Reflecting on My Relationship With WordPress  ## Metadata - Author: [[coenjacobs.com]] - Full Title: Reflecting on My Relationship With WordPress - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #WordPress - #Reflection - #DeveloperJourney Author: Coen Jacobs Source: Reflecting on my relationship with WordPress – Coen Jacobs (personal blog) Reference: August 11, 2025 (blog post) date created: 2025-08-11 00:00 --- # Title: Reflecting on my relationship with WordPress ## Table of Contents: - [📝 Summary](#%F0%9F%93%9D-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#%F0%9F%93%96-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#%F0%9F%97%92-notes) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#%F0%9F%97%A3-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#%F0%9F%93%B0-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#%E2%9C%85-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#%F0%9F%A7%AA-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#%F0%9F%93%8A-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#%E2%9D%93-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#%F0%9F%94%AE-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#%F0%9F%92%A1-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#%E2%9A%A0-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#%F0%9F%93%8A-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#%F0%9F%8C%8D-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical validity](#%E2%9C%85-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#%F0%9F%94%8D-darvo-analysis) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#%F0%9F%94%8D-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#%F0%9F%8E%9F-conclusion) --- ## ​ Summary: Coen Jacobs reflects on nearly two decades of involvement with WordPress—recognizing both frustrations (especially around ecosystem politics and WP Engine) and valuable, rewarding experiences as a freelancer, contributor, and WooCommerce team member. Despite discord, WordPress remains central to his professional life. He balances critique with gratitude and reaffirms his place in the evolving ecosystem. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0} --- ## ​ Main Content: Coen explores: - **Long-standing connection**: ~20 years spent contributing, plugin authoring, speaking at events, and freelancing within the WordPress world. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1} - **Financial realities**: WordPress remains a practical choice amid ecosystem tensions and politics, yet alternatives exist. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2} - **Evolving perceptions**: His time on the WooCommerce team (since April 2012) shifted his view from dismissing WordPress for e-commerce to embracing its broader potential. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3} - **Exploration beyond WP**: Working with other technologies broadened his skills and influenced later WordPress work (e.g., creating Mozart). :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4} - **Ongoing reflection**: He still sees mutual relevance between himself and WordPress, and commits to evaluating where to invest his energy going forward. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5} ### ​​ Notes - Deep involvement across the ecosystem: core, plugins, speaking, freelancing - Highlights 20-year span of engagement and changing roles - Emotional ambivalence: frustration with politics vs. professional necessity - WooCommerce as turning point: from skepticism to embrace of expanded use cases - Working outside WordPress: expansion of perspective, new tools, led to side projects - Forward-looking: commitment to self-reflection and selective engagement --- ## ​​ Paraphrase: 1. **Original**: > “I’ve been personally involved with WordPress in some way for almost 20 years now... I’ve visited and spoke at numerous WordPress related events, all over the world.” **Paraphrase**: For nearly two decades, I’ve worked with WordPress in various capacities—contributing patches, building plugins, speaking internationally at WordPress events, and freelancing—making it a cornerstone of my professional journey. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6} 2. **Original**: > “After being a – albeit small – part of the WordPress ecosystem for almost 20 years, I felt it was time to reflect on and revisit my relationship with WordPress.” **Paraphrase**: Having been entrenched—albeit modestly—in the WordPress ecosystem for nearly two decades, it felt essential to pause and reevaluate how I relate to both the software and the community. