Hi Jean! For those of our readers who’re just starting with WordPress, can you provide a brief overview of what CatsWhoCode is all about?
Hi! I created CatsWhoCode back in 2008, to provide a resource for web development, design and WordPress. It’s a website for people who make websites!
What would be the fastest way of becoming a WordPress developer? Does a person need to be omniscient in code or can learn it along the way?
Of course, it will help if you already know PHP or HTML/CSS, but it’s totally possible to learn along the way if the person is willing to put the effort in it. There’s an amazing lot of resources about WP, freely available online, so it’s definitely the best place to learn.
Is there any WordPress feature you would like to add or, perhaps, remove from the WP Dashboard?
Nothing special comes to my mind… And when it does, I know that there’s most probably a plugin to do what I need. The community is definitely a great aspect of working with WordPress.
Let’s talk a bit about blogging…when did you start with writing your first posts?
I started to blog in 2007, in French. I then moved to English since it’s the de facto language for everything technology, and that’s how CatsWhoCode was born.
You post very regularly on your blog! But, let’s face it, it’s pretty much everything covered on the Internet nowadays…is it hard to find fresh ideas that will keep your audience’s attention?
On some point yes, but most of the time I try to always end up with something cool, maybe not the most original or fresh, but always interesting in any case.
You provide WordPress resources for both experienced and newcomers. How do you encourage them to subscribe to your blog?
Twitter and Facebook are good ways to keep in touch, I also have a newsletter and RSS feeds like all other blogs.
When it comes to promotion, which social network you prefer most and why?
Twitter has always worked great for me.
What would be, in your opinion, top three WordPress plugins that should earn the medal for their functionality?
It’s very hard to keep only 3! But I’d say W3 Total Cache, WordFence and WP Smush are the ones I use on nearly any website I’m in contact with.
Let’s wrap up with a little bit of fun – Garfield VS Felix the Cat – who wins? Bear in mind that Felix always brings his magic bag with him 🙂
They’ll start fighting, then Felix will find a flea on him and start to groom. Garfield will realize he’s a bit tired and has only slept 14 hours today, so he’ll take a nap. Felix will be a bit disappointed at first but will decide to eat some food instead of resuming the duel. I guess this resumes cat behavior pretty well!
Photos ©: CatsWhoCode.com
