WCSTL Speaker Interview: Steve Stewart

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Steve Steware will be talking about Podcasting 101. Steve is from St. Louis, Missouri.

Here is his interview:

 

NILE FLORES: What was it about WordPress that got you to start using it?

STEVE STEWART: I had heard about WordPress back in the mid-2000s from fellow personal finance bloggers and podcasters like Leo Laporte. Still not convinced I needed a CMS, I created a blog on WordPress.com. A couple years later I was YEARNING to add more functionality through plugins like PrettyLink and new I’d have to move to a self-hosted platform in order to podcast. So, in 2010, I launched my first real domain and started podcasting. I’ve seen other platforms like SquareSpace and Wix, but have never regretted sticking with the ‘ol WP.

NILE FLORES: What motivates you to give back to WordPress and its community?

STEVE STEWART: You want me to answer the question, “What motivates me to give back to WordPress and its community?” I’m a teacher at heart. I also know that the more successful others are, the better off I’ll be. They say, “The tide raises all ships”, so I know helping others in the WP community will help me in the long run.

NILE FLORES: How many WordCamps have you been to, and what was your best 1 or 2 experiences that you had when attending WordCamp?

STEVE STEWART: This will be my third WordCamp. Even though I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at two of them, my best experiences have always come from conversations in the hallways. Presenting valuable information is awesome, but being able to solve a person’s problem in a one-on-one conversation that took place over coffee is really impactful. At least I know for sure that person isn’t sleeping in the back row of my presentation.

NILE FLORES: What is your number 1 tip for WordPress users?

STEVE STEWART: My #1 tip for WP users is to install PrettyLink Lite or pay for PrettyLink Pro. This plugin allows you to create re-directs with your branded site as the base of the URL.

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite feature in WordPress?

STEVE STEWART: Plugins, plugins, plugins! There are thousands that offer all kinds of features.

NILE FLORES: What are your 3 most favorite WordPress plugins?

STEVE STEWART: Did I mention my favorite plugin is PrettyLink? I also love what Social Warfare does for customizing Tweets and Facebook sharing with images appropriate for their platforms. WP Courseware is a cool plugin that allows people who take my Audacity Workshop to keep track of which lessons they have already completed by placing a green check-mark by that lesson in the list. Very cool.

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite WordPress theme?

STEVE STEWART: I was using the LifeStyle Theme by StudioPress until it went goofy on me.

WCSTL Speaker Interview: Heather Acton

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Heather Acton will be talking on Navigating a Career in WordPress. She’s from Chicago, Illinois.

Here’s Heather’s interview:

NILE FLORES: What was it about WordPress that got you to start using it?

HEATHER ACTON: My introduction to WordPress was in 2008 and was rather serendipitous. I had just learned HTML and CSS and wanted to integrate a blog, and a friend of mine was very involved in WordPress development. His posts on social networks about WordPress and the community were always positive and informative, so I did my own research and started my first project. I fell in love, and though I’ve “played” with other CMSs, I’ve never taken to one quite like WordPress.

NILE FLORES: What motivates you to give back to WordPress and its community?

HEATHER ACTON: Gratitude. I feel very thankful that I stumbled on WordPress in 2008. Sticking with the platform and the community has helped improve every facet of my life. I want others to be poised for a similar experience and know that support from those of us that have been around for years is key to keeping the platform and community healthy and growing.

NILE FLORES: How many WordCamps have you been to, and what was your best 1 or 2 experiences that you had when attending WordCamp?

HEATHER ACTON: Oh my…I’m guessing I’ve been to around 14-18 WordCamps…I’ve lost count. My favorite experiences have been immediately after speaking, when a few people come up and say thank you and say that I’ve helped or inspired them in some way. If I make a difference for just one person each camp, then it was worth attending.

NILE FLORES: What is your number 1 tip for WordPress users?

HEATHER ACTON: Always be learning. Just when you think you know it all, you realize how much you still have to learn.

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite feature in WordPress?

HEATHER ACTON: Ability to add custom post types and taxonomies. I’m becoming a content architecture junkie and couldn’t organize content-heavy sites without them.

NILE FLORES: What are your 3 most favorite WordPress plugins?

HEATHER ACTON:

  1. Advanced Custom Fields Pro
  2. Gravity Forms
  3. WooCommerce

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite WordPress theme?

HEATHER ACTON: Sassified Underscores…with Bootstrap essentials integrated (grid system mostly.)

If you’d like to meet Heather and sit in on her presentation, you’ll need to buy a ticket. Hope to see you at WordCamp St. Louis!

WCSTL Speaker Interview: Jason Yingling

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Jason Yingling will be presenting on How to Battle Google Page Speed Insights and Win. Jason is from St. Louis, Missouri.

Here is Jason’s interview:

 

NILE FLORES: What was it about WordPress that got you to start using it?

JASON YINGLING: I first started playing with WordPress out of a desire to share content I wanted to create, and figuring it out myself seemed like the cheapest way for how broke I was. Developing custom themes for work really took off once I implemented Advanced Custom Fields into my workflow. It allowed a noob like me to easily create WordPress sites that were more than a simple blog, but that was easy to maintain for the client as well.

NILE FLORES: What motivates you to give back to WordPress and its community?

JASON YINGLING: Since my first WordCamp I’ve been impressed with how supportive the community is of newcomers. I’ve even been allowed to speak at a few WordCamp’s myself which still amazes me. It’s that willingness of the rest of the community to share that makes me feel like my chipping in is wanted and helpful.

NILE FLORES: How many WordCamps have you been to, and what was your best 1 or 2 experiences that you had when attending WordCamp?

JASON YINGLING: This will be WordCamp number 7. I didn’t know what to expect from my first WordCamp, but after attending I was convinced I could contribute as well. This will mark my 5th WordCamp as a presenter. Each WordCamp I’ve attended I’ve come away with several different things that I could immediately implement into my own work. It’s great for finding new tools and ideas.

NILE FLORES: What is your number 1 tip for WordPress users?

JASON YINGLING: Just start playing with it. You’ll discover new things as you figure out new ways to build out projects. There isn’t one right way to do something in WordPress. If it works for you, it’s right. (And read the coding standards.)

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite feature in WordPress?

JASON YINGLING: Its flexibility. You can build anything with WordPress.

NILE FLORES: What are your 3 most favorite WordPress plugins?

JASON YINGLING: 

  1. Advanced Custom Fields – For developing custom websites.
  2. Easy Footnotes – Because it’s the first “good” plugin I released.
  3. Autoptimize – You’ll have to see my presentation for the why. 🙂

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite WordPress theme?

JASON YINGLING: Underscores. It’s a barebones starting point for developing custom themes quickly and the “WordPress way”.

If you’d like to meet Jason and sit in on his talk, then you’ll need to buy a ticket. Hope to see you at WordCamp St. Louis, on March 18th!

WCSTL Speaker Interview: Michele Butcher-Jones

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Michele Butcher-Jones will be speaking on Demons In the Closet. Michele is from Carbondale, Illinois.

Here is Michele’s interview:

NILE FLORES: What was it about WordPress that got you to start using it?

MICHELE BUTCHER-JONES: The ease of use. It’s UI was simple to understand and easy to set up. Had I not understood WordPress as easy as I did, I would not still be around this many years later.

NILE FLORES:What motivates you to give back to WordPress and its community?

MICHELE BUTCHER-JONES: I have always loved to teach and giving back is my way of still being able to teach and do the things I love. Plus, we have the best occupational community on the planet. Not just in WordPress, but I have always been fond of sharing what you know, community service, and the basic want for others to succeed.

NILE FLORES: How many WordCamps have you been to, and what was your best 1 or 2 experiences that you had when attending WordCamp?

MICHELE BUTCHER-JONES: A whole lot! I would say probably around the 20-15 mark, however to pick one to be my favorite would be hard. My top 5 are St Louis, Chicago, Miami, Nashville, and Montreal. The top experiences would be simply all the awesome people that I have met and get to see returning to different camps plus traveling to WordCamps gave my my first experience of traveling outside of the country. Going to WordCamp Montreal 2016 was an experience I will never forget.

NILE FLORES: What is your number 1 tip for WordPress users?

MICHELE BUTCHER-JONES: Always remember to save or it didn’t happen. Also, always backup. If you have a backup, nothing is ever lost, broken, or ruined.

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite feature in WordPress?

MICHELE BUTCHER-JONES: Wow Nile! You are liking all the “make you think” questions. Hmmmmm… favorite feature… I would have to say my favorite feature would be (I am so going on a political answer) the versatility. I like that I can make a funny mom blog, an e-commerce site, not-profit donation site, and an informative historical site all in the same day using the same basic tools with a few site specific changes.