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7} --- ## ​ Newsletter: Hey WordPress fans and fellow educators! In this week’s reflection, Coen Jacobs revisits his nearly 20-year journey with WordPress—from early contributions and WooCommerce success to honest frustrations over ecosystem politics. But here’s the thing: despite misgivings, WordPress still pays the bills and inspires innovation. He reminds us why it’s worth questioning systems while staying engaged. It’s a thoughtful, heartfelt piece that pairs nostalgia with strategic clarity—perfect for sparking conversation in classrooms and community channels. (Hint: Coen’s WooCommerce “aha” moment alone is worth your time.) --- ## ​ Action Items: As a Developer Advocate aiming for OSPO leadership and inclusive education: - **Use Coen’s reflection** as a mirror—invite others to share nuanced, long-term relationships with WordPress. - **Prompt discussion** about balancing ecosystem critique with continued engagement. - **Highlight accident moments** like the WooCommerce pivot to show how embracing new tools can shift perceptions. - **Design reflective journaling prompts or workshop**: “When did your WordPress ‘aha’ happen—and how did it change your path?” - **Frame exploration beyond WordPress** as growth, not betrayal—encourage learners to cross-pollinate skills. **Prompt suggestion**: > *“Write a reflection on your personal and professional journey with WordPress: what have you questioned, what changed your mind (like Coen’s WooCommerce awakening), and how do you see your future engagement evolving?”* --- ## ​ Hypotheses: 1. Long-tenured contributors maintain engagement through cycles of critique and reaffirmation. 2. Serving on impactful projects (like WooCommerce) catalyzes renewed trust in the platform. 3. External experiences (other tools/tech) enhance one's effectiveness and perspective within WordPress. ### ​ Methodology: - Collect narrative reflections via survey or interviews of veteran contributors. - Analyze sentiment changes before and after major project involvement. - Use qualitative coding to identify themes of re-engagement, disillusionment, and rediscovery. ### ​ Questions: - What triggers reflective reassessment of WordPress involvement? - Do transformative moments (like WooCommerce involvement) correlate with renewed contributions? - How does divergence into other technologies influence one’s perception of WP potential? ### ​ Future Research: - Longitudinal study of developer sentiment across major WP milestones. - Compare journeys of central contributors versus peripheral ones. - Study how side projects shape performance and creative use of WordPress. ### ​ Implications: - Offer programming (retreats, workshops) for long-term contributors to reflect and re-align. - Inform OSPO and community leadership strategies for sustaining inclusive engagement. - Develop resources that support balanced critique and continued contribution. --- ## ​ Learning Styles Assessment: | Learner Type | Present? | Improve | |---------------------------|----------|---------| | **Visual (Spatial)** | Low – mostly text | Add timeline or mind-map of Coen’s journey | | **Aural (Auditory)** | None | Include an audio reading or podcast of the post | | **Verbal (Linguistic)** | Strong | Include analogies (e.g., “relationship like a long marriage”) | | **Physical (Kinesthetic)** | None | Suggest journaling or timeline-building activity | | **Logical (Mathematical)** | Moderate – chronological argument | Add framework for decision points in his journey | | **Social (Interpersonal)** | Low | Prompt group reflection in community forums | | **Solitary (Intrapersonal)** | Moderate | Encourage personal journaling with structured prompts | | **Naturalistic** | None | Use a nature metaphor (e.g., seasons of engagement) | --- ## Accessibility Assessment: - **Screen Reader**: Headings present; no images mentioned—alt-text may be missing. - *Improve*: Include clear alt-text for visuals, if any. - **Keyboard Navigation**: Likely - Summary: It’s no surprise that I do not necessarily agree with everything going on in the WordPress ecosystem. I’ve been vocal about a lot of the crap going on around the whole debate with WP Engine. - URL: https://coenjacobs.com/blog/reflecting-relationship-wordpress/ It’s no surprise that I do not necessarily agree with everything going on in the WordPress ecosystem. I’ve been vocal about a lot of the crap going on around [the whole debate with WP Engine](https://coenjacobs.com/blog/hostile-takeover-advanced-custom-fields-plugin-hurts-developers-trust/). But at the end of the day, I still work with WordPress for a large amount of my working hours every single day. This lead me to reflect on my relationship with WordPress. Not just the software, but also the larger ecosystem, community and leadership. I’ve been personally involved with WordPress in some way for almost 20 years now. That is about the extent of my professional career as a software developer. I’ve had some years where I was actively contributing to core WordPress, writing mostly small patches where I could. Most of these years, I’ve created and maintained several plugins. I’ve visited and spoke at numerous WordPress related events, all over the world. All this time, I have been working with WordPress, while being employed by several WordPress focussed companies, but also as a freelancer. So yes, WordPress has been a big part of my life for the last two decades. I’ve seen a lot of its growth, and both ups and downs. I’ve struggled with coming to terms with some of the decisions being made, I’ve celebrated large new features and releases. After being a – albeit small – part of