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We have a great discussion here with Cody Landefeld, co-founder of Mode Effect, a WordPress ecommerce agency that has worked with Fortune 500 companies. We talk with Cody about some of the difference between a regular web project and an eCommerce web project. What should you be preparing for with eCommerce that is different from regular web development? You can learn more about Cody at https://mod...

Consultant Philip Morgan discusses positioning in a crowded market. He literally wrote the book on positioning for technical firms. Philip helps technical consultants, like web development shops, find a specialized position in a generalized world. This specialization, in turn, helps those firms strengthen their expertise in a specific niche and command higher rates. We really enjoyed this intervie...

Web pioneer Jeremy Keith talks with us about the resiliency of the web, upcoming innovations in CSS and browser support, native vs. web, and what he's excited about in web development. You can follow him on his site at https://adactio.com/ .   ==================   Our episode this week is sponsored by LiquidWeb. Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for your first 6 months of hosting. Head over to...

Following up our previous episode with a discussion on different types of pricing for web design and development services. How do we price our projects? Hourly? Fixed fee? Project rate? Blended rate? Value based? We also talk about some of the mistakes we've made in pricing projects, and the #1 step we recommend to estimating web development projects more accurately.   Our WordPress panel this wee...

In episode 160, consultant Jonathan Stark tells us why hourly billing is nuts. Jonathan Stark built a six figure solo consultancy by ditching hourly billing for value-based fees. He has a decade of real-world experience successfully applying value-based theories to software development projects. With his coaching program, he teaches freelancers, solo consultants, and boutique firm owners how to do...

We take a look at the growing ecosystem of contact forms for WordPress. Which ones should you check out? Which are best for your project? What types of functionality exist in contact forms in 2017?   ===================   Liquid Web is offering a 33% discount for 6 months on managed WordPress hosting for our viewers. Head over to https://www.liquidweb.com/wordpress   and use the code WPTONIC33 at...

This week, we are blessed to have Rachel Andrew as our guest. Rachel is an accomplished web developer, co-founder of Perch CMS, a Google Developer Expert, an invited expert to the CSS Working Group (which sets the direction for how CSS works in the future). For the past four years, Rachel has also been the leading authority on CSS Grid, which is set to be supported in most major browsers in early...

Our WordPress panel discusses the planning, coordination, and execution of a complex site migration from one hosting environment to another. We'll also cover what type of content planning you'll need to put together when moving from one platform to another (like from an external CMS to WordPress.) Our panel this week: Sallie Goetsch: https://www.wpfangirl.com/ Jackie D'Elia: https://jackiedelia.co...

Carrie Dils returns to WP-Tonic for her third appearance. She is the queen of the Genesis Framework and also the host of the popular Office Hours FM podcast. We ask her about the future of Genesis, multiple income streams, teaching courses, and podcasting. You can find Carrie at https://carriedils.com/ . She also hosts one of the top WordPress podcasts at https://officehours.fm/ . Episode 156 Tabl...

In this WP-Tonic round-table we discuss Web Accessibility. What tools does the panel use to test sites for accessibility? What are the key factors that you must know about web accessibility in 2017? We discuss web accessibility standards and guidelines. How do you make sites more accessible? What needs to be included and tested? Why do web developers tend to put accessibility on the back burner? W...

Nate Wright provides WordPress themes and plugins to build better restaurant websites. After more than three years delivering products for restaurants, cafes and bars, he's built up a suite of free and commercial products to help you take reservations online, manage your restaurant menus and boost local SEO.   Nate Wright runs Theme of the Crop, a WordPress company that specializes in themes and p...

Jonathan on 2016 We look back through 2016 at what were the most interesting WordPress stories. Also, what guest interviews we found personally the most insightful or surprising. For me personally, the best part of 2016 connected to the show is having John Locke join the team and agreeing to be my full-time co-host. I’ve known John for slightly over two years and I got to say he one of the most ha...

We look at a number of tools and services that we use on a daily basis. These are services that make a big difference in how we run our businesses. We move at speed and cover a lot of ground in this pre-Christmas show! Summary: We talk about our favorite web tools of 2016. Covered: tools for productivity, project management, accounting, invoicing, social media, content management, and content crea...