NILE FLORES: What are your 3 most favorite WordPress plugins?

  1. Jetpack – Love it for beginners because it covers most of the things a new-to-the-scene user will need. It is definitely a love it or hate it plugin, but I think it is awesome.
  2. WP Rocket – a solid caching- make your site super fast plugin.
  3. Give-  No one does better at donations than Give.

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite WordPress theme?

MICHELE BUTCHER-JONES: Can I just pick a framework and say that I am a Genesis girl? Right now I am really digging the Minimum Pro Theme.

Want to meet Michele and hear her talk? Well, then you’ll need to buy a ticket to WordCamp St. Louis!

WCSTL Speaker Interview: Joe Duffin

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Joe Duffin will be presenting Wireframing for content: How to develop a content strategy for WordPress websites. Joe is from the St. Louis area.

Here is his interview:

NILE FLORES: What was it about WordPress that got you to start using it?

JOE DUFFIN: Its simplicity. In the early days, we were building custom admins for clients who needed the ability to easily update content. The open source movement was strong, and advancements in PHP content management systems opened a whole new world of agency efficiency and drastically lower client investment.

NILE FLORES: What motivates you to give back to WordPress and its community?

JOE DUFFIN: The open source community at large is all about sharing information, new and better ways of doing things. If people don’t contribute, it cannot grow.

NILE FLORES: How many WordCamps have you been to, and what was your best 1 or 2 experiences that you had when attending WordCamp?

JOE DUFFIN: This is my first!

NILE FLORES: What is your number 1 tip for WordPress users?

JOE DUFFIN: Communicate. Ask lots of questions and eliminate assumptions.

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite feature in WordPress?

JOE DUFFIN: The ease of use takes the headache out of training clients. It’s much easier for client to wrap their heads around WordPress than any other common CMS.

If you’d like to meet Joe, and hear his talk, please buy a ticket, and come on out to WordCamp St. Louis, on March 18th!

WCSTL Speaker Interview: Julia Eudy

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Julia Eudy will be presenting on Implementation Strategy for the HTTPS Movement. Julia is from St. Peters, Missouri.

Here is her interview.

 

NILE FLORES: What was it about WordPress that got you to start using it?

JULIA EUDY: I have a background in marketing and communications. Back when HTML was the only thing that powered websites, I was impatient. So much so that I taught myself HTML so I could make updates to the company website myself instead of waiting on someone from IT to help me do it. This opened doors for me in marketing. Not only did I know how to market and communicate, but I had the technical knowledge to support what needed to be done. Blew people in my field away. Seeing the impact this made on my own career, I always sought ways to encourage others to step outside their comfort zone and get to know the technical side of themselves.

At some point, I stumbled across WordPress and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread! Seeing how user-friendly it was, I knew this was a great way for those hesitant marketers to earn some confidence in technology and get more involved in their budding online presence.

NILE FLORES: What motivates you to give back to WordPress and its community?

JULIA EUDY: When I see how the simplicity of WordPress motivates others to open doors to achieve their dreams, I get fired-up. In my experience, technology in general is a scary thought for many people. Outside of pushing a few buttons to turn something on or off, many live in fear of “breaking something” if they touch anything else. That’s sad.

I personally discovered how empowering it was to learn something new and how it opened doors in my career that have had a huge impact in my life. Helping people break through this fear and find within themselves the ability to do much more with technology really motivates me in general. WordPress developers and the WP community that supports them are a perfect environment for those fearful to find confidence. They are so supportive and down-to-earth, it allows even the novice to take baby-steps to do some really cool things. I’m honored to be part of that community and help inspire change and success for small business owners

NILE FLORES: How many WordCamps have you been to, and what was your best 1 or 2 experiences that you had when attending WordCamp?.

JULIA EUDY: To be completely honest, I’m a WordCamp virgin. I spoke to Mary Baum a couple of years ago regarding the St. Louis event, but was unable to attend over the past few years. I have been a proactive supporter of them though, recommending to students, clients and colleagues to go because of what I have learned from event highlights or videos shared post-event by coordinators around the globe. This year, I had it in my plan – no matter what – to attend and connect with others who had the same passion as I do for WordPress. I can’t wait!

