Brad Williams is the CEO and Co-Founder of WebDevStudios, a leading WordPress agency. He's been involved in some ground-breaking projects, such as moving Microsoft's blog networks from closed-source code to WordPress. Microsoft's adoption of WordPress really helped validate the platform for enterprises.
On this episode of the PublishPress Podcast, Brad discusses how his team have moved publishers to the block editor using a step-by-step approach rather than a rebuild. Surprisingly for me, he also sings the praises of multi-site networks for anyone wanting to run a large number of sites on WordPress.
Brad's agency: https://webdevstudios.com/
Topics covered in this episode:
- Brad Williams has been involved in WordPress for nearly 20 years
- WebDevStudios started as a small agency and has grown significantly
- Networking at events like WordCamp has been crucial for agency growth.
- Performance and transitioning to the block editor are current challenges for publishers.
- The block editor offers significant advantages for content creation.
- Iterative approaches can ease the transition to the block editor.
- There is a market for helping clients move from legacy systems to modern WordPress
- Community engagement is essential for long-term success in the WordPress space.
- The future of WordPress is focused on performance and SEO. Website speed significantly impacts user retention and SEO.
- Using tools like PageSpeed Insights can help improve website performance.
- WordPress multi-site allows for easier management of multiple sites.
- AI can assist in automating tasks for publishers, enhancing efficiency.
- Maintaining strong content strategies is essential in the face of changing search algorithms
- Agencies should foster relationships with plugin developers for better collaboration.
- Premium plugins offer stability and support for clients.
- Networking at events like WordCamps is crucial for building industry relationships.
- Creating plugins based on agency insights can lead to successful products.
