I am currently a web developer at Real Art in downtown Dayton. In my job, I build client websites in WordPress with custom themes and custom built plugins. I also own my own development company where I focus on creating quality websites for small business and individuals. I am newly, happily married as of October 12th.
Why Do You Use WordPress?
I use WordPress because of its ease of use and allows my clients to manage their own content for their webpage. I always tell people, “If you can use Word, you already know how to use WordPress!”
When and How Did You Start Using WordPress?
I think I have been using WordPress solidly since 2009. The first install of WordPress that I did however was for my first ever website, brianretterer.com when I was in New Zealand for 6 months back in 2006. At the Time, I think I had installed version 1.5. Man have we come a long way!
What Tips or Resources would you recommend to a new WordPress User?
IRC. IRC is one of the best resources I can say you should use. For people who are not sure what IRC is, it is Internet Relay Chat. It is where a lot of the developers of WordPress spend time and are willing to help others. If you are not a developer of WordPress or think that IRC may be a bit to much development talk for you, Youtube is the other resource I suggest. You can find a bunch of great tutorials on just about every part of WordPress. The last tip I have for you is to just get in there and do it. Don’t be afraid of trying something and breaking something, as long as you have a backup!
What advice would you give someone who’s building a business around WordPress design or development?
SEO and Backups! The best way to get your business to take off online is make sure your SEO is up to par with others if not better. Yoast SEO is the SEO plugin that I suggest for WordPress. The other thing is make sure you backup often! One of the best plugins for this is Backup Buddy from iThemes. It is worth the cost of the plugin and will save you a lot of frustration when/if you ever need to use it.
How do you stay informed about WordPress (news, tips, etc)?
I get most of my news from the community in IRC. I am part of WordPress Meetup in Dayton, Ohio where we are always keeping up to date. I also frequent the changelogs and issue tracker to see what is being brought up.
What’s a cool WordPress based site you’ve seen recently?
In my opinion, the best WordPress site is the one that I can not tell is a WordPress site. There are so many of them and i don’t want to spoil the fun of finding the ones that you enjoy the most.
What do you like most about WordCamps?
The Community of the WordPress users. I love being around other people that like the same things as me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being able to talk to others and help other users of WordPress out.
Where can we find you online?
Web: BrianRetterer.com
Twitter: @bretterer
Facebook: Brian Retterer
Google+: +BrianRetterer