Speaker Interview – Topher DeRosia

TopherDeRosiaI’m a husband to a wonderful wife and father to 2 great kids. I’ve been a web developer for 20 years, full time WordPress for 5. I work for XWP, formerly X-Team.

Why Do You Use WordPress?
It makes it easy to accomplish the things I want to do on the web. The admin tools are great for managing the content on the front, and I don’t need to worry about it. The fact that it’s Open Source is a huge bnous as well, because I can (and have) contributed to the core project.

When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
I looked at it when it first came out and didn’t like it much. I felt I could build something just as good (and did). I never continued my own work though, and in 2010 when WordPress 3.0 came out with good custom content type support I fell in love. I haven’t looked back since.

What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
Get to know people. Go to meetups, WordCamps, join online communites, etc. Be polite, respectful, and humble. Those people will support and guide you everywhere you need to be.

What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
Get to know WordPress very well. Understand its strengths and limitations. This way you won’t be surprised when there’s something you want that’s either expensive or impossible, and will also give you the knowledge to be creative with the tool and build something new and interesting.

How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
Mostly twitter. I follow WPTavern and PostStatus in my feed reader.

What’s a cool WordPress based site you’ve seen recently?
Aren’t they all cool?

What do you like most about WordCamps?
The knowledge echanges that happen non-stop, everywhere. In sessions, in the halls, in hotel lobbies, after parties, shared cab rides, etc. The knowledge never stops moving.

Where can we find you online?
Web: topher1kenobe.com
Twitter: @topher1kenobe
Facebook: