Amanda Gorman is the co-owner and yoga instructor at Now: Yoga & Movement, SEO consultant for NGO’s, and Customer Success Manager at Impress.org.
Amanda has been a WordPress lover for over 10 years. She has built websites for local businesses in the Rochester NY area, She has attended WordCamps around the country (a few she has even spoke at!), She frequents the local Rochester WordPress meetup, and volunteers her time to coach and support people who want to learn WordPress.
Being multi-talented, she finds unique connections between each of my skillsets. Amanda combines her love for SEO and yoga by managing our yoga studio’s web presence. She writes blog posts relating to Customer Success, SEO, and content writing at GiveWP.com and WPBusinessReviews.com. Amanda also uses her teaching and communication skills to coach people on SEO, WordPress, and content writing.
Amanda is continuously finding new ways to bridge the gap between her passions while discovering new ways to express myself and ways to provide value in all aspects of my life.
Michele: What do you do in the WordPress ecosystem?
Amanda: I work for Impress.org (GiveWP, specifically) as their Customer Success Mananger. I also build WordPress websites, do SEO for NGO’s on WordPress.
Michele: How did you get involved with WordPress?
Amanda: My WordPress journey began back when I was 17 years old and attempting to build a website for my parent’s businesses. They had a restaurant and golf course and it was my goal to do all of their marketing. I built the websites on Adobe Muse until I crossed paths with Michelle Frechette, who introduced me to a new way of developing on the web that changed my life forever: WordPress. From then on, I began building websites for friends, for my own endeavors, and eventually clients in the community. I continued my web development learnings and began to narrow my focus on SEO specifically. Since then, I’ve attended several WordPress meetups, many WordCamps on the east coast, and WordCamp US in 2018.
Michele: Please tell me one story of someone who has inspired you within the WordPress Community?
Amanda: Oh, there are many people in the WordPress space that inspire me! However, if I had to pick one, I would most certainly choose Michelle Frechette. Michelle has been my mentor since the beginning and has been a guiding light for me in my WordPress journey and in my career as a whole. Michelle is now my manager and co-worker at Impress.org and I am so lucky to be on a team with her.
Michele: What does the Open Source Community mean to you?
Amanda: For me, the open source community represents connection. WordPress offers people an opportunity for connection. In the software itself, there’s the opportunity for self-expression and creativity. In the meetups and WordCamps, there’s the opportunity for collaboration and a sense of connection in one’s community (where often people are feeling rather isolated working remotely).
Michele: Please name some of your favorite plugins.
Amanda: GiveWP, WP Business Reviews, Yoast, Caldera Forms
Michele: Do you have a favorite theme or framework you like to use?
Amanda: I love Divi from Elegant themes, Elementor, and Astra Pro
Michele: What is your most memorable WordPress moment?
Amanda: My most memorable WordPress moment was my first time speaking at a WordCamp. I attended WordCamp Raleigh in the spring of 2018 and gave a talk on 3 SEO Strategies for Building a Bigger Community. This was such a memorable moment for me as I hadn’t spoken in front of a large audience like this before (not since college) and I was extremely nervous. While I was filled with anxiety to deliver my talk, I was simultaneously confident in my content and what I had to offer people. The talk went extremely well, the audience was highly receptive, and I could tell that what I had to share was helping people connect the dots for their own endeavors. This weekend in Raleigh also offered me the opportunity to connect with a teammate at GiveWP (Ben Meredith) and meet some really wonderful people in the WordPress community.
Michele: What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just getting started with WordPress?
Amanda: I would tell someone just getting started with WordPress: reach out. Find your community and lean on them. When things get tough and when you run into a challenge and you don’t know what step to take next, reach out to someone and ask for help. The WordPress community will catch you when you fall and will raise you up higher than where you started. The support you need is close by, all you need to do is ask.
Michele: What do you think is in store for the future of WordPress?
Amanda: I believe that the future of WordPress has accessibility in mind. I see more accessibility conversations being had and taken into consideration when new offerings are developed within the platform. And I see more education as accessibility continues to be a conversation piece for those of us building on the web.
Michele: Just for fun, share one memory that makes you proud to be a part of the WordPress Community.
Amanda: One of my favorite WordPress community memories is that of WordCamp US 2018 in Nashville. I fell in love with Nashville during that trip and I had the opportunity to meet my entire team at Impress.org/Give. And that was something really special. We connected with many others in the WordPress community at the WordCamp and after-party. It was really incredible to be able to connect with so many I see and follow on Twitter and within the community space all in one place. We networked, listened to great music, ate too much, and had way too much fun.
You can find Amanda Gorman at AmandaGorman.com
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