Katie Keith Unveiled: Discover Insights in Our 5 Questions Interview with a WordPress Leader that Inspires
Last Updated: August 21, 2025
Who is Katie Keith?
Katie Keith is a force to be reckoned with in the WordPress community. As the CEO of barn2.com, a leading web development and plugin company, Katie has built a thriving business that has helped businesses of all sizes create and optimize their websites.
Katie Keith is also an accomplished Udemy instructor, sharing her knowledge and expertise with a global audience. Her courses on web development, WordPress optimization, and online marketing are clear, concise, and engaging. Katie’s passion for teaching is evident in her work, and she is always willing to help her students succeed.
In addition to her professional work, Katie Keith is also a dedicated member of the WordPress community. She regularly participates in conferences and events, and she is always willing to share her knowledge and insights with others. Katie is a true leader in the WordPress community, and she is an inspiration to us all.
Here are some of the things that make Katie such a successful entrepreneur and leader:
- Her passion for WordPress. Katie is passionate about WordPress, and she loves helping people use it to create amazing websites. This passion is evident in everything she does, from her work at barn2.com to her Udemy courses.
- Her commitment to excellence. Katie is always striving to improve her skills and knowledge, and she expects the same from her team. This commitment to excellence has helped barn2.com become a leading WordPress development company.
- Her willingness to help others. Katie is always willing to help others, whether it’s answering questions on a forum or providing guidance to a new entrepreneur. This willingness to help others has made her a valuable asset to the WordPress community.
Katie Keith is an inspiration to us all. She is a successful entrepreneur, a dedicated leader, and a passionate advocate for WordPress. She is proof that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. That is why I am so honored she agreed to answer our questions and share her wisdom with all the job seekers!
Below you can find the questions and Katie’s answers too.
What key skills and qualities do successful WordPress professionals possess, and how can job seekers develop or demonstrate these traits?
Successful WordPress professionals need to be able to show a proven track record – with examples – of their work in their chosen area of expertise, whether this is design, development, marketing, or something else. In addition to their proven experience, they need to have a range of soft skills. These are all centered around remote work, because most WordPress companies now work remotely. As a result, a successful WordPress professional needs to be skilled at communicating effectively with colleagues that they don’t often see in person, and organizing their time with minimal supervision.
Can you share a personal or professional setback you faced in your WordPress career, and how you overcame it? What lessons did you learn from that experience?
Most of the team members I have hired have been excellent and I have been happy with my decision to hire them. However, there have been a few occasions when I have realised that they are not meeting expectations and I have been forced to reconsider whether they should be part of the team.
The first two times this happened were relatively easy because the team members were hardly getting any work done. I would chase them constantly for work, and their output was incredibly low. They would promise that they would meet the next deadline and then miss it. This made it a very easy decision that I needed to end their contract.
The most recent time was more difficult because the team member was getting work done, but just not to the standard that I expected for their role. It was a fairly senior role and yet they were following instructions and doing the tasks I set, but not taking any further initiative to take things to the next stage. I just didn’t feel any enthusiasm from this team member. I wasn’t sure whether that was a good enough reason to end our working relationship and agonized over the decision for a long time. I provided plenty of warnings and set clear expectations about what level of work I expected from the role, but things never improved, so I made the difficult decision to end their contract.
Based on this, my advice for potential job seekers is that when you start in a new role, you need to make sure that you very clearly expect what the recruiter is looking for and are confident that you can meet those expectations. There’s no point in making empty promises during the application process because you will be caught out later, so it’s best to apply for jobs where you genuinely feel that you are the right person and it’s a good fit.
What advice do you have for job seekers who feel discouraged or overwhelmed during their job search? How can they stay motivated and maintain a positive mindset?
If a job seeker feels discouraged during their search then I recommend sitting back and thinking about what has caused them to be unsuccessful in their previous applications. Did you provide convincing enough evidence that you meet all the requirements of the role? If not, then you need to spend more time matching up your skills to the job description in future.
Do you keep getting invited to interview but never receive a job offer? If so, then you need to seek feedback on your interview skills and consider how to improve how you come across at interview.
Do you struggle to find evidence that you meet the requirements of the job description? If so, then you either need to apply for more junior jobs or invest in improving your skillset and experience. One way to do this is to freelance or launch a WordPress product as a side project. This will either be successful in its own right so that you no longer need to apply for jobs, or it will give you valuable experience to help with future job applications.