We have an insightful and enjoyable interview with Josh Pollock, the co-founder of Caldera Forms . We cover a lot of stuff in this conversation. Josh tells us how he got started in WordPress development, and his philosophy for running a commercial plugin shop in the WordPress ecosystem. Josh also talks with us about Caldera Forms, product stories, and the future of WordPress. Caldera Forms: https:...

For our 150th episode, we discuss a busy week in WordPress news and our main topic, the best starter themes and theme frameworks for WordPress development. Our panel this week: Carrie Forde https://carrieforde.com/ Kim Shivler https://whiteglovewebtraining.com/ Sallie Goetsch https://www.wpfangirl.com/ Jonathan Denwood https://www.wp-tonic.com/ John Locke Lockedown SEO ============   Episode 150 T...

We talk with front end architect/designer Carrie Forde about atomic design and front-end development for WordPress. Carrie's Forde day job is as a front-end developer at the highly-respected WebDevStudios. Carrie Forde on Twitter: https://twitter.com/carrieforde Carrie's site: https://carrieforde.com/   Table of Contents for Episode 149 0:00 Podcast intros. 1:22 Carrie's origin story. 3:44 What Ca...

Our weekly Saturday round-table focuses on the processes we use to intake clients, design and develop websites, test and launch, and have ongoing relationships. What are the tools they use? And what are the internal processes that the panel have developed to help them manage projects? The panel this week: Lee Jackson https://trailblazer.fm Sallie Goetsch https://www.wpfangirl.com/ John Locke Locke...

Two of the founders of Beaver Builder: Justin Busa and Robby McCullough, share the history of the company and their future plans. There is a lot to learn about launching product in this great conversation. Beaver Builder: https://www.wpbeaverbuilder.com/   Episode 147 Table of Contents 0:00 Podcast Intros 1:43 The origin story of Beaver Builder and how the founders met. 3:32 What were the challeng...

We have a great round table show with special guest Lee Jackson of the WP Innovator podcast. We talk all about the tools that we use daily to help us run our businesses. We look at a number of different categories from invoicing to project management tools.   The panel this week: Lee Jackson https://trailblazer.fm Jackie D'Elia https://jackiedelia.com/ Jonathan Denwood https://www.wp-tonic.com/ Sa...

This Week We fun and insightful Interview with Lee Jackson host of the WP Innovator podcast & the owner of a highly successful WordPress development agency that exclusively only works with other digital agencies.   You can find Lee at his website: http://leejacksondev.com/ . Be sure to check out his podcast at: http://leejacksondev.com/podcast/ .   Table of Contents for Episode 145 0:00 Podcas...

AJ Morris of Liquid Web joins our Saturday panel as we discuss the qualities of high-end WordPress hosting. We find out what differentiates a high end managed WordPress host from the average hosting companies that cost a few bucks a month. Why is it important to have a quality web host? What are you looking for in web hosting for your WordPress website? We'll answer these questions and many more....

In this powerful interview, Gordan Orlic of Web Factory Ltd discusses becoming an elite plugin author on CodeCanyon and why he's leaving the platform, and moving everything to his own website. Gordan pulls no punches as he talks about making the transition from getting traffic on a marketplace like CodeCanyon to setting up shop on your own. Find Gordan at http://www.webfactoryltd.com/   Follow Gor...

On this week's WP-Tonic round table, we give some insight on how to work with non-profit organizations. How is working with non-profits different than working with clients in the private sector? Our round table of WordPress experts also discusses the best marketing practices for non-profits. Our panel this week: Morten Rand-Hendriksen of Lynda.com Sallie Goetsch of WP Fangirl Jonathan Denwood of W...

We talk with Heather about the life-cycle of web agencies, marketing, social media, and client relationships. How do Heather and her team find the right type of clients to work with?  Why is it important to develop strong ongoing relationships in your local business community? I really enjoyed our chat with Heather. I could see why she has been so successful in driving her agency forward. The Word...

In this WP-Tonic round-table we look at WordPress and security with an excellent panel of WordPress community experts. Our panel this week: Brian Jackson from https://woorkup.com/ and https://kinsta.com/ Sallie Goetsch from https://wpfangirl.com/ Jackie D'Elia from https://jackiedelia.com/ Jonathan Denwood from https://www.wp-tonic.com/ John Locke from Lockedown SEO Episode 140 Table of Contents 0...