WP Builds

In this episode, Nathan Wrigley and Jamie Marsland debate the impacts of AI on WordPress and broader society - spoiler alert: Nathan wins!! ;-). Jamie shares insights on the new Claude WordPress.com integration, highlighting AI’s growing contextual awareness and its effect on website creation, content, and business strategy. Nathan challenges with concerns about content overload, authenticity, and the erosion of craftsmanship, sparking a lively discussion about the balance between technological advancement and maintaining human value in creativity and community. Ultimately, they explore both excitement and uncertainty about AI’s role in the future of WordPress.

In this episode, Nathan Wrigley talks with Jon Penland, CEO of Kinsta, about his career journey from self-education in tech to leading a rapidly growing company. Jon shares insights on the importance of curiosity, hard work, and adaptability in career growth. They discuss Kinsta’s involvement in the WordPress community, their approach to AI and hosting advancements, and the vital role of collaboration and human support in their business. The conversation also touches on Kinsta's broader app platform, the evolving challenges in hosting, and the future of WordPress and web technology.

In this episode of TWiW, the panel discusses WP Engine’s acquisition of WPackagist, recent rapid-fire WordPress security updates, and highlights educational initiatives within the WordPress community. They also explore an agency’s strategic use of AI, preview upcoming features in WordPress 7, and cover the expanded functionality of the Ollie theme for WooCommerce. Additional topics include the release of a per-page theme switcher plugin, WordCamp Asia updates, and privacy considerations with Signal. The conversation is, as always, lively with tangents, especially on the growing intersection of AI and WordPress development.

In this episode, Nathan Wrigley chats with Naweed Chougle about eBook Crafter, a WordPress plugin that lets users transform their blog posts into editable, customisable ebooks. Naweed explains the inspiration for the plugin, its key features, like using the block editor to repurpose and edit content before exporting, and future plans including additional file formats and self-publishing integrations. They discuss use cases such as creating lead magnets, educational materials, and distraction-free reading experiences, as well as how the tool can boost content value and audience engagement. Go listen...

Steve Burge, founder of PublishPress and WordPress workflow expert, and Taco Verdonshot, CXO and community organiser with AI tooling interest, dig into Gutenberg 22.6 and why it feels like a WordPress 7.0 moment. They discuss in-editor visual revisions, navigation overlay patterns, real-time collaboration, featured plugin experiments, AI-driven review notes, and developer certification debates.

Ben Pines, a marketing specialist who helped grow Elementor and now coaches founders in SaaS and WordPress. He discusses why AI has upended SEO and ads. He champions founder-led, trust-first marketing and a one-hour-per-week system. He also covers formats for introverted founders and treating marketing as business design, not fluff.

Ian Svoboda, a seasoned WordPress developer behind GenerateBlocks and the Content Area Block plugin, explains a tool that adds multiple editable content areas to templates. The conversation covers the plugin’s inspiration, technical hurdles with core APIs, real-world use cases like timelines, editor UX and width concerns, and hopes for future core integration.

Onar Alili, founder of OOP Spam and former cyber security researcher, explains spam trends and open models. Mark Benzercane, MainWP partnerships lead, talks tools and agency workflows. Tim Nash, security consultant, covers WordPress security and privacy. They discuss WordPress 7.0 Beta, collaborative editing, AI’s ecosystem role, open-source model challenges, bot-driven attacks, Cloudflare dominance, and password manager audits.

Andy Bell, front-end designer and CSS specialist behind Set Studio and Pick a Lily, talks web standards, progressive enhancement and agency life. He explains why he refuses AI work and offers anti-AI transition services. Short takes on CSS as a design language, working with big clients, authenticity after a hard year, and choosing human-led, standards-first web practice.

This episode of TWiW covers the latest in WordPress, with a strong focus on AI advancements, new products, and features expected in WordPress 7. The discussion includes updates on community events, challenges with in-person meetups post-pandemic, and the integration of AI tools for site management and design. The hosts also touch on debates around sponsored talks at WordCamps, the evolution of commercial and community aspects within WordPress, and recent plugin developments. Listeners get insights into both technical advancements and the shifting landscape of the WordPress community.