WordPress, Block Themes, & the Future of Page Builders: An Insightful Discussion with Jamie Marsland

In this episode of Within WordPress, we sit down with Alex Moss—Manchester-based SEO veteran, agency owner, and Principal SEO at Yoast—to explore how WordPress, SEO, and AI are colliding in real time. We cover idea-making and product risk, why optimism beats doom, and what tools like “OpenClaw” and Grok mean for everyday users versus developers. You’ll hear practical multi-LLM workflows, how non-technical folks (including parents) are changing research habits, and where Yoast leans on ICPs to guide content. We look ahead to an agent-first web: data integrity, artifacts/markdown, and deeply personalized delivery—plus where WordPress fits. Along the way: diagnosing an old Mercedes with an LLM, turning kids’ drawings into coloring pages, and speed-building ad‑free PWAs with Claude. We wrap on authenticity, IRL experiences, jobs, and even AI, ASI, and faith—staying curious and optimistic.

In this episode of Within WordPress, I sit down with Rodolfo Melogli to talk about his path from growing Business Bloomer into one of the best-known WooCommerce resources to now launching Checkout Summit, a dedicated in-person WooCommerce conference in Palermo, Sicily, on April 23–24, 2026

In this episode of Within WordPress, I talk with Jason “JK” Konen of WP Engine about Newsroom, a WordPress-based publishing platform built for large editorial teams. We explore what makes high-volume newsrooms different from typical blogs, where WordPress workflows start to break down at scale, and how Newsroom aims to solve those problems. JK explains how the platform gives different team members, from editors to SEO specialists to media teams, the tools they need without forcing everyone into the same interface. We also talk about collaboration, publishing guardrails, and the role of checklists in helping teams meet editorial and accessibility requirements before anything goes live. That includes practical AI-assisted features, such as helping generate alt text, with a focus on supporting workflows rather than replacing journalism. JK shares how Newsroom grew out of work with UK agency Big Bite in late 2023, and why WP Engine sees it as a way to help publishers move away from patched-together processes and toward a more structured, scalable editorial workflow. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:06 Jason’s Tech Journey 03:28 What Is Newsroom 06:32 Why Build This Suite 09:58 Who It’s For 11:45 Agency Pain and Foundation 14:36 Role Based Interfaces 22:37 Workflow Guardrails 25:50 AI Assist Not Replace 29:19 What’s Next With AI 32:17 AI and Content Data 37:58 Daily Topic Suggestions 42:01 Experiment Fast Mindset 42:31 Beyond Generative AI 43:07 AI Imagery Feels Off 45:26 Visual Aids With Napkin 46:37 AI Wild West Phase 49:28 Rethinking Publishing Strategy 50:54 Newsroom Feature Highlights 52:57 Collaboration Mode Philosophy 56:11 How To Get A Demo 59:18 Meet Jason Conan 01:01:40 What Newsroom Solves 01:08:41 Building For Enterprise Teams 15:32 Role Based Interfaces 18:09 SEO As Separate Job 21:38 Workflow Guardrails 01:20:59 SEO Checklist Wins 01:23:03 Accessibility Before Publish 01:24:01 Building With AI 01:28:13 Agentic Search Future 01:30:38 Data Driven Suggestions 01:36:09 Daily Topic Briefings 01:41:46 Practical AI Uses 01:48:20 Newsroom Feature Highlights 01:51:42 Collaboration When Needed 01:54:23 Get a Demo 01:55:04 Closing Thoughts

In this episode of Within WordPress, we sit down with Carole (CloudFest) and Mark Weisbord (CEO of Greyd) to explain what is changing at CloudFest this year, and why it matters for agencies and WordPress businesses. The headline is the launch of the WordPress Business and Agency Summit on the Monday before the main CloudFest event. We position it as a connector between the CloudFest Hackathon and the main CloudFest conference, and as a deliberate step toward giving agencies and WordPress businesses a more relevant, more pragmatic, more commercially useful program than the traditional “WordPress Day” format. We unpack the difference between WordCamps and CloudFest. WordCamps remain community-first, volunteer-driven, and primarily focused on education and connection inside the WordPress community. CloudFest is a for-profit, cloud and hosting industry conference with a very different scale, structure, and mission, and it can build a dedicated business-focused layer around WordPress without trying to turn WordCamps into something they were never designed to be. This year’s Summit expands the former WP Day into a full-day, two-track program, adds an exhibition area, and targets roughly 800 attendees in a more intimate setting inside a much larger 10,000+ person event. From Mark’s perspective, if we want growth and new partnerships, we need to attract agencies outside the WordPress community, and we need content that connects to direct business impact. That means talks about sales, pricing, go-to-market, agency operations, maintenance revenue, and what it really takes to move from agency work into becoming a product company. We also talk about the CloudFest Hackathon as a uniquely valuable environment for multi-day collaboration and deeper conversations that rarely happen at faster-paced conferences. Carole connects that to a broader goal: cross-CMS collaboration and strengthening the open web, so we do not end up with a future where a handful of platforms dictate where and how people can publish. We close with practical attendance advice, a reality check that the Hackathon is already fully booked, and the key dates for the Summit and the main CloudFest event. 00:00 – Cold open: editing workflow and “wave” marker for cuts00:01 – Welcome and setup: two guests, and why this episode is different00:02 – Carole: WordPress community background and CloudFest involvement00:03 – What CloudFest is: scale, audience, and Europa-Park as the venue00:04 – “Everything is different this year”: why we are doing this episode00:05 – The new WordPress Business and Agency Summit: where it fits in the week00:06 – Mark Weisbord (Greyd): the missing business layer in WordPress events00:07 – From “WP Day” to a bigger Summit: what changes operationally00:08 – Two tracks, full day, and a dedicated exhibition area00:09 – Why this format matters: connecting agencies, partners, and real-world solutions00:11 – WordCamps vs CloudFest: why they serve different purposes00:12 – Sponsor reality: ROI pressure, leads, and reaching agencies outside the bubble00:13 – Content shift: business impact over general tech presentations00:14 – WordCamps still matter, but they are not the vehicle for everything00:16 – Biggest change: bring in agencies outside WordPress, plus an entertainment factor00:18 – CloudFest vibe: opening party, Lords of the Uptime, and the venue experience00:23 – Practical advice: stay multiple nights for Summit welcome + opening party00:25 – Hackathon value: multi-day conversations and real collaboration time00:28 – Hackathon evolution: cross-CMS collaboration and protecting the open web00:33 – Why agencies benefit: broader ecosystem exposure than a WordCamp context00:36 – What the Summit covers: sales, pricing, playbooks, productizing, maintenance00:40 – How Summit pillars extend into t...

Welcome to 'Within WordPress,' where we dive deep with special guest Jono Alderson. Join us as Jono shares his fascinating journey from a bedroom web developer to a leading figure in the WordPress community.