Interview with Jeff Starr – The Author of “Digging Into WordPress”

Jeff Starr has a passion for web design and security and loves contributing to the WordPress core. He has been an active WordPress contributor since the beginning of his love story with our CMS.

I started WordPress around 2004. Everything was very different back then than it is today. Back then I was building my own dynamic websites from scratch using PHP and MySQL. Then I discovered WordPress, which took care of all the dynamic stuff and more. So I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel for every website. Once I got the hang of WordPress and saw its potential, I was hooked. I’ve been working with WordPress ever since and haven’t looked back since.

I’m a single-minded minimalist. I use simple text notes to manage my schedule. All the smaller tasks that need to be done to achieve bigger goals. All neatly organized in plain text files. So to stay productive, I keep track of my goals for motivation and focus. As if I can’t wait to achieve this. And then use the to-do lists like a map. To stay on target and move things forward throughout the day.

Professionally, success is about more than financial independence. It’s about doing your own thing, however you want, making your own decisions, thinking for yourself and setting your own rules.

I wish more people would take some time to understand how things work. There is SO much WordPress can do by itself, right out of the box. With a little understanding and a few light plugins you can build almost anything. WordPress is very fast, secure and inherently powerful. You don’t need more than 50 plugins and a cumbersome “do it all” theme to create a great website.

Stop bloating the core with stuff that can and should be left as a plugin. For example, features like application passwords, responsive images, lazy loading, sitemaps, robots meta, emojis, embeds, and even REST API and Gutenberg should have been left as plugins. Keep the core light and fast. Then let users build what they want with plugins. There are well over 30,000 plugins available, plenty to choose from for almost anything.

WordPress is moving heavily into JavaScript territory. So if you’re a typical WordPress user, like with your own website or whatever, then you’ll probably enjoy the new fancy Gutenberg block stuff and related features made possible by JavaScript. If you are a WordPress developer and love to work with JavaScript, then you will also love WordPress direction. If you’re primarily a PHP-based developer, the hard move into JavaScript land isn’t going to make your life any easier.

So the question “is WordPress on the right track” depends on the person, their goals, preferences, etc. It’s all relative to the user. In general, users who prefer the full “experience” of Gutenberg editing will say, “Yes, WordPress is on the right track.” Everyone else might not so much. There’s always a better way to do things, especially when it comes to web development.

Read and learn as much as possible. About WordPress, hosting, security, SEO and everything in between. Otherwise you will make mistakes, waste time and lose money. Take some time to research whatever you want to do before you do it. It’s the information age, so embrace it.

quality products. Transparent processes. Listen to your users. This is a basic organic approach to gaining market share. Where users promote your stuff through word of mouth, sharing, etc. Think quality products and happy customers. The reverse route is of course top-down advertising, like buying ads from Google and other big tech providers, who are basically all spamming to death.

Quality WordPress sites are secure, load quickly, and offer a great user experience. The great thing about WordPress is that it does all of these things instantly. Install a fresh WordPress site and use only the default theme and plugins. This will be a high quality website because WordPress is high quality software.

However, what happens is that overzealous and/or unconscious people try to make a good thing better. They start installing all sorts of unnecessary plugins for things like caching, security, SEO and so on. Sure, some of these things may be necessary, but if you’re not careful, it’s really easy to go from a great WordPress site to a bloated, slow, and sloppy looking hot mess. Too many ads, pop-up nags, login reminders, and other desperate measures are also a surefire way to ruin any website, WordPress or otherwise.

i am a minimalist Streamlining means eliminating redundant steps and simplifying workflows. For example, using fancy scheduling software that needs to be configured, maintained, updated, backed up, etc. is nowhere near as easy or productive as a simple note.txt file. Keep everything close to standard system functionality for all devices at all times. Another example: instead of relying on a third-party service for email, I use a non-cloud based app and domain-based email addresses for 100% control and no false positive spam or blocked messages. Saves time. Saves money.

It might sound counterproductive, but instead of using a million different tools to save time, it’s actually faster and easier to do as much as possible yourself and avoid all the abstract hassle and time it takes to buy the one Configuration and management of a number of tools are required different applications. Stay close to the data, don’t get lost in space.

I have two favorite plugins, both are my own creation: grilling and Black hole for bad bots. Security is very important to me, and these two plugins do an excellent job of providing a lightweight, super-fast firewall and a honeypot-style trap to stop malicious bots.

WordPress itself is very secure. Stay close to the core and only use well-known and trusted plugins and themes. Solid, reliable and trustworthy hosting is also a must.

They are one in the same. Just different languages. I like to write in English, for books and tutorials. Also enjoy writing code like PHP, JS, CSS etc. All languages ​​can be worthwhile depending on what you want to achieve.

I think it’s going to affect some of these all-in-one page builder plugins. You’ll be challenged with all that fancy Gutenberg stuff and full site editing. Users will be able to use the WordPress core to build a website without having to throw a heavy pagebuilding monstrosity into the mix. Additionally, I think full-site editing simply fills a niche that has lacked real solutions for years.

That’s basically what I said in my answer to the previous question. Page builders are a group that’s getting the ripple with all this Gutenberg stuff. But I think the competition is a good thing and will thin out the herd and make the best plugins even better. Page builders aren’t going away anytime soon.

Not really. My workflow is already like quarantine. It’s been like this for years. It’s interesting to see how the rest of the world is trying.

Not really offline. I’m a very independent person who spends most of my time looking at screens. A bit withdrawn and introverted. Except around people I’m comfortable with, I’m more of an extrovert. Online I am involved in all sorts of groups/interests such as web development, security, cryptocurrency, blockchain, photography, flying drones, making videos and of course WordPress.

It has changed over the years. 20 years ago I was driven by the idea of ​​success. Now that I’m achieving it, I’m more driven by my love of work itself. I’m really enjoying the small online empire I’ve created. I enjoy managing it and watching it grow. Every day a little more.

Myself. I am my own worst enemy. The name of the game is discipline and responsibility. I’m usually fine with this, but sometimes it can be a challenge. Also, it’s getting harder and harder to find people who are sincere, genuine, have half a brain and aren’t afraid to use it. Luckily, I’ve been fortunate enough to connect with a lot of great people online. My network and my users really help make everything possible.