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Top 20 WordPress Specialists You Can Trust

e2fdd8c4279a3d58dc6bd767cdb2bbfc 2 - Top 20 WordPress Specialists You Can Trust

WordPress powers over 40% of the web—and behind that staggering number is a global community of brilliant developers, educators, entrepreneurs, and open-source champions.

From core contributors and plugin architects to startup founders still writing code, this list highlights some of the most active and influential WordPress specialists today. Whether shaping the future of the block editor, building tools used by millions, or fostering inclusive communities, these individuals are helping WordPress thrive in 2024 and beyond.

  1. Matt Mullenweg
  2. Peter Westwood
  3. Mike Little
  4. Lisa Sabin-Wilson
  5. Felix Arntz
  6. Josepha Haden Chomphosy
  7. Helen Hou-Sandí
  8. Matías Ventura
  9. Riad Benguella
  10. Syed Balkhi
  11. Ahmad Awais
  12. Joost de Valk
  13. Mike Jolley
  14. Justin Tadlock
  15. Chris Lema
  16. Adam Preiser
  17. Marieke van de Rakt
  18. Mark Jaquith
  19. Pascal Birchler
  20. Pooja Derashri

Now, let’s delve into each of these individuals and their contributions:

Matt Mullenweg

YouTube Video

Nationality: American

Matt Mullenweg is the American web developer who co-founded WordPress in 2003 and is the CEO of Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, etc.).

Under his leadership, WordPress grew into the world’s most popular CMS (powering ~43% of websites) while remaining open-source. As WordPress’s project lead and an advocate for open-source, Matt guides its vision and community. He still contributes strategically to code and community discussions, ensuring WordPress’s continued success. His influence spans technical innovation (like initiating the Gutenberg block editor) and ecosystem growth through Automattic’s products and investments.

Peter Westwood

Nationality: British

Peter “Westi” Westwood is a veteran British WordPress developer who became a core committer back in 2005 and later one of the Lead Developers of WordPress.

He worked at Automattic for many years (with fun titles like “Chief Hygiene Officer”) overseeing core maintenance, and has contributed to projects like bbPress and Akismet. He’s also an avid photographer. With nearly two decades in WordPress, Westi’s fingerprints are all over the software’s evolution. He wrote early installation scripts and led releases in the late 2.x/3.x era. His pragmatic approach to solving bugs and optimizing performance earned him respect. Even as an “emeritus” leader now, he continues to advise and occasionally commit code. Peter’s long-term perspective and steady stewardship helped make WordPress as stable and secure as it is today.

Mike Little

Mike Little - Top 20 WordPress Specialists You Can Trust

Nationality: English

Mike Little is the English software developer who co-founded WordPress alongside Matt Mullenweg in 2003.

Based in Stockport, UK, he’s a veteran open-source contributor and currently a Developer Advocate at Human Made (makers of Altis DXP). Mike’s foundational role in creating WordPress and decades of contributions make him a core figure in the community. He helped build WordPress from its inception. Today, he continues to share his expertise through consulting, training, and speaking, while nurturing the local WP community he co-founded in the UK. His enduring commitment earned him an Outstanding Contribution Award in digital media.

Lisa Sabin-Wilson

Nationality: American

Lisa Sabin-Wilson is an American co-founder and COO of WebDevStudios, a major WordPress design and development agency.

A web designer/developer by background, she’s also the author of WordPress For Dummies (and several other For Dummies™ series books), which introduced countless beginners to WordPress. Lisa is a true WordPress pioneer—her first edition of WordPress For Dummies came out in 2007, when WP was just getting started. Through her books and speaking, she’s educated a generation of users and developers. At WebDevStudios, she’s led large-scale WP projects and mentored teams building enterprise sites. Her advocacy for WordPress (spanning 15+ years) and tangible contributions to its documentation and training make her a top influencer and expert.

Felix Arntz

Nationality: German

Felix Arntz is a German web engineer at Google and a WordPress core committer, specializing in site performance.

