Today, we are talking with Natalie MacLees from Purple Pen Productions. She is the author of jQuery for Designers, a guide that has helped many. She is well known in the WordPress community because of her stupendous contributions. She is also doing a podcast series on her website with the help of Suzette Franck. Natalie believes that contributions from all those who earned from the WordPress community makes it stronger and long lasting.
Let’s not waste any time and start reading the interview. 😉
Cloudways: You started your career as a web designer. Then you moved to web development. How was the overall experience? How WordPress came into your life?
Natalie MacLees: I actually started my career as a traditional designer doing business cards, flyers, catalogs, trade show booths, and packaging. When I first got involved with developing websites, I just did it all—the designing and the coding. Of course, at that time, there wasn’t a whole lot to know besides HTML. CSS didn’t exist yet and JavaScript was such a mess that hardly anyone used it. As things like CSS came along, I learned those too. I’ve never designed a website that I handed off to someone else to build. I’ve always tackled the coding too all by myself. So, I really got started as a designer, then moved into both web design and web development at the same time.
At the time, there were a lot of designers in the same boat as me. Clients who’d always hired them to design everything else just naturally assumed that we’d all be able to design and build websites too, and maybe a little naively, a bunch of us just jumped into doing it. I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of trying to make something look the way I want it to on a website. It’s like solving a puzzle.
I did my first WordPress project in 2005, when a client came to me requesting a blog where she could share a photo and poem each day. I did some research into how that might work and decided that WordPress was a good fit. I customized Kubrick and added an animated Flash splash page and was pretty impressed with myself. The client was thrilled, and the site is still live—and she still posts photos and poems occasionally.
Cloudways: Based in California, what do you do at Purple Pen Productions? How this agency got started? Where do you see this project in the next few years?
Natalie MacLees: I am the Founder and Principal for Purple Pen Productions. I oversee all the day-to-day business stuff and also handle most of the coding and design work. I have a few associates who help me get things done.
I founded Purple Pen with two partners in 2009. My two partners ultimately decided the business wasn’t for them, and we split ways after a couple of years. I’ve been running the business on my own since then. It’s so hard to predict the future, but I plan to keep growing the business and grow to 4-5 full-time staff.
Cloudways: You are one of the admins at Advanced WordPress. This group is helping out so many individuals. Other than this, there are several other groups working actively to serve the community. What do you think about this trend? Do you believe these groups on Facebook are really serving their best to WordPress community?
Natalie MacLees: I’m involved with a number of groups that serve the community, both online and offline. There are a large number of people who find these groups super helpful—not just for the help offered with issues, but also for the relationships formed. Of course, there’s always going to be a limit to how much help you can expect to receive for free, but when everyone participates and contributes as much as they get back, it makes everyone feel stronger and better.
Cloudways: WordPress core team has come up with many noticeable changes recently, especially the language selection, plugin view, etc. Which features do you like the most? Do you think WordPress is now on its peak and the core team should consider more on the security issues?
Natalie MacLees:Â I’m a big fan of the features that make WordPress easier for people to use, especially beginners. I love the ability to drag images right into the editor to upload them and display them on your pages. These little things make a big difference in how quickly and easily someone is able to learn.
I definitely don’t think the WordPress UX is at it’s peak. There is so much more that could be done. For example, the Customizer is a *huge* leap forward in letting people see exactly what happens on their site when they make changes. But in other aspects, there’s a big gap between the WordPress admin area and the front-end of the site.
It’s difficult to grasp or understand how changes you’re making will impact the way the site looks. I’m watching the development of  front-end editing. I think once someone can actually see in real time the impact that they’re having on the site, it’s going to be so much easier for newcomers to learn and catch on.
Cloudways: WordPress is now a common choice for bloggers and developers. More than 20% websites are now using WordPress as Content Management System (CMS). Imagine for a moment there is no such thing as WordPress. Which other CMSes would you prefer to work on?
Natalie MacLees:Â I’ve been really impressed with Perch, and occasionally use that for sites that are small and simple. It’s easy to work with, has excellent support, is easy to build templates for and, while it’s not free like WordPress, the license price is more than reasonable.
Most of the other CMSes I’ve worked on have either been ridiculously huge and bloated or difficult to customize and work with.
Cloudways: You have a very busy life. Do you find time for other activities? Any interests that you would like to share with the readers?
Natalie MacLees:Â Yes, I surely have a busy life. I do manage to find some time for things beside my business and WordPress community activities. Last year, I cofounded the Los Angeles Chapter of Girl Develop It, and we’ve been slowly ramping up and offering affordable and accessible coding classes for women.
Aside from that, I really enjoy reading and being crafty, I do a lot of crafty stuff. Most recently I’ve been learning how to do hand lettering. I also like swimming and belly dancing.
Cloudways: WordPress communities are continuously growing with day in and day out. WordCamps are sort of great gatherings to shake hands and discuss knowledge. How many WordCamps have you attended? Have you organized any such event? How was your experience?
Natalie MacLees: Oh my, I must have attended at least 20 WordCamps in several different cities and states, and I’ve spoken at many of them. The first WordCamp I attended was WordCamp San Francisco in 2007. I love meeting other people, who earn their living from WordPress like I do, and sharing stories.
I was the lead organizer for WordCamp Los Angeles for 2013 and 2014. It was a lot of work, but it was also super rewarding to be the one responsible for bringing all those people together.
Cloudways: Tell us about five of the most influential people, whom you have come across in the WordPress community. Why do they inspire you as an individual, and what they do with WordPress?
Natalie MacLees: Wow, I have to keep it to just 5 people? That seems almost impossible because there are so, so many influential, generous, and super smart people in the WordPress community.
Let’s see:
- Suzette Franck, who is a front-end developer at WebDevStudios, for her generosity and her dedication to teaching and sharing her knowledge.
- Alex Vasquez, who runs DigiSavvy, for being dedicated to fostering a tightly-knit and super helpful and supportive community.
- Greg Douglas, who runs Premium Interactive, for his creativity, his approach to business, and how he works so tirelessly to make sure our designs for WordCamp LAX are incredibly awesome.
- Nathan Tyler, who runs Tyler Digital, because he is an amazing programmer and he’s also helpful to so many people.
- Chris Lema, CTO at Crowd Favorite, for his generosity and the way he shares knowledge and encourages community.
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Cloudways: You have a great following. Indeed you are an experienced developer to follow. Is there any way to reach you for help? Also, what do you advice to the beginners, who are highly inspired to kickstart their career in WordPress?
Natalie MacLees: Probably the best bet for reaching out to me for help, is to use one of the channels where I volunteer my time to offer support. Online, I’m active in the WordPress forums on LinkedIn and in a few different Facebook WordPress groups as well. Offline, I host and attend meetups on WordPress, JavaScript, and web development regularly.
You can follow Natalie MacLees on Twitter.
Waseem Abbas
Waseem Abbas was WordPress Community Manager at Cloudways. He loves to help people with their WordPress worries. He is a self-proclaimed "food explorer".