NILE FLORES: What is your number 1 tip for WordPress users?

JULIA EUDY: Don’t hesitate to dig into the code or database features. I always do a “Copy and Paste” of any code I plan to mess with or a back-up of the Database before I make any changes. To keep it simple, I’ll use notepad doc. This gives me a “manual undo” so-to-speak that is clean from the code other programs might interject. Then I just dig in. Change one thing then Test. This gives you a easy way to determine if what you are thinking will work or not. If not, you know exactly what to change back and determine a plan B.

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite feature in WordPress?

JULIA EUDY: Saving as Draft. I use Posts or Pages to create widget layouts for my non-technical clients. I tell them to title the page “Widget:_______” and “Save as Draft” This gives them a platform to layout what they want using the WISYWIG editor while providing the underlying HTML code needed. When done, they just copy and paste the HTML code into the widget and save! This makes it easy for them to make updates to content and functionality without needing to rely on me as often. This frees my time to do other things more technical while helping them build more confidence in their own abilities.

NILE FLORES: What are your 3 most favorite WordPress plugins?

JULIA EUDY: Just 3? Hmmm, that’s tough. I’ll go with Wordfence, Yoast SEO and Backup Buddy.

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite WordPress theme?

JULIA EUDY: With cyber attacks on WordPress, I’ve been much more more selective in this area to make sure the core code is being managed. The final decision I make really depends on the end-user for whom I’m creating the site. I use AVADA a great deal of the time. It’s supercharged with a ton of features and their support is awesome allowing me to become super efficient in development and

maintenance. It is also a great stepping stone for those clients I work with who are transitioning from drag-n-drop builders like GoDaddy or Wix and want to stay involved in page/post development. Their built-in page builder is user friendly with very creative elements. For projects where the client has very little or no desire to be involved in site management; I’ll often use OptimizePress or Genesis. Just depends on how creative I need to be in the design.

If you’d like to meet Julia, or get a chance to hear her talk, you’ll need to buy a ticket to WordCamp St. Louis, which is happening March 18th!

WCSTL Speaker Interview: Timothy Sisson

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Timothy Sisson will be presenting Herding Cats: Tips for Leading Technical People. Timothy is from Virginia Beach Virginia.

Here’s Timothy’s interview:

NILE FLORES: What was it about WordPress that got you to start using it?

TIMOTHY SISSON: 2009, I was working for a large engineering company. They had a WordPress blog they used for content marketing. I managed all the SEO/SEM/PPC for the brand so I would spend a good portion of my time writing on the blog. This was my first introduction to WordPress. It really was out of necessity back then. After I left there, I went to work at InMotion Hosting where I was doing technical support. This is where I got a chance to dive head first into WordPress and learn the in’s and out’s.

NILE FLORES: What motivates you to give back to WordPress and its community?

TIMOTHY SISSON: There really is no community quite like WordPress. I’m lucky to have built the friendships I have in the WordPress community. It’s given me the opportunity to learn and grow professionally. WordPress has provided me a career and afforded me a lifestyle I really like. Having three daughters it provides me the opportunity to get them exposed to STEM early on but in a practical way through WordPress via coding. I wish I could give more back to the WordPress community than I do. I feel as though I’ve got the better end of the deal.

NILE FLORES: How many WordCamps have you been to, and what was your best 1 or 2 experiences that you had when attending WordCamp?

TIMOTHY SISSON: Wow! I’ve been to a lot of camps over the past 2 or 3 years. I usually attend 1 or 2 camps a month. I try to find something at each camp that makes it special. St Louis was my first WordCamp as a speaker so that will always be special to me. I remember being incredibly nervous speaking that day but everyone was hospitable and made it just a great time. Sometimes, I like small camps like Lancaster or OKC. They give you a chance to really get to know people. But there’s the larger camps like Miami and US that are fun because of the non-stop energy. I can honestly say, I don’t recall a bad WordCamp yet.

NILE FLORES: What is your number 1 tip for WordPress users?

TIMOTHY SISSON: Rome wasn’t built in a day. Your web presence is important. Take your time and have the foresight to see what your website can do for you! When your looking to build something great with WordPress don’t rush it. So many small businesses settle when they really could have a website that takes their business to the next level. At some point, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite feature in WordPress?

