Mendel is the Agency / Developer Advocate for WooCommerce at Nexcess (a Liquid Web company). I love helping builders solve problems for their clients.
In the past, I’ve worked with public and private companies to build community, customer / product advocacy, and reputation management programs.
Michele: What do you do in the WordPress ecosystem?
Mendel: Agency / Developer Advocate for WooCommerce
Michele: How did you get involved with WordPress?
Mendel: I originally started building websites using Server Side Includes for client work in the 2000s. As other CMSs grew in prominence, they became my goto solutions, and I began transitioning clients from custom code to popular CMSs. When a couple high visibility content websites I was working on got hacked, I decided it was time to find a solution that was easier to update and maintain. That journey brought me to WordPress, and it’s been my preferred CMS ever since.
Michele: Please tell me one story of someone who has inspired you within the WordPress Community?
Mendel: I’m constantly inspired by the selfless hard work of all of the contributors to the WordPress open source project. From core to marketing, and polyglots to plugin and theme developers, there are so many people that make this open source project incredible.
Michele: What does the Open Source Community mean to you?
Mendel: Open Source Community is a way of life. Radical inclusion and contribution are at the heart of Open Source. When one of us wins, we all win. When one of us is down, we help raise that person or company up.
Michele: Please name some of your favorite plugins.
Mendel: CAOS, Kadence WooCommerce Email Customizer, Simply Schedule Appointments, Beaver Builder
Michele: Do you have a favorite theme or framework you like to use?
Mendel: Astra Pro
Michele: If you could change one thing in WordPress, what would it be?
Mendel: Update the architecture of WordPress to run more efficiently on a broader set of infrastructures and configurations without modification.
Michele: What is your most memorable WordPress moment?
Mendel: During an after party, two new friends in the WordPress community cornered me to tell me that the work I was doing mattered. Not sure there’s anything that motivates me (or anyone else) more than knowing that their work is appreciated.
Michele: What is one piece of advice you would give to someone just getting started with WordPress?
Mendel: Start with a project you’re passionate about. When you’re motivated to build, learning the tool becomes so much easier.
Michele: What do you think is in store for the future of WordPress?
Mendel: There will be incumbents in the CMS space. Paradigms of creating on the web will change. Enterprises will continue to become notable consumers of, and contributors to WordPress and WooCommerce. Ultimately, how we react (whether through collaboration or competition) will chart our course.
You can find Mendel Kurland at IfYouWillIt or Geek Adventures.
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