Alejandro Sanchez shares his journey from discovering WordPress as a student in Venezuela to his current role at OnTheGoSystems, parent company of WPML. In this interview, Alejandro reflects on his experiences in multilingual structuring, SEO, and web development. He discusses challenges and exciting advancements in WordPress, from the importance of user experience (UX) to the ongoing modernization of its code. Alejandro also offers practical advice for developers new to the WordPress community, highlighting the need for a welcoming approach and a stronger focus on performance and inclusion.
Can you share your first experience with WordPress, and what made you choose it?
In 2007, at 17 and living in Venezuela, I started using WordPress as a way to learn about website management and make some income while in university. I had a background in Android app development and basic front-end skills, but I wanted to dive deeper into web development. WordPress allowed me to learn everything from SEO to back-end programming, marketing, and technical writing. I loved how flexible it was and i picked up many useful skills along the way that continue to help me today in my WordPress-related work.
How did you start contributing to open-source projects, and what was your first contribution to the WordPress community?
Though I haven’t been able to contribute code directly yet, I’ve volunteered by helping others set up WordPress (that’s why I got the badge), teaching its basics (clients and possible WP Devs), and translating plugins and core elements.
I usually help out by answering technical questions in Quora or Reddit (not only about WP but about other projects I follow as well).
What are some important projects or contributions you have made within the WordPress ecosystem?
I work at OnTheGoSystems, parent company of WPML. I started out as a supporter and in there i learned how to help people in a friendly yet technical way.
I’ve tried to help people answering questions about WP in places like FB groups, Quora, Reddit and sometimes in the actual WP Support forum. Apart from that I’d say I’ve helped more in the polyglots team.
I found through the years that what i love most is actually helping people out and i’m in this privileged position where i can help them in so many areas (Multilingual structuring, SEO, Marketing, Web Design, Web Dev, plugin dev, etc) which has helped me meet so many interesting people and has allowed me to succeed in my current job as well.
What are your thoughts on the current state of WordPress development, and how do you see its future?
Challenges:
– Sometimes WordPress feels like it’s “reinventing the wheel,” as seen with the multilingual phase or even with gutenberg. Existing plugins like WPML, Polylang, etc. offer valuable insights that could help streamline development in this area.
– WordPress seems to be approaching a period of slower growth, especially among new developers, and we might need to rethink strategies to make it more appealing to new generations. It starts with the overall UX (Automattic is doing a good job in this transition. WordPress? Not so much). Adopting a standard here would probably help but this is more of a joint effort between WP (Core) and the plugin/theme authors.
– Release cycles are sometimes too unpredictable and this makes it hard for plugins to keep up. You can’t just add “last minute” things to a release without allowing developers to test it with ample time!. Without that WP will never be stable enough.
Positives:
– I appreciate the modernization of the code, which makes development smoother, more secure, and improves workflows across teams.
– The progress in Full Site Editing is particularly exciting, as it really focuses on non tecchies to create websites easily and in no time. However, sometimes i get the feeling that this is the only area that WP really wants to improve (not as “volunteers” but as a “project) and ends up neglecting the rest.
What advice would you give to developers who are new to WordPress or open source?
First of all, give it a try before judging from what you’ve read somewhere.
WP is not appealing to everyone, probably due to the technology state it’s in. That part is being modernized, it could appeal more to developers.
I’m proud to say that my most skeptical friends have become fans of WP after I showed them its potential and how much they’ve saved time.
Which areas do you think need new energy and focus right now, and why? (Accessibility, plugins, themes, performance, etc.)
UX and performance would definitely turn many skepticals into our side and help with adoption as well which is what i believe we need most right now (before things get too worrisome).
Performance is a huge downside. A WP site can get super slow, very quickly and it’s not always the author’s fault (although they do have their share of the blame).
What can we do to ensure that WordPress continues to work well with new technologies and stays ahead of trends? (Programming methods, new tech areas, headless, etc.)
Headless and GraphQL are promising technologies but I’d really prefer to stop for a moment and start making it safer and more performant before thinking on jumping into “new technologies”. The shiny things are not really what will make it work WELL.
How do you keep up with the latest trends in WordPress development, and what resources would you suggest for new developers who want to get involved?
WP Tavern and also following “topics” like WordPress, Automattic, Matt Mullenweg (and variants) in google trends and in my google feed.
In your opinion, what are the best ways to engage and attract new developers to the WordPress community, and how can we make the onboarding process more welcoming and inclusive?
Based on conversations with developers that i’ve onboarded to WordPress (friends), it’s clear that a performance-focused approach could bring in fresh talent. Many feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of issues that could arise by just installing a few plugins, and many wonder why some features that are basically a MUST (like duplicating a page or better custom field handling) are not on core and require plugins.
When it comes to contributing, they tell me that they feel like they are WORKING for a company and not volunteering, because in the end there’s always a group of people that end up deciding how things must be done.
I have to sadly say this particular fact is what has prevented me from contributing. I don’t feel like I have a voice. It’s not really bad to have people in charge because that makes things more organized, but this is an open source project and telling me to do something in a specific way, even when other people actually agree that another solution could be better doesn’t really feel too “open”.