TIMOTHY SISSON: I like the work that has been done with oEmbed. In this day and age, reaching your audience takes more than some simple text on a page. oEmbed makes it easy to include all different types of media from different sources. What’s not to love!

NILE FLORES: What are your 3 most favorite WordPress plugins?

TIMOTHY SISSON: I can’t really answer this because it depends on the project. I love that there’s so many plugins that extend the functionality of WordPress and that makes it powerful! If I had to choose:

  1. BoldGrid: I’ve learned that even as a designer/developer a tool like BoldGrid has changed my work flow and the clients I’m able to help build their web presence.
  2. WooCommerce: I love to be able to sell things online and Woo makes that easy right inside of WordPress. Sell all the things!
  3. Sucuri: Security is important in this day and age and we can’t take that for granted. If you’ve ever had to restore a hacked website from backup you already know this.

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite WordPress theme?

TIMOTHY SISSON: BoldGrid, of course! It really does reduce the learning curve for the average first time WordPress user. BoldGrid is really a plugin that makes WordPress a drag and drop website builder with many fully customizable themes built into it.

Want to meet Timothy, as well as sit in on his presentation, then you’ll need to buy a ticket to WordCamp St. Louis. It’s happening Saturday, March 18th, at Washington University.

WCSTL Speaker Interview: Emanuel Costa

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Emanuel Costa will be talking on The Ultimate Security Checklist For WordPress Websites. Emanuel is originally from Brazil, and currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. He’s a professional web developer, SEO/SEM specialist, eCommerce consultant and web entrepreneur at High Tech Web, Inc.

Here is Emanuel’s interview:

NILE FLORES: What was it about WordPress that got you to start using it?

EMANUEL COSTA: In 2005, when I first saw WordPress, I have to admit I was not impressed. I then developed my own blog code and database from scratch. 5 years later, I was invited to give a website redesign proposal to a real estate agency in South Florida and when I asked what were competitors sites, I found out that all theirs websites were built in WordPress. I asked myself, how come a blog tool be used as CMS and have so many different “look and feel” sites? I then took a second look and was positively surprised with the WordPress evolution to become a full featured Content Management System.

NILE FLORES: What motivates you to give back to WordPress and its community?

EMANUEL COSTA: After I deep dived in beyond the nuts and bolts of WordPress, I felt (and feel) I work standing on the shoulders of giants. Because of that I was inspired by many people involved in the WP community. I am an avid watcher at WordPress.tv and I am always amused by the awesome presentations people in the community give at WordCamps.

NILE FLORES: How many WordCamps have you been to, and what was your best 1 or 2 experiences that you had when attending WordCamp?

EMANUEL COSTA: I don’t know the exactly number but I would say 30ish in 10 different cities. I try to go to as many WordCamps as possible. In 2016 I went to 8 WordCamps including one as organizer in Brazil during the Olympic games. I guess I am WordCamp Junkie. 🙂

Networking is the number 1 reason I go to WordCamps. A close second is knowledge sharing to keep up to date with the recent WP related themes.

NILE FLORES: What is your number 1 tip for WordPress users?

EMANUEL COSTA: Attend WordPress Meetups and WordCamps! 🙂

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite feature in WordPress?

EMANUEL COSTA: I like to push the limits of WordPress. I do a lot of custom development. So, I guess my favorite features are Hooks, Actions and Filters. 😉

NILE FLORES: What are your 3 most favorite WordPress plugins?

EMANUEL COSTA: Yoast SEO, WooCommerce, Advanced Custom Fields, but to be honest, it is really hard to list top 3, so here are all my favorites: https://profiles.wordpress.org/emanweb#content-favorites

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite WordPress theme?

EMANUEL COSTA: Twenty Seventeen. I loved that now the default WordPress theme focuses more on a business type of site. It was the first time I followed from beginning to ending the WP theme development discussion at Github/Slack. I liked so much that after 7 years I finally updated my company site using it.

If you’d like to meet Emanuel and sit in on his presentation, come buy a ticket to WordCamp St. Louis!

WCSTL Speaker Interview: David Needham

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David Needham will be presenting Presentation Skills for Humans. He is from Champaign, Illinois, and works as an Agency & Community Training Manager at Pantheon.

Here is David’s interview:

 

NILE FLORES: What was it about WordPress that got you to start using it?