the WordPress ecosystem for almost 20 years, I felt it was time to reflect on and revisit my relationship with WordPress. #### Financial incentive and business opportunity This might be a hot take, given the nature of the whole situation around WP Engine, but I would be remiss to skip over this part of the equation. Yes, there is a financial incentive to keep working with WordPress. There is so much work available, there are so many people building on top of WordPress. All that makes it hard to pass up on WordPress, simply because I don’t like certain parts of it. Of course, there are many more systems, platforms and tools to continue working with. WordPress is not the end all, be all solution to everything. Does it do everything perfectly? Definitely not. But it would be ignorant to simply write off WordPress as a whole, because it has been going through a rough patch in the political part of the ecosystem. I do not run a multi-million dollar revenue company. I do not make spectacular amounts of money off the back of a free to use software project like WordPress. Most of the time, I’m just a single freelance software developer, creating value for my clients. And yes, a lot of times, I’m using WordPress as the engine to power these projects. #### WordPress changed over time Obviously, WordPress changed over time. It was a fun experiment to take a trip down memory lane and see how much things have changed. I was most interested in finding out the different ways I’ve interpreted what could be done by WordPress, what it was capable of and how my opinions changed over time. The biggest shift in my personal perception is still a monumental one for me. In April 2012 – yes, that’s mind blowing to me as well, for being 13 years ago already! – I joined the WooCommerce development team as one of their first development team hires. We started building a plugin, that one could simply install and turn their WordPress website into a webshop selling digital and physical goods. Little did we know back then, that WooCommerce would grow to the size that it currently is. Of course we had dreams and we worked our butts off every single day to make it better, faster, safer. But I don’t think any one of us involved back then, could have accurately predicted just how much of a success WooCommerce would become. This phase of my career is also where it clicked. I used to be one the people saying “well, you probably shouldn’t do eCommerce with WordPress…”. My time at the WooCommerce team changed my perspective on that. Gone were the days where WordPress was “just a blogging tool”, or a small scale website CMS at best. Mind you, it was only in 2010 that [WordPress 3.0 was released](https://wordpress.org/documentation/wordpress-version/version-3-0/#:~:text=%E2%86%91%20Back%20to%20top,View%20Closed%20Tickets) and that was the first time that custom post types were becoming actually usable. This release marked for what – slowly, over time – changed my perception on what could be done with WordPress. This doesn’t mean that you *should* use WordPress for everything you can think of, but it also no longer necessarily meant that you couldn’t. #### My journey continued After I had left the WooCommerce team, I went on in my personal journey as a software developer. Different platforms, frameworks, systems. Even different programming languages, in addition to the things that I already knew. I found it very refreshing to work outside the WordPress ecosystem for a while. To expand my horizon and learn new things. This did have the unexpected side effect, that it changed how I worked with WordPress as well – even though I wasn’t actively looking to change any of that. It introduced me to technologies, tools, ideas and people that helped shape me as a developer. One change in particular, is what ultimately resulted in me building [Mozart](https://github.com/coenjacobs/mozart), one of my side projects. But on a more fundamental level, it changed how I view technology and how it can be used. Over the following years, I had the pleasure to work alongside some brilliant minds in the industry, to work on increasingly more complex and challenging projects. A lot of these projects were based on WordPress, pushing it to the limits of what the creative brain could think of. Looking back at it, I find it incredible to see what is now possible with WordPress. To see what I am capable of achieving, with WordPress. #### The future of WordPress and me I found it difficult to eloquently draw a conclusion to this post, but I think that at this moment in time WordPress still has a place for me. Or maybe it’s the other way around and that I still have a place for WordPress. There are still some things that I like to do within the WordPress ecosystem. Most of all, I would like to continue challenging myself to reflect. To check in with myself and see what my position is, within the WordPress ecosystem. Where I want to spend my energy on, where I do *not* want to spend my energy on. It’s been a fun ride, these past two decades., Reflecting on My Relationship With WordPress, coenjacobs.com, 01k2ma1qfp03v8wmm57r3w3p6x.