He has been the technical lead of the WordPress Performance Team and has contributed improvements like lazy-loading images by default in core. Felix also created popular plugins (e.g., the Plugin Compatibility Checker) and is a frequent WordCamp speaker. Felix’s work has significantly optimized WordPress’s speed. He was instrumental in introducing features like native lazy loading and advancing the infrastructure for persistent object caching. At Google, he works on tools that benefit WP (like the Site Kit plugin). Felix is an excellent example of a dev who not only writes code but also mobilizes a team — he helped form a formal Performance team in the WordPress project. His dedication to a faster, more scalable WordPress impacts millions of sites.

Josepha Haden Chomphosy

Josepha Haden Chomphosy - Top 20 WordPress Specialists You Can Trust

Nationality: American

Josepha Haden Chomphosy is an American tech leader who served as the Executive Director of the WordPress project (2019–2024).

Based in Kansas, she coordinated 25 contributor teams and thousands of volunteers in WordPress’s open-source project. She now acts as a “Community Steward,” remaining active in mentoring and community organizing. Josepha has been instrumental in guiding WordPress’s community-driven development. She improved contributor onboarding and governance, ensuring the project’s health and growth. A frequent speaker and educator, she champions open-source values and inclusion. Her leadership and passion for the community helped WordPress thrive in a crucial growth phase.

Helen Hou-Sandí

I believe that code is a form of communication, and clarity is kindness.

Nationality: American

Helen Hou-Sandí is a lead developer of WordPress and an engineering manager at GitHub.

A classically trained pianist turned software engineer, Helen served as Director of Open Source Initiatives at 10up before joining GitHub. She has co-led multiple major WordPress releases (including 4.0, 4.7, 5.6) and has been a core committer since 2014. Helen is celebrated for her technical leadership and mentorship in the WordPress core team. She brings a keen eye for both code and user experience, helping drive projects like the modern admin design and accessibility improvements. As one of only a handful of lead devs, she makes high-level architectural decisions for WordPress and inspires other contributors—especially women in tech—through her conference talks and community engagement.

Matías Ventura

Matias Ventura - Top 20 WordPress Specialists You Can Trust

Nationality: Uruguayan

Matías Ventura is a software engineer from Montevideo, Uruguay, and the Lead Architect of the Gutenberg project (WordPress’s block editor).

Working at Automattic on the Developer Experience team, Matías has been contributing to WordPress core since co-designing the Twenty Eleven default theme. He is the creative vision behind Gutenberg’s architecture. Matías spearheaded the biggest paradigm shift in WordPress’s history: the block editor. His blend of design and engineering expertise drove Gutenberg from concept to reality, bringing a modern, react-based page builder into core. He articulates the long-term vision for Gutenberg (Phase 2+ of site editing) in detailed roadmap posts, inspiring the community. Matías’s leadership has set new standards for WordPress’s UI/UX, ensuring the platform’s relevance for years to come.

Riad Benguella

Nationality: Algerian

Riad Benguella is an Automattic software engineer from Algeria (living between Oran and Spain) and one of the lead engineers of Gutenberg.

He joined the WordPress project in 2016 and quickly became a core contributor focused on front-end architecture. Riad has been the “keeper of the blocks,” maintaining the Gutenberg plugin and block editor code. Riad’s work has been pivotal in making Gutenberg extensible and performant. He implemented key block APIs and editor features, helping WordPress transition to a block-based future. Known for his depth in JavaScript and React, he’s authored countless improvements and educates developers through talks and example code. As a core team rep, Riad also facilitates Gutenberg’s development cycles and community collaboration. His passion for “block everything” continues to push WordPress’s technical boundaries.

Syed Balkhi

Syed Balkhi - Top 20 WordPress Specialists You Can Trust

Nationality: Pakistani-American

Syed Balkhi is a Pakistani-American entrepreneur and developer, best known as the founder of Awesome Motive, the company behind WPBeginner and numerous popular WP plugins (WPForms, OptinMonster, MonsterInsights, All In One SEO, etc.).

He started WPBeginner in 2009 to provide tutorials for new WordPress users and has grown it into the largest free WordPress resource site. Syed combines technical savvy with business acumen. He has built an empire of plugins that collectively power over 25–30 million websites, solving everyday problems for site owners. A coder in his early years, he still guides product strategy and occasionally contributes code. Syed is also a top influencer—through WPBeginner’s content and his active social media presence, he educates millions in the community. In 2018, he was named a Forbes “30 Under 30” entrepreneur for his impact.