DAVID NEEDHAM: I first started using WordPress because, like many people, I needed my own website and I wanted it to be a blog. I was learning web design in college and I wanted something that would let me stretch my development expertise (or lack thereof.)

NILE FLORES: What motivates you to give back to WordPress and its community?

DAVID NEEDHAM: Tools like WordPress empower people. The communities behind WordPress and other open source tools have significantly influenced my life for good. I have dozens of deep friendships gained by people volunteering their time to help.

NILE FLORES: How many WordCamps have you been to, and what was your best 1 or 2 experiences that you had when attending WordCamp?

DAVID NEEDHAM: This is only my second WordCamps. Last year when I attended WordCamp Peoria I met a bunch of people I didn’t even know I was connected to! It’s really a small world.

NILE FLORES: What is your number 1 tip for WordPress users?

DAVID NEEDHAM: Don’t give up! There will be times where nothing seems to be working right and there’s no solution in sight. In those situations, I’ve learned that a good night’s sleep does more than I can imagine at the time. And there’s no better way to grow while making friends than asking for help.

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite feature in WordPress?

DAVID NEEDHAM: Approachability: I appreciate the flexibility that many themes and plugins give to non-developers.

NILE FLORES: What are your 3 most favorite WordPress plugins?

DAVID NEEDHAM: My favorites:

  1. WP-CFM: Export your configuration into code so you can add it to version control and easily deploy to Test and Live environments (without overwriting the database).
  2. WP-CLI: WordPress at my fingertips in the command line. Not exactly a plugin, but it’s too amazing not to mention.
  3. Pantheon Migrations (with Blog Vault): In my last job I worked for an agency that used Pantheon. Migrating WordPress sites was always fast and easy thanks for this plugin!

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite WordPress theme?

DAVID NEEDHAM: There are so many it’s difficult for me to decide.

If you’d like to meet David, don’t be shy… buy a ticket and come on out to hang with us at WordCamp St. Louis, on March 18th!

WCSTL Speaker Interview: Jennifer Swisher

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Jennifer Swisher will be speaking on Creating Websites for Everyone. Jennifer is from St. Louis, and a Web Specialist at Centene Corporation. P.S – She’s this year’s lead organizer for WordCamp St. Louis. 😉

Here’s Jennifer’s interview.

NILE FLORES: What was it about WordPress that got you to start using it?

JENNIFER SWISHER: I actually started out on the .com platform. I really loved how easy it was to customize without knowing anything about HTML/CSS. Now that I have those skills, I still use it because of how easy it is to add custom CSS to a theme.

NILE FLORES: What motivates you to give back to WordPress and its community?

JENNIFER SWISHER: Without WordPress, I wouldn’t be where I am now. Because of my experience using WordPress, I was able to work my way up and get a position with a Fortune 200 company. It definitely helps that I genuinely enjoy being a part of my local community. I’ve met a lot of really great humans through the St. Louis WP community.

NILE FLORES: How many WordCamps have you been to, and what was your best 1 or 2 experiences that you had when attending WordCamp?

JENNIFER SWISHER: I’ve been to 4 or 5 camps now (how ever many St. Louis has had is how many I’ve been too 🙂 ). My favorite memory is getting to hear Matt answer questions about WP at the very first WCSTL. I also really enjoyed working with the kids from Hands Up United to design WordPress sites for Ferguson area businesses (WCSTL 2015).

NILE FLORES: What is your number 1 tip for WordPress users?

JENNIFER SWISHER: DON’T EDIT USING THE CODE EDITOR! You will be very upset with yourself when that theme gets updated. Create a child theme instead.

NILE FLORES:What is your favorite feature in WordPress?

JENNIFER SWISHER: The version control for post/page edits. I can easily go back in time very easily.

NILE FLORES: What are your 3 most favorite WordPress plugins?

JENNIFER SWISHER: Jetpack – The custom CSS feature and the contact forms are something I put on all of my websites.

Gravity Forms – I use this plugin when more complex forms are needed.

WP Content Calendar – I love this because it gives you a calendar view of when planned posts will be published. It hasn’t been updated in 4 months though :'(

NILE FLORES: What is your favorite WordPress theme?

JENNIFER SWISHER: I don’t have any one theme that I prefer, but I tend use Twenty Fourteen a lot.

If you’d like to meet Jennifer and hear her presentation, please consider purchasing a ticket today, and then joining us at Washington University, on March 18th.