WP Builds

On the podcast today we have John Turner. John has been part of the WordPress ecosystem for over 20 years, creating products like SeedProd and working closely with the community. He’s currently focused on WPVibe, an AI-powered plugin that’s rapidly gaining traction, racing towards 100,000 active installs. Partnered with Awesome Motive, John is at the intersection of AI and WordPress, building tools that make complex site management simpler for everyone, from absolute beginners to seasoned pros. We chatted about the remarkable journey of WPVibe, its early pivots, the massive growth in adoption, and the vision behind bringing AI into the WordPress workflow. We discussed the role of MCPs, essentially toolkits that AI can use to manipulate a WordPress site, acting like a virtual contractor with all the right equipment for the job. We also got into accessibility. John describes how WPVibe lets users, even those with no technical background, create or modify their websites just by conversing with an AI agent like ChatGPT or Claude. We then got into how the plugin introduces safety layers and approval steps to ensure destructive changes don’t happen unexpectedly, and how real-world users, including the visually impaired and those completely new to the web, have been able to harness AI to bring their sites to life. Towards the end, the chat moves on to the evolving role of plugins like WPVibe in agency workflows, how developers can leverage AI to stay competitive, and the importance of education around AI prompting. Practical details surfaced too... how WPVibe works, how it interacts with different themes, plugins, and block editors, and the pricing model based on actual usage rather than a flat subscription. Whether you’re excited or skeptical about the promise of AI in web development, this episode is packed with insights on how AI is shaping the future of WordPress, making the platform more approachable, flexible, and powerful for all. If you’ve wondered how close we really are to building and running sites by 'just asking' this conversation is for you.

In this episode, the panel tackles the overwhelming surge in security vulnerabilities, driven by AI's capacity to discover flaws at scale. They discuss critical Linux kernel exploits and the dangers of IoT devices, debating whether to disconnect the internet entirely. Beyond the doom, they cover WordPress 7.1.4's massive security patch, the platform's ambitious AI agent roadmap, and the vital need for education and youth engagement to secure the ecosystem's future.

On the podcast today we have Ken Young. Ken joins us from Toronto, Canada, and has a background in e-learning, plugin development, and WordPress automation. As a founder of Uncanny Owl, Ken and his team first made waves in the WordPress world with their focus on e-learning and LearnDash integrations before expanding into broader automation solutions. Ken is here to talk about all things automation within WordPress, specifically, how Uncanny Automator empowers users to connect plugins, SaaS apps, and workflows directly inside their WordPress websites. Think of it as the 'Zapier for WordPress,' letting you streamline, combine, and chain tasks between popular tools like WooCommerce, LearnDash, CRMs, and more, without the need for custom code or hopping between a dozen different connectors. We start by exploring the origins of Uncanny Automator, how the team identified the need for customisable, visual automation in the ecosystem, and the plugin’s rapid growth, now boasting over 240 integrations and 50,000+ users. We then get on to the real-world use cases, from form automations and content workflows to self-enrollment for courses, complex multi-trigger recipes, and even unusual edge-cases dreamed up by power users. Ken talks about how having automation live entirely within WordPress offers benefits in privacy, simplicity, logging, and error reporting. Towards the end we explored Ken’s insights on building integrations, how community feedback and AI have accelerated development, and where automation and page-building intersect in the era of AI. We learn about the new Uncanny Agent and Page Builder features, and how they are changing the future of Ken's products, letting users build pages and automations by simply describing what they want, no coding or design degree required. If you’re curious about scaling your WordPress site’s efficiency, connecting your tools, or seeing the future of AI-powered site management, this episode is for you.