Meet Daniel Espinoza, WordPress Expert

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Daniel will be joining us for WPSession #1: Building WordPress Plugins on June 22nd, 2013.

Where can we find you online?

Daniel Espinoza My personal website is DanielEspinoza.me and on twitter as @d_espi

When and how did you get started with WordPress?

I started freelancing five years ago after leaving a job in a bank IT department. My first projects were building ecommerce sites using Magento. A WordPress blog was usually an add-on for the projects I worked on so my first experience with WordPress was building themes to match the stores. Then a few years later I started building plugins for fun and profit.

What resources to you turn to when you want to learn something new?

For non-WordPress related stuff I’ll go through a Tuts+ tutorial as time allows for things that look interesting. Most of my learning with regards to WordPress is task or project related. I’ll learn something new in the process of solving a problem for a plugin idea I’m trying to flesh out. This will usually involve reading through the codex, WordPress Answers on Stack Exchange or working with existing plugins from respected developers to see how they do things.

What is your favorite WordPress feature/aspect?

Does the WordPress community count? 🙂 I really love the group of people that I’ve had the chance to meet and interact with through the WordPress community.

If I can’t count the community then I’m going with the famous 5 Minute Install.

What is your favorite WordPress plugin and why?

I’m a big fan of WooCommerce since I spend most of my waking hours building plugins for it and supporting users. And yes, I was a fan before hiring on as a WooNinja.

What advice do you have for others looking to become WordPress experts?

I’d suggest to read, write and repeat:

  • Read code of plugins and themes. Write your own plugins and themes using the techniques you’ve observed.
  • Read through tutorials and the codex. Write code using what you learned to solve real problems.
  • Read support questions on WordPress.org. Write helpful answers to the questions.
  • Read through open issues of projects on GitHub. Write code that fixes the issues and offer pull requests.

Bonus Question: What is one interesting non-WordPress-related fact about yourself?

I’ve eaten a live scorpion on purpose without being dared to do so. I would not suggest doing it. Frequently asked questions: No, I didn’t get stung. It didn’t have any flavor other than dirt.