Daniel Paz

Who or what helped you find your footing in WordPress, and how do you try to pay that forward today?

My first real experience with WordPress happened almost by accident in 2016, during an internship in South Africa. Atham Malambo asked me to help with a few Joomla websites, but two of them were actually WordPress. That was basically how I got started. I had no idea at the time that WordPress would become such a big part of my career. A lot of what I learned after that came from other people sharing what they knew. Today, I try to do the same through talks, videos, courses, meetups, and by helping other developers when I can.

If you could engineer one connection at WCEH 2026 — a conversation, an intro, a collaboration — what would it be?

I would really like to meet other developers who are trying to understand where WordPress is going, especially now with AI changing the way we work. I am very interested in conversations around performance, architecture, AI, and what the role of a WordPress developer will look like in the next few years. It would be great if one of those conversations turned into a collaboration, an open source project, or even just something we can keep discussing after the event. For me, some of the best ideas usually start from simple conversations like that.

WordPress powers 43% of the web, but it’s the people who keep it alive. What’s a moment in this community that reminded you why you stay?

WordCamp US this year was a good example for me. I travelled from Brazil to Phoenix to speak, and even being far from home, it did not take long to feel connected to people there. I met developers and people from the community from different countries, but we were talking about many of the same problems and experiences. That reminded me that WordPress is not only about the software. I came into this world because of the technology, but a big reason I stay involved is because of the people I meet through it.

What does the WordPress community get right that other tech communities don’t. What could we still do better?

I think one of the best things about the WordPress community is that it is very easy to talk to people. You can be at your first WordCamp and have a conversation with someone who has been working with WordPress for fifteen or twenty years. There is not always that big separation between beginners, experienced developers, business owners, designers, and contributors. I think we could do better at showing people that contribution is not only writing code. A lot of people already have something valuable to share, but they do not realize that it counts as contribution.

What’s a form of contribution you think is undervalued, and why does it matter?

For me, teaching is one of the most undervalued ways to contribute. And I do not mean only speaking at a WordCamp or creating a course. Sometimes it is just answering a question, helping someone debug something, reviewing code, writing a tutorial, or explaining something that took you a long time to learn. That can save someone hours or even help them move forward in their career. I learned a lot because other people shared their knowledge with me, so I think doing the same for someone else is a very important part of the community.

A lot of people want to contribute but feel they’re not technical enough. What would you say to them?

You definitely do not need to be a developer to contribute to WordPress. There are so many ways to help: documentation, translation, design, accessibility, testing, organizing events, welcoming new people, giving feedback, or just helping someone with something you already know. I think the easiest way to start is to look at what you already do well and where that could help someone else. You do not need to wait until you feel like an expert. Most of the time, contribution starts with something small, and that small thing can still make a real difference.