Ahmad Awais

Nationality: Pakistani

Ahmad Awais is a prolific Pakistani full-stack developer and Google Developers Expert who has built a number of development tools for WordPress and JavaScript.

He created WP-CLI Boilerplate and create-guten-block, a toolkit that made it easier for developers to build Gutenberg blocks early on. Ahmad has also contributed to core (especially around Gutenberg) and is an outspoken tech educator through his blog and courses. Ahmad stands out for his coding prowess and outreach. When Gutenberg was new, he onboarded many developers with his tutorials and tools, effectively accelerating Gutenberg’s adoption. He’s won awards for his open-source work (e.g., shortlisting for “Hacker of the Year”). Ahmad also contributes beyond WordPress, but he continuously brings those modern practices (like webpack tooling, ESLint configs, etc.) into the WP realm. His energy in sharing knowledge — from live streams to developer meetups — has empowered many in the community.

Joost de Valk

Joost de Valk - Top 20 WordPress Specialists You Can Trust

Nationality: Dutch

Joost de Valk is a Dutch SEO expert and developer, famous as the founder of Yoast — the company behind the Yoast SEO plugin.

He started Yoast in 2010 and grew it into one of WordPress’s most-downloaded plugins (over 5 million installs) before selling to Newfold Digital in 2021. Joost also served as Chief Product Officer at Yoast and today runs an investment firm (Emilia Capital) with his wife Marieke. Joost’s work revolutionized SEO for WordPress. By creating an all-in-one SEO tool that’s accessible to non-technical users, he helped countless sites improve their search rankings. He’s also been a major advocate for open-source and web standards (e.g. working on XML sitemaps in WP core). Even after stepping back from Yoast’s daily operations, he remains a thought leader via his blog and roles advising WP startups. Joost’s blend of coding skill, marketing insight, and community support (through speaking at WordCamps worldwide) cements his top-tier status.

Mike Jolley

Nationality: British

Mike Jolley is a UK-based software engineer at Automattic known for being the lead developer of WooCommerce in its early years.

He previously worked at WooThemes and spearheaded the development of WooCommerce (now the most popular e-commerce plugin on WordPress). Mike also created the popular “WP Job Manager” plugin (later acquired by Automattic). Few have impacted WordPress’s ecosystem as Mike has with WooCommerce. He helped architect a plugin that turned WordPress into a full e-commerce solution, now powering millions of online stores. His clean, modular code set standards for WP plugin development. Mike continues to innovate on the WooCommerce team at Automattic and shares his knowledge via blogging and open-source contributions. His work enables entrepreneurs worldwide to build businesses on WordPress.

Justin Tadlock

Nationality: American

Justin Tadlock is an American WordPress developer and writer. He founded the Theme Hybrid project and authored popular themes and plugins (such as Members).

Justin was a long-time blogger sharing WP tutorials on his site and co-authored Professional WordPress Plugin Development. He later joined WP Tavern as a writer, and recently is a Developer Advocate at WP Engine. Justin has worn many hats—theme designer, plugin developer, and journalist—excelling in each. He ran one of the first theme clubs and moderated the Theme Review Team, helping improve coding standards. His tutorials and Tavern articles have educated the community for over a decade. As a coder, he builds solutions that often land in core (he contributed to block themes and Full Site Editing discussions). Justin’s dedication to both code and content makes him a well-rounded WP specialist.

Chris Lema

Chris Lema - Top 20 WordPress Specialists You Can Trust

Nationality: American

Chris Lema is a US-based WordPress strategist, public speaker, and blogger. He’s the Chief Product Officer at StellarWP (Liquid Web’s software division) and a well-known evangelist for WordPress and WooCommerce.

Chris has been blogging about WordPress for over a decade, focusing on business and product advice. While not a core coder, Chris is influential for his deep product insight and mentorship in the WP community. He has helped numerous businesses with go-to-market strategies, advised plugin companies, and regularly speaks at WordCamps. Chris’s blog posts demystify complex topics like membership sites, pricing models, and e-commerce best practices. He also runs popular WooCommerce events and masterminds. His ability to bridge technical and business worlds has made WordPress accessible to thousands of entrepreneurs.

