WPBUILDSPODCAST
WPBUILDSPODCAST
with NATHAN WRIGLEY
with NATHAN WRIGLEY
A WordPress podcast packed full of things that you either don’t want to know or are clever enough to work out that we just made up!
Stay updated
Coming up…
Some dates for your diary.
‘Speed It Up’ Show #5
Join us live on Thurs 23rd November 2023.
3pm UK – 10am Eastern – 7am Pacific.
Is your website slow? Join us as Sabrina Zeidan explains why that might be. Submit your site.
4pm UTC / 12pm Eastern / 9am Pacific

‘Speed It Up’ Show #6
Join us live on Thurs 30th November 2023.
3pm UK – 10am Eastern – 7am Pacific.
Is your website slow? Join us as Sabrina Zeidan explains why that might be. Submit your site.
4pm UTC / 12pm Eastern / 9am Pacific

The Latest Episodes

447 – Simplifying WordPress event calendars and ticketing with Jonathan Jernigan of Pie Calendar
In this episode, Nathan Wrigley chats with Jonathan Jernigan about Pie Calendar, a simple-yet-powerful WordPress event calendar plugin. They discuss the plugin’s evolution, including major new features like Eventbrite and ICS calendar integration for easy ticketing and syncing with external calendars. Jonathan also shares insights into his WordPress-focused community and YouTube channel. The conversation highlights Pie Calendar’s user-friendly setup, flexibility for different organisations, and the team’s focus on simplicity. Future plans for additional integrations are teased, as well as stories of how a wide range of clients, from breweries to city councils, use the plugin. Go listen…

This Week in WordPress #356
In this episode, I’m joined by Taco Verdonschot, Jonathan Bossenger, Birgit Pauli-Haack to discuss WordPress 6.9, including new blocks, performance improvements, accessibility updates, and upcoming live events to help users prepare for the release. The panel pays tribute to WordPress contributor Zeel Thakkar, and covers news about a new leader at Jetpack, Black Friday deals, and community appreciation initiatives. They also highlight developer resources and recent plugin launches, making this a comprehensive update on what’s happening in the WordPress ecosystem.
WP Builds Goodness includes…

This Week in WordPress

WordPress Deals

The WP Builds Podcast

Giveaways

Webinars
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DO IT, CLICKING THIS BUTTON WILL BE FUN!Recent ‘WP Builds Podcast’ Episodes

446 – Inside Checkout Summit: Reviving Human Connections in the WooCommerce and WordPress Community
In this episode, Nathan Wrigley chats with Rodolfo Melogli about the growing isolation in the WooCommerce and WordPress communities due to remote work and AI, and his mission to “bring humans back” through in-person interaction. Rodolfo shares his journey as a WooCommerce expert, the challenges of working remotely, and the inspiration for organising Checkout Summit, a people-focused, content-rich WooCommerce event in Palermo designed to foster genuine connections, collaboration, and community in a relaxed, inclusive setting. If you’ve been feeling the effects of remote work and the rise of automation, or simply want a better way to connect with your fellow WordPress peers, this episode is for you.

445 – More fun in WordPress: How Nick Hamze uses AI to build unusual WordPress blocks
In this episode, Nathan Wrigley chats with Nick Hamze, a quirky and creative force in the WordPress community. Nick shares his unconventional journey from law school to working at Automattic, running a wildly successful Pokémon card shop, and building unique WordPress blocks using AI tools like Telex. Their conversation gets into the joy of creating weird, fun projects, the empowering possibilities of AI for non-coders, and the importance of injecting creativity and personal touch back into the web. If you’ve wondered how AI tools can transform your workflow, felt weighed down by the pressure to build serious, polished things, or just want to be reminded why fun and experimentation are so important in WordPress, this episode is for you. Go listen…

444 – Accessibility made easier: Natalie MacLees on Aaardvark for agencies and developers
On this episode of WP Builds, Natalie MacLees joins Nathan Wrigley to talk about the new accessibility tool, Aaardvark Accessibility. They discuss Natalie’s background in web accessibility, the evolution and importance of accessible web design, and how their SaaS platform helps agencies and developers find, fix, and monitor accessibility issues across client websites. The conversation also covers practical and moral reasons for improving accessibility, details about automated and manual testing, reporting features, explanations in plain English, and pricing plans.

443 – AI Experiments in WordPress: a plugin search engine, customer support bots, and Block Editor integration
In this WP Builds podcast episode, Nathan Wrigley chats with Amadeu Arderiu about three innovative WordPress AI projects: ploogins.com, an AI-powered search engine for both free and premium plugins. Joinchat, a plugin that adds an AI chatbot to your site, answering queries using your website’s content. And Suggerence, an experimental tool that lets users interact with, and build inside, the Gutenberg block editor using AI-driven natural language and even drawings! They discuss technical challenges, future possibilities, monetisation, and the evolving role of AI in WordPress. Go listen…
THE FRESH WP GOODNESS PODCAST
Chopped up like you would chop up a carrot, or perhaps a turnip… but not with a knife, because we, erm… chop things up with our podcast. So, WP Builds is like a big choppy, podcasty knife with lovely hexagons.
Recent ‘This Week in WordPress’ Episodes

This Week in WordPress #355
In “This Week in WordPress #355,” Nathan Wrigley, Michelle Frechette, and Rhys Wynne discuss the Kagi search engine, Michelle’s job search, and WordPress updates including 6.9’s new features like collaborative editing and abilities API. The episode covers the challenges faced by open source projects like FFmpeg, security concerns with AI-powered tools such as Telex, the Global Partner Program for WordPress event sponsorships, and developments in full site editing, highlighting the Ollie theme. Listener comments add depth to discussions about the future and risks of WordPress plugin and block creation through AI.

This Week in WordPress #354
This episode covers WordPress 6.9’s new features and testing guide, major UK cyber attacks, security insights, and why Malwarebytes chose WordPress. The panel discusses plugin lifetime deals, the rise of newsletters, and the pros and cons of web design trends. AI’s impact on WordPress is explored, including new agentic browser capabilities and WS Form’s integration with Elementor’s AI agent. The episode also highlights collaborative editing in WordPress, a dramatic smart bed malfunction due to AWS outage, and the importance of owning your data, plus fun detours like the year’s best animal photos.

This Week in WordPress #353
“This Week in WordPress #353” covers the AWS outage and its impact on major online services, WordPress security trends (including Wordfence and Patchstack reports), upcoming features in WordPress 6.9 (like block visibility controls and the accordion block), the Blocktober project by Tammie Lister, and discussions on plugin/UI design trends and product advice. The panel also celebrates WordCamp Canada, accessibility efforts, and highlights AI’s role in WordPress development. There’s a lot more than this, so have a listen…

This Week in WordPress #352
This episode dives into the debate over the WordPress mascot Wapuu, discussing its value to the community versus criticisms about its professionalism. The panel explores the possibility of Ollie’s Menu Designer joining WordPress core, shares insights on plugin marketing and discoverability, highlights the new blueprint feature in WordPress Studio for easily sharing site setups, and reviews a flurry of upcoming WordPress events. Plus, they touch on the launch of Fluent Cart as a new e-commerce solution and discuss branding, community, and engaging content in the WordPress ecosystem.
Meet your host

NATHAN WRIGLEY
WordPress web site builder.
I run a web agency in the UK called Picture and Word. We work almost exclusively with WordPress, but have been know to use Drupal and Magento in the past.
I cannot spell the words, thepis, rangotls, or dufmertin.




