wordpress.org/plugins/two-factor/

Gather Content: How to run a website discovery session

https://gathercontent.com/blog/run-website-discovery-session

Pareto Principle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

Basecamp

https://basecamp.com/

Don't Make Me Think, Revisted: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 3rd Edition

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability/dp/0321965515/

100k Freelancing

http://www.100kfreelancing.com/

Updating Cloudflare DNS to Use SiteGround’s MX

https://www.wpfangirl.com/2017/updating-cloudflare-dns-to-use-sitegrounds-mx/

Title Tag SEO: Optimizing Titles for Better Ranking

https://www.lockedownseo.com/title-tag-seo/

===================

Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/174-large-scale-web-projects/

===================

Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

===================

WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of a twice-weekly WordPress podcast.

Join us every Saturday for a Live WP-Tonic show at 9 am PST. For details on the Saturday live shows, go to https://www.wp-tonic.com/blab/.

Our guest this week is Emily White, of Emily White Designs. Emily has a successful business developing custom Genesis WordPress themes with her development partner, Greg Young. Emily clearly knows her customer base and is focused on giving her clients a fantastic customer experience. This interview shows you can still be successful running a small agency.

Emily White Designs

https://www.emilywhitedesigns.com/

==================

Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of managed WordPress hosting.

Head over to https://LiquidWeb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.

==================

Table of Contents for Episode 173

0:00 Podcast Intros

3:05 How Emily first got started with web design and development.

5:09 Finding a target market can be difficult. How did Emily find her target market?

6:53 Emily's thoughts on content marketing, and why she has that stance.

8:47 How Emily evolved her pricing structure over time.

12:39 What sort of client screening does Emily do to determine who she takes on as a client?

17:10 What process did Emily go through to find a development partner?

21:13 What is the difference in perception between a freelancer and an agency, even if that agency is two or three people?

23:26 The major differences in projects when you have a partnership as opposed to trying to contract out different pieces of the project.

25:20 Emily talks about working with an university on her agency's largest project to date.

28:32 Does Emily design for mobile first or desktop first on most projects?

29:35 Gathering content for web projects is a bit easier with professional bloggers.

31:51 The benefit that professional bloggers get from having a custom made design.

36:08 How Emily came to use Genesis as a theme framework, and the advantages of that community.

39:22 What advice Emily would give to budding web designers.

40:49 Steps you should take to define your ideal client.

43:45 Who else should we have on the show?

44:58 Podcast outros.

===================

Links mentioned during the show:

Genesis Framework

http://my.studiopress.com/themes/genesis/

The Big Web Show 53: Raising Rates (Start at about 38:27)

http://5by5.tv/bigwebshow/53

Basecamp

https://basecamp.com/

Clients From Heaven (WordCamp San Antonio 2016)

https://www.emilywhitedesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/wcsatx.pdf

===================

Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/173-emily-white-partnerships-wordpress/

===================

Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

===================

WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of a twice-weekly WordPress business podcast.

This week, we look at site structure and SEO. How does site architecture affect your search rank? We look at keyword research, internal linking, URL structure, permalinks, categories and tags, 301 redirects, setting up call-to-actions throughout the site, user experience, and more.

One of the more valuable episodes we've done this year, especially if you're trying to get your site to rank higher.

==================

This Week's WordPress Panel

Jackie D'Elia: from Jackie D'Elia Design

Lee Jackson: from LeeJacksonDev.com

Brian Jackson: from Woorkup

John Locke: from Lockedown SEO

Jonathan Denwood: from WP-Tonic.com

==================

Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of managed WordPress hosting.

Head over to https://LiquidWeb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.

==================

Table of Contents for Episode 171

0:00 Podcast Intros

2:57 WordPress News Story #1: Amazon S3 Outage Hits WordPress Businesses, Disrupting Services and Support

https://wptavern.com/amazon-s3-outage-hits-wordpress-businesses-disrupting-service-and-support

11:05 WordPress News Story #2: NextGEN Gallery Patches Critical SQL Injection Vulnerability

https://wptavern.com/nextgen-gallery-patches-critical-sql-injection-vulnerability

23:10 WordPress News Story #3: Behind the Scenes – Launching a Premium WordPress Coupon Plugin

https://kinsta.com/blog/wordpress-coupon-plugin/

32:39 Main Topic: Site Architecture and SEO.

33:08 When is site structure discussed in the design process with different agencies?

35:14 Organizing content, 301 redirects, and content audits.