Adam Preiser

Nationality: American

Adam Preiser is an American WordPress educator and YouTuber, best known for his WPCrafter YouTube channel.

With over 230,000 subscribers, WPCrafter provides easy-to-follow tutorials on WordPress, page builders, and plugins. Adam also co-founded CartFlows (a sales funnel builder for WooCommerce) and Presto Player (a video player plugin). Adam has arguably taught more people how to use WordPress than anyone through his video content. His clear, friendly teaching style lowers the barrier for beginners globally. As an active entrepreneur, he still writes code (e.g., contributing to his plugins). This blend of education and development gives him real credibility. Adam’s community impact – from empowering DIY site builders to influencing product trends – secures his spot among the WP elite.

Marieke van de Rakt

Nationality: Dutch

Marieke van de Rakt is a Dutch entrepreneur and marketer who was CEO of Yoast from 2019 until its 2021 acquisition.

She co-founded Yoast SEO with her husband Joost and led its content strategy (building the famous Yoast blog and academy). Marieke recently started Emilia Capital, an investment firm, and remains a prominent voice in WordPress marketing. Marieke combined her academic background (a PhD in social sciences) with WordPress savvy to turn Yoast’s content into a growth engine. She authored many of Yoast’s SEO training courses, helping users and developers worldwide learn SEO. As CEO, she scaled Yoast to over 100 staff and kept its plugin at the top of the market. Marieke champions diversity and inclusion in WordPress (she launched initiatives for women in tech at Yoast). Her leadership in both product and community makes her stand out.

Mark Jaquith

Mark Jaquith - Top 20 WordPress Specialists You Can Trust

Nationality: American

Mark Jaquith is an independent web developer from the U.S. and was one of the lead developers of WordPress core.

He has been a core committer since 2004, contributing heavily to WordPress’s security, caching, and rewriting systems. Mark now works as a consultant helping large-scale WP deployments. A member of the “WordPress 5” (the early lead devs), Mark’s influence on WordPress is deep. He was the release lead for WordPress 2.5 and 2.9, pushing improvements like the Shortcode API and better plugin update mechanisms. Mark is known for his security mindset—responsible for plugging many vulnerabilities and authoring the WP security whitepaper. Though he keeps a low profile these days, he continues to advise on architecture. His early and ongoing contributions make WordPress faster and safer for everyone.

Pascal Birchler

Nationality: Swiss

Pascal Birchler is a Swiss software engineer who works at Google on the Content CMS team, focusing on WordPress core and performance.

A WordPress core committer since 2016, Pascal has contributed features like PDF thumbnail previews and served as a release lead for WP 5.4. He is also a WordCamp organizer in Switzerland. Still in his twenties, Pascal represents the new generation of WordPress core leadership. He brings a passion for the open web, acting as a bridge between WordPress and Google’s web initiatives (like Core Web Vitals and Site Kit). Pascal’s contributions span from REST API enhancements to community-building (he was a mentor for the Google Season of Docs). In 2017, he was recognized as a WordPress “Rockstar” contributor. With his mix of engineering talent and community spirit, Pascal plays a key role in WordPress’s ongoing success.

Pooja Derashri

Nationality: Indian

Pooja Derashri is an Indian WordPress developer and community leader. She co-founded WPVibes, a plugin development company, and is a WordPress Core Contributor since 2017.

Pooja has served as a WordPress Community Team representative and a WordCamp Asia organizer, helping grow the WP community in India. In 2024, Pooja gained global recognition for her contributions. She’s a rare example of a developer who also excels in community building. Pooja has contributed code to Core (notably in the Test and Training teams) and encourages others to get involved. She often speaks about contributing at meetups and WordCamps, lowering barriers for newcomers. With WordPress adoption surging in India, leaders like Pooja are crucial – she’s inspiring and coordinating the next wave of contributors, truly “giving back” to the project she loves.

Wrap Up

These legends represent exceptional talent, making them extremely challenging to headhunt. However, there are thousands of other highly skilled IT professionals available to hire with our help. Contact us, and we will be happy to discuss your hiring needs.

Note: We’ve dedicated significant time and effort to creating and verifying this curated list of top talent. If you intend to share or make use of it in any way, we kindly ask that you include a backlink to the original source – EchoGlobal.

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