How can job seekers differentiate themselves in a competitive job market? Are there any unique approaches or strategies that you recommend?
Whenever I advertise a WordPress vacancy – whether this is design, development, or marketing – I receive literally hundreds of applications. One time, I received more than a thousand! I have had to learn how to sift through applications very quickly, and look for specific details that will make the best candidates stand out immediately. Job seekers should follow these tips to make their own applications be one of the few which stand out from the crowd:
- Most importantly, remember that the recruiter has hundreds of applications to look through and will only spend more than 30 seconds reading yours if you can instantly grab their attention. A well-written covering letter is the most important element of your application because that is the first thing the recruiter will look at. The first paragraph should clearly introduce why you are perfect for the position, including concrete evidence such as your current job title and the names of impressive WordPress companies you have worked for. Don’t just refer the recruiter to your CV – they will only open it if your cover letter has convinced them that you meet the requirements of the role.
- Take the time to write a custom cover letter that directly explains how you meet every single requirement of the job description. Ideally, include sub-headings for each requirement, followed by convincing evidence that you have experience in this area. This makes it easy for recruiters because you are giving them everything they are looking for, and they don’t have to do the work for you.
- Presentation is everything, as this indicates that you will also have good attention to detail in your work if you get the position. Whatever type of role you are applying for, make sure your application looks professional and details such as spacing, capitalization and full-stops are consistent. Make sure there are no errors or typos. For example, if someone sends a sloppy and badly formatted application for a job as a WordPress developer, then I would assume that their code will have the same issues.
- All text must be well-written. Even if it’s not a writing job, this shows that you would communicate well in team chats and so on. If you’re not a confident writer, ask someone to proof-read it.
- It’s fine to use ChatGPT or AI to some extent, but don’t use it to write your entire covering letter. Recruiters who are reading hundreds of covering letters can instantly spot the AI-written cover letters because while they are well-written, they all follow an almost identical format. While AI isn’t bad in itself, recruiters see over-use of AI as a warning sign because it prevents them from getting a good understanding of your individual skills or personality.
- Your CV should be nicely presented and easy to read. Ideally, create or download a template to make the design look more professional and make it stand out from all the text-only CV’s. Use a modern font.
- To make your application stand out even more, create a slightly different version of your CV for each job that you apply for. Tweak the wording slightly so that while your CV is still an accurate summary of your skills and career history, it uses similar wording to the description of the job you are applying for. Again, this makes it clearer to recruiters that you are the person they are looking for.
- Make sure your application shows your personality. Most job applications sound the same and are written in a very corporate and formal way that doesn’t reflect the reality of the WordPress industry at all! Most WordPress companies are friendly, and recruiters want to hire genuinely nice people who will get on with their team.
- Don’t cheapen yourself by promising to do a free trial. This is not helpful for recruiters because it would prevent them from comparing you with other applicants, and makes you sound desperate. Instead, sound keen and competent, and make sure it is clear that you meet all the requirements of the job.
- And finally, please please please spell important industry terms like WordPress and WooCommerce correctly! If someone writes “I am a WordPress expert with over ten years experience” then my first thought is “No you’re not, as you can’t even spell it”! I have discussed this with many WordPress company owners and most agree that spelling important terms incorrectly would damage an applicant’s chances, or even cause them to be rejected immediately. Harsh but true!
If you thoroughly follow these tips then your application will instantly grab the recruiter’s attention.
I realise that writing such an effective application is a lot of work. However, doing it properly is the best possible use of your time because it’s the only way to maximize your chances of success. It’s far better to spend 2 hours preparing an outstanding application than to spend the same amount of time writing 10 poor quality applications.
What are the emerging trends or areas of growth in the WordPress industry, and how can job seekers align themselves with these opportunities?
Job seekers can give themselves an edge by building their skills in new and emerging areas which are likely to keep growing over the coming years. For example, developers need to continue learning React, block development, and how to use the latest AI tools to improve their work. Ideally, they will even have completed AI projects which they can mention in their applications. Similarly, marketers should be up-to-date with the latest SEO guidance and have opinions on how this is likely to change due to AI.
You can find Katie Keith on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Thanks, Katie, for taking the time to do this!
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