39:30 The value of organizing menus, internal links, and user experience.

46:24 When you add internal linking and planning user personas with call to actions, then the magic happens.

49:03 The chicken and egg problem: when you don't work on your site, you don't get business from your site, so you don't do any work on your site.

51:42 Our advice on using categories and tags for internal linking and SEO. What to index and what to noindex.

57:37 More on tags and our thoughts on breadcrumbs as internal navigation.

1:00:34 Getting users to their destination in as few clicks as possible.

1:02:26 How effective are footer links for internal linking? Should you use these with optimized anchor text to increase your SEO for certain pages?

1:04:52 What is the correlation between social shares, traffic and ranking? What strategy can you use to boost pages?

1:08:48 Does engagement, like comments, have a difference on SEO?

1:12:00 What is an ideal URL structure for SEO? How short or long should your URLs be for ideal ranking?

1:16:50 Are there pages that you should noindex in Yoast?

1:18:54 What are some tools you can use for keyword research?

1:21:16 Podcast outros.

===================

Links mentioned during the show:

Intercom: Customer Messaging Platform

https://www.intercom.com/

What the Dormouse Said

https://www.amazon.com/What-Dormouse-Said-Counterculture-Personal/dp/0143036769

SEMrush

https://www.semrush.com/

WordPress SEO Checklist: 45 Tips for 2017

https://kinsta.com/blog/wordpress-seo-checklist/

KW Finder

https://kwfinder.com/

===================

Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/172-site-architecture-seo/

===================

Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

===================

WP-Tonic is both a WordPress development and maintenance service, and the publisher of a weekly WordPress business podcast.

WordPress architect Mario Peshev joins us to talk WordPress in the enterprise. Mario is the founder and CEO of DevriX, a 25 person WordPress agency. He also is a core contributor to WordPress and a frequent speaker on web development.

Mario Peshev at DevWP.eu

http://devwp.eu/

DevriX:

http://devrix.com/

Mario Peshev on Twitter

https://twitter.com/no_fear_inc

Digital Growth with Mario Peshev

http://www.digitalgrowth.co/

==================

Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of managed WordPress hosting.

Head over to https://LiquidWeb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.

==================

Table of Contents for Episode 171

0:00 Podcast Intros

3:08 The origin story of Mario Peshev and DevriX

5:41 What is the perception of WordPress agencies at the enterprise level compared to other web development agencies?

8:55 How is the REST API affecting enterprise level WordPRess projects?

11:53 How does DevriX understand the needs of enterprise customers and attract them to their agency?

16:07 What role client education plays in charging premium rates. Showing the ROI of a project so clients make a wise investment.

20:01 Advice on specialization and differentiation. What to focus on and what to avoid.

24:48 Are people who call WordPress "spaghetti code" talking hot garbage?

27:43 Should WordPress core eventually become a more modular system?

29:39 Is there any fundamental difference between what can be produced with Drupal and WordPress?

34:15 Security for WordPress and the REST API.

38:46 In web development, you get what you pay for.

43:21 Thoughts on the past, present, and future of WordPress.

44:34 Mario's recommendations for levelling up as a web developer.

47:58 Podcast outros.

===================

Links mentioned during the show:

On WordPress Development Retainers

http://devwp.eu/on-wordpress-development-retainers/

The $15 WordPress Gig

http://devwp.eu/15-wordpress-gig/

BackPress

https://backpress.org/

Why WooMattic is big news for small businesses

http://buytaert.net/why-woonattic-is-big-news-for-small-businesses

Josh Pollock - Exceed Expectations with the REST API

https://joshpress.net/rest-api/

http://learnjosh.staging.wpengine.com/downloads/exceed-expectations-with-the-rest-api/

===================

Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/171-mario-peshev-enterprise-wordpress/

===================

Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

===================

WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and support service, and the publisher of a twice-weekly WordPress podcast where we talk to some of the most successful people in web development, online marketing, and business.

In this episode, we look at the value of participating in the WordPress community, both offline and online. Is there anything substantial to be gained from befriending people who do the same thing that you do?

Join us every Saturday at 9 am PST for our live show where you can ask WordPress tech questions and be part of the discussion.

To see a list upcoming Saturday shows go to the WP-Tonic website.

https://www.wp-tonic.com/blab/

==================

WordPress panel for Episode 170:

Sallie Goetsch https://www.wpfangirl.com/

Jonathan Denwood https://www.wp-tonic.com/

John Locke Lockedown SEO

==================

Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of hosting.

