Who is Remkus de Vries?
Remkus de Vries is one of the most respected experts in the WordPress community, thanks to his many contributions, most notably his efforts to make WordPress a better place for everyone. His journey through this lively community displays a unique combination of technical skill and community spirit, with important contributions to WordPress’s growth and accessibility.
Remkus has been involved in using WordPress before most of the functionality we now pretty much take for granted was even around. In fact, his first drive was really one of necessity: the Dutch translations of the WordPress updates had a very belated and incredibly poor quality. Remkus quickly took it upon himself to coordinate with others to improve the quality and decrease the time it takes for the translation releases so that Dutch users will be able to read them at the same time as the rest of the world. This commitment to improving product quality exemplified his dedication to the WordPress community from the beginning.
His leadership skills were further showcased as he co-founded and organized the first WordCamp Netherlands. The local camp was such a success that it led him to the big stage – he became the co-founder of WordCamp Europe in 2013. The event has since evolved into the biggest and most influential meeting in the WordPress community, bringing together participants from all around the world to exchange ideas, innovation, and camaraderie.
In addition to these organizational tasks, Remkus has contributed a lot to the community with his professional efforts. He is the leader of the specialized agency Truer than North, which focuses on the peak optimization performance of WordPress and WooCommerce websites. The project is geared toward strengthening the online presence of businesses at the same time and increasing the power and sustainability at large of WordPress as an e-commerce and content management platform.
Remkus is a strong practitioner of sharing his knowledge in the form of a blog, “Within WordPress” newsletter, and podcast. He uses these sites to share WordPress updates, and suggestions, and communicate with the community on web development and digital strategy-related subjects.
His approach to community involvement is inclusive and supportive, as evidenced by how he responds to the needs of varied WordCamp attendees. Knowing full well that these can be some challenging circumstances, especially for introverts or anybody else just finding their place within the community, Remkus makes sure that several things are in place to make these events inclusive and comfortable for all. From silent rooms to reach features for presentations, his work in the branch makes those essential community meetings more comfortable and effective for everybody engaged.
With such myriad contributions, Remkus de Vries has always been considered a powerful pillar in the WordPress community. In doing so, his work contributes to the technical underpinnings of WordPress, not just aiding its development but also personifying an enriched community spirit, demonstrating how powerful it is when technical competence is combined with a commitment to community building.
1. What key skills and qualities do successful WordPress professionals possess, and how can job seekers develop or demonstrate these traits?
Remkus de Vries:
Like with any software, if you can demonstrate you know how to build with WordPress in the most native of ways, you’re demonstrating proficiency. The easiest way to demonstrate this is to share your learnings, your best practices, and your knowledge on your blog, on your GitHub, in your plugins. Basically on anything publicly visible.
For me, the key skills revolve around understanding that every single choice you make in building your WordPress solutions is understanding coding standards, using best practices, and keeping performance, scaling, and accessibility in mind at every single step of the way.
2. 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?
Remkus de Vries:
At a certain time, I was done with my agency. I had been working on generic WordPress sites too long. This burned me out and I needed to find my joy again. For about 5 years I did other things, but I slowly found my way back to a niche I had always enjoyed working within. When I “rebooted” my agency, my sole focus was on the performance side of things. It’s been over 2 years since that decision, and I’ve not regretted it one second.
3. 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?
Remkus de Vries:
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, know that the only way forward is to focus on smaller tasks. Breaking down what you’re doing into smaller chunks keeps the mind sane and positive. You’ll have more things you can check off and that’s good for the “I’ve got something done today” vibe.
4. How can job seekers differentiate themselves in a competitive job market? Are there any unique approaches or strategies that you recommend?
Remkus de Vries:
Similar to what I’ve answered in the first question. Make sure you stand out by sharing what you know. Keeping everything you know in your head and not on blogs and repos, is not the way forward. Sharing is caring. Also caring towards yourself.
5. What are the emerging trends or areas of growth in the WordPress industry, and how can job seekers align themselves with these opportunities?
Remkus de Vries:
Site Editing is the future of WordPress. Make sure you understand how to build fast and performant sites with the technologies that Site Editing requires. Understanding modern PHP, React, and general JavaScript is where the future is at.
Thanks, Remkus, for this interview and all your involvement in the WordPress community! ????
You can find Remkus de Vries on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and his website.
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