Speaker Spotlight: Byron Rode

 Byron Rode is a Web Developer, Professional Photographer and the Co-founder of Tangram – a digital agency focusing on brand, website development and design, mobile applications and internet consultation. Byron will be hosting a session on our Tech/Development Track about Improving Ease of Use with the WordPress Admin Dashboard.

Tell us a bit about yourself

I am a Durban born Capetonian, and have been building websites and working in the online sector since I was 15. I recently co-founded Tangram, a full service agency focusing on Brand, Software and Web Development, Design and Mobile.

Why WordPress?

I have used and developed for many different CMSs in the last 10 years, but always found myself returning back to WordPress. I have always found the system to be easy to build upon, the infrastructure and solid framework makes getting websites out quicker. The community and consistent and active development of WordPress make it a winner.

What are your thoughts on the WordPress community as a whole? And the South African WP community?

The community is what makes WordPress what it is today. Without the community I don’t think that the software would be where it is today. It’s a diverse community too, with good support for new and experienced users alike.

It’s exciting to see that the South African WP community is growing. Look at companies like RSAWeb, who offer a hosting package specifically tailored for WordPress, and I believe companies like WooThemes and Obox have definitely given other South African developers a reason to use and support WordPress.

Why did you decide to speak at WordCamp Cape Town?

I was offered the opportunity to speak at WordCamp Cape Town, and being an avid supporter of the platform and the industry, how could I say no?

What is your talk going to be about?

I am going to be talking about simplifying and improving Ease of Use of the WordPress Administration and Dashboard, making it easier to use and understand for the end user.

What are you most looking forward to at WordCamp Cape Town?

The sessions from some of the best in the industry, and the ability to chat and network with all the WordPress geeks and users.

What is the one thing you want people to walk away with from your talk?

That “less is more” is not just a saying. As developers we tend to forget that there are other users that may find the WordPress Admin area intimidating.

What is your favourite WordPress theme and/or plugin, and why?

When I build a site for a client or project, the first and, in most cases, the only plugin I install is the Gravity Forms plugin. Even if all the site needs is a simple contact form. Form’s for me, are the bane of web development, and the guys at Rocket Genius have just done it right. It has the right number of features, they have an active support channel and are constantly improving their plugin and giving back to WordPress and the community.

Share one WP tip

Besides the above. I try not to use plugins where possible. I made that mistake many years ago. Upgrading becomes a nightmare, and 9/10 you’ll find the reason for poor performance/hacks is due to badly developed plugins.

Who in the WordPress community inspires you? Who do you follow?

There are too many to mention all of them, but the guys from Rocket Genius (Gravity Forms), WooThemes and Obox are definitely inspirational. Internationally guys like Matt Mullenweg and Joost de Valk are definitely on the top of my list.

What is the most exciting feature/addition/improvement to WordPress that you have noticed in the last year?

Custom Posts Types and Taxonomies. At least 70% of the front-end facing work I do these days relies heavily on custom post types. The Admin UI is also a nice improvement. Much cleaner.

Where do you see WordPress 2 years from now?

It’s definitely become more of a CMS these days, and it’s only going to get better and have a even better market takeover in the coming years. Stronger native mobile support is definitely something to keep an eye out on, and I’m really hoping to see some more MVC architecture in later major versions.