A full-time sponsored contributor to WordPress discussed how publishers and members of the search marketing community can influence WordPress so that it’s more useful for all their needs.
The person I spoke with was Naoko Takano, a full-time sponsored WordPress contributor focused on enhancing the contributor experience. She has also been responsible for organizing WordPress events in Asia.
WordPress Community
Many regard WordPress as just software for managing content, but it’s more than that—it’s a community that collaborates to create the platform. WordPress holds community-organized conferences called WordCamp, where members attend workshops and presentations. However, it seems that publishers and SEO professionals don’t participate much in this community.
I asked Casey Markee of Media Wyse (LinkedIn), a consultant for Food and Recipe bloggers, why WordPress publishers seem to avoid getting involved with the WordPress community.
Casey offered this opinion:
"I think that’s a valid statement that publishers don’t get involved with the WordPress community. I can’t tell you of any of my clients who have even considered going to WordCamp, and all I do is WordPress sites. With the free training, masterminds, and other conferences, WordCamp is not really a top recommendation."
The lack of interest might stem from a perception that WordCamp is mainly for developers and web designers, not publishers and SEOs.
What WordPress Events Offer SEOs, Affiliates & Publishers
A September 2023 WordCamp in Rochester, New York has sessions about:
- Improving sales pages
- Using AI with WordPress
- The pros and cons of page builder plugins
- Tips on how to cultivate long-term readers
WordCamp provides a platform for everyone who uses WordPress to share their ideas about its future and discuss how to achieve success with it.
Below is an interview with Naoko Takano, a full-time sponsored contributor involved with the WordPress community.
Interview With Naoko Takano of Automattic
It often appears that WordPress core contributors get the most attention. What about non-developers and programmers?
Question: How can SEOs, affiliates, and publishers make WordPress better?
Naoko:
"More than 20 Make WordPress teams contribute to the project in various ways—from documentation and translation to marketing and support. A new Sustainability team was recently formed to ensure sustainable practices and processes for WordPress. Projects like the Photo Directory have introduced new ways to get involved, catering to those interested in openly licensed photography. Inclusivity is a core principle of the community, aiming to provide contributing opportunities for everyone. Ongoing efforts, such as the WordPress Mentorship pilot program, are aimed at improving the contributor journey and onboarding."
"For those unsure where to start, this new tool aims to help them identify areas of contribution that match their skills and interests."
I get the impression that there are subsets of WordPress users like SEOs, food bloggers, affiliate marketers, and local businesses who have specific needs they’d like the WordPress ecosystem to address.
WordPress Wants Insights From Real Users
Question: What would you say to people who may not know they can contribute to the development of WordPress?
Naoko:
"Contributing to WordPress means your skills, needs, and interests can drive innovation and progress within the project. Insights from real users are immensely valuable and can help shape WordPress in ways that benefit everyone. You can share feedback, join discussions and events, report issues, or even participate in testing. Feel free to reach out through the official forums or local meetups. Together, we can make WordPress even better for all its users."
About WordCamp
Question: What is WordCamp?
Naoko:
"WordCamps are community-organized events where people who use, build, and work with WordPress come together to learn, contribute, and connect. They typically include talks, panel discussions, and occasional workshops and hackathons. WordCamp organizers strive to create welcoming and open events, with content ranging from web development to business to content writing."
Question: How do WordCamps fit into the overall WordPress community?
Naoko:
"WordCamps began as gatherings for like-minded individuals but have grown to be key connectors within the WordPress community—nurturing education, collaboration, and inclusivity. They have been essential for the open source project collaboration, allowing contributors to meet and bond. With 1,179 WordCamps across 393 cities in 65 countries (as of August 2023), they have served as grassroots marketing tools for community marketing, with enthusiastic users teaching and inspiring others."
"In light of changes in how people gather, especially in recent years, the community looks to evolve the purpose of WordCamps and introduce innovations in format and content offerings. However, their core values of inclusion and diversity remain the same. Fresh, new ideas for events are not only welcome but highly encouraged."
Offer Feedback to Your Favorite Plugin, Themes & Web Hosts
Plugin makers, hosting companies, and other well-known WordPress brands attend WordCamps.
Question: Are there opportunities to meet with these companies and provide feedback or get more information about how they can help publishers?
Naoko:
"WordCamps often include sponsor booths where companies display their products and services. Representatives from these companies are present as attendees and at after-parties, welcoming questions, feedback, and discussions about their offerings. ‘Hallway tracks’ at WordCamps, where informal conversations and networking happen outside scheduled sessions, are highly valued."
WordPress Events Are Opportunities to Grow Your Business
It seems that publishers should be at the heart of the WordPress community.
Question: What can you say to publishers like food bloggers or affiliate marketers to encourage them to attend a WordCamp?
Naoko:
"Attending a WordCamp or WordPress event provides valuable insights into the ongoing evolution of the WordPress platform and its ecosystem. There are numerous opportunities to grow your business and build connections, particularly through networking and learning from experts and fellow creators. These events are designed to inspire and significantly contribute to personal and professional development."
The Difference Between WordPress.org & WordPress.com
Some users may not realize there’s a difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.
Question: Where do WordPress.com and Automattic fit into the overall picture of WordPress.org, the CMS most people use?
Naoko:
"WordPress (often referred to as WordPress.org) is free, open-source software that anyone can download and install on the hosting platform of their choice. Its mission of democratizing publishing is supported by a large community of contributors. Over its 20-year history, WordPress has given rise to an ecosystem that includes commercial products like WordPress.com—owned by Automattic. WordPress.com is a fully hosted version of WordPress with added features for security, speed, support, and more. There’s no software to install or manage; you can just sign up and start publishing."
"Automattic also offers other WordPress-related commercial services and products and contributes significantly to the open source project."
The Future of WordPress
The WordPress open-source project is a remarkable success story with many chapters still to be written.
Question: What are some of those chapters that users can look forward to?
Naoko:
"The present and future of WordPress hold exciting opportunities. The newly released WordPress 6.3 is packed with features that let users shape their online presence using blocks. Explorations for Phase 3 of the WordPress roadmap focus on real-time collaboration and streamlined publishing flows, paving the way for the much-anticipated multilingual feature (Phase 4)."
How Can Publishers, Bloggers, and Search Professionals Get Involved?
Question: How can search marketers, affiliates, and other publishers help make WordPress better for their specific requirements?
Naoko:
"Participation in future development is not limited to coding; it involves providing feedback, testing new features, and sharing thoughts with the community of contributors. By actively engaging, every user can shape the future of WordPress and ensure it remains a platform that thrives. A great way to stay updated is to subscribe to WordPress News and the WP Briefing podcast."
WordPress Belongs to You
The search marketing community has experienced frustration from low core web vitals scores on WordPress sites. If SEOs and publishers had participated more in the WordPress community, perhaps this issue would have been addressed sooner.
Ultimately, WordPress is created by all of us who use it. There are numerous opportunities for publishers and SEOs to get involved, including testing and offering feedback. WordCamp is an important event for publishers, providing a platform to communicate with developers, hosts, and theme creators.
Getting involved in the WordPress community can enhance not just the CMS but also your business. It may improve your bottom line.
Logo by WordPress/Featured image by author