Head over to https://LiquidWeb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.

================

Table of Contents for Episode 170:

0:00 Podcast intros.

2:25 WordPress News Story #1: Cloudflare Memory Leak Exposes Private Data

https://wptavern.com/cloudflare-memory-leak-exposes-private-data

Incident report on memory leak caused by Cloudflare parser bug

https://blog.cloudflare.com/incident-report-on-memory-leak-caused-by-cloudflare-parser-bug/

Cloudflare Data Leak: How to Secure Your Site

https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2017/02/cloudflare-data-leak/

7:31 WordPress Story #2: WordPress Core Editor Team Publishes UI Prototype for “Gutenberg,” an Experimental Block Based Editor

https://wptavern.com/wordpress-core-editor-team-publishes-ui-prototype-for-gutenberg-an-experimental-block-based-editor

13:31 WordPress News Story #3: Should I use the WordPress Jetpack plugin on my site?

http://chrislema.com/wordpress-jetpack-plugin/

19:47 Main Topic: What's the Value of participating in the WordPress Community?

20:16 What is the big value of being a part of the WordPress Meetups and WordCamps?

26:15 Do people refer work to you when they get to know you at the local WordPress Meetup? Does participating in the Meetup lead to more work?

29:47 Why is there resistance from general web agencies in each city to participating in the WordPress community?

34:56 A strong Meetup group is the prerequisite to hosting an annual WordCamp.

38:11 How do you prevent burnout when you are a Meetup organizer?

42:25 How do get involved in the WordPress community online? (For the introverts in the crowd).

46:55 Is there a competitive advantage to participating in the WordPress community if you use WordPress as a tool to build websites?

52:05 Podcast outros.

===================

Links mentioned during the show:

Slimpack - Lightweight Jetpack

https://wordpress.org/plugins/slimpack/

Tech Liminal

https://techliminal.com/

Reno Collective

http://renocollective.com/

===================

Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/170-wordpress-community/

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Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

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WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and development service, and the publisher of a twice-weekly WordPress podcast where we talk to some of the brightest minds in web development, online marketing, and business.

Chris Lema and AJ Morris of Liquid Web stop by to talk product innovation, hosting, and the WordPress community.

We're also joined by our WordPress panel for this special episode.

Cast for Episode 169:

AJ Morris: https://ajmorris.me/

Chris Lema: http://chrislema.com/

Sallie Goetsch https://www.wpfangirl.com/

Lee Jackson https://trailblazer.fm

Jonathan Denwood https://www.wp-tonic.com/

John Locke Lockedown SEO

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Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of managed WordPress hosting.

Head over to https://LiquidWeb.com/wordpress and use the code WPTONIC33 at checkout for your discount.

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Table of Contents for Episode 169:

0:00 Podcast intros.

4:03 Why did Chris choose LiquidWeb as his next company to join? What criteria did he evaluate?

7:48 How do you differentiate yourself in a market where you are not first to market?

10:45 Why LiquidWeb can still cover a lot of space in the WordPress hosting space, and areas that many managed WordPress hosts fail to cover.

17:35 Building a new product for customers that will be useful for updates.

19:45 Evaluating the competition in the WordPress hosting space and working with restraints.

24:38 Picking a strategic target for your hosting product so you can deliver maximum value.

28:28 Looking for the gaps in the existing market, and does that gap constitute a market?

31:04 Why GoDaddy may have bought WP Curve and how they are trying to consolidate their market segments.

35:37 Layers of security in the stack below the application, the network levels and infrastructure levels.

40:59 Timeline for continued support for Multisite on LiquidWeb.

42:32 Accepting the rules of the WordPress ecosystem, and working within those constraints. Predicting the decisions about the future of WordPress.

49:38 Insider baseball posts don't talk to customers - they talk to the 5000 people who are the super-inside WordPress Community.

54:03 In software development cycles, what's old is new again. 

57:52 How important is it to be involved in the WordPress community to market to the WordPress community and their customers? The hidden benefit of community on your marketing message.

1:03:18 Podcast outros.

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Find bonus content for this episode on the WP-Tonic website:

https://www.wp-tonic.com/podcast/169-aj-morris-chris-lema-liquidweb/

===================

Subscribe to WP-Tonic on iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wp-tonic-wordpress-podcast/id893083124?mt=2

===================

WP-Tonic is both a WordPress maintenance and development service, and the publisher of a weekly WordPress business podcast where we talk to some of the brightest minds in web development, online marketing, and business.