PRESS PLAY
In which I discuss what it looks like to be a backend developer in the WordPress economy. Early episodes include question and answers where later episodes will be audio versions of my blog posts (along with some additional commentary or bonus episodes).
WordPress admin icons are tempting; Tom McFarlane has you check data sanitization first.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A candid WordPress writing lesson about opinion, comment sections, and consequences after publication.
WordPress writing can start with a function, an API, or a plugin review, then slide into arguments about community, motives, and character. This episode follows that slide through the host's story of an opinion post whose comments were overtaken, pulled in attacks on people far…
A grounded WordPress finale with testing guidance, practical tradeoffs, and an open-ended pause for family.
Practical WordPress Development closes, perhaps for now, with a personal frame that gives the episode its shape. The host is preparing for the birth of his third daughter and is weighing the show against family, work, and other responsibilities.
A practical, measured case for seeing Gutenberg as a WordPress skill-building shift.
Gutenberg lands as a practical turning point for WordPress developers: a React-based editor, a different working rhythm, and a clear move away from the classic editor. The discussion is strongest when it treats that shift less as a culture war and more as a professional prompt.
Lean websites, lower waste, clearer choices.
WordPress talk with the live edges left in.
WordPress work, news, and community notes.
WordPress, traced through its working community.
Practical web tools without the code fog.
Web development talk with real production scars.
Practical WordPress Development uses “Play by The Rules and Be Careful What You Write” to revisit a WordPress community post that triggered comment-section conflict, DMs, and requests to talk about it on newsletters and podcasts.
The host announces a hiatus for his WordPress development podcast due to personal priorities, while answering listener questions.
The speaker on Practical WordPress Development frames Gutenberg as a technical change, not a “hot take,” and says he is still not using it on his personal site.
Practical WordPress Development examines how PHP 7, Composer, and modern software practices can be used on top of WordPress while preserving backward compatibility.
The host discusses backend development in the WordPress economy, with personal anecdotes and plans for future episodes.
The host introduces episode three, explains the new format focusing on answering listener questions, and previews two questions—one fun and one technical—plus extra material from previous episodes.