#185 – Mary Ann Aschenbrenner on Switching Clients From Classic to Block Themes

In this WP Tavern episode, Nathan Wrigley interviews Mary Ann Aschenbrenner at WordCamp US 2025 about transitioning websites from classic to block themes in WordPress. Mary Ann shares her journey from community activism to web design, explains the benefits of block themes, including easier maintenance and better SEO, and provides a step-by-step guide for migrating sites. They discuss practical challenges, client education, and the evolving user experience, emphasising that block themes can eliminate the need for page builders and are generally more accessible for clients. Mary also shares anecdotes from her own migration projects and involvement in the WordPress community. Whether you’re a seasoned WordPresser, or are just starting out, and keen to know how block themes are making site building more accessible for everyone, this episode is for you.

In this episode, Nathan Wrigley interviews Rachel Cherry (founder of WP Campus) and Alex Aspinall (Human Made) about the state of WordPress in higher education. They discuss the WP Campus organisation, its mission to support WordPress users in higher ed, insights from a new research report, ongoing challenges like limited resources and slow adoption of new features, and the critical need for accessibility and enterprise-level tools. The episode also explores collaborative opportunities, plugin needs, and how agencies and developers can better serve this complex, resourceful sector. Whether you’re a WordPress professional, agency, educator, or are just curious about the unique needs and opportunities the higher education space offers, this episode is for you.

In this WP Tavern episode, host Nathan Wrigley talks with Destiny Kanno, Isotta Peira, and Anand Upadhyay about WordPress’s growing role in education. They discuss WP Campus Connect, which brings free, hands-on WordPress workshops to schools and universities, helping students develop valuable tech skills and connect with career opportunities. Anand shares success stories from India, while Isotta introduces WordPress Credits, a program allowing students to earn official academic credits for contributing to WordPress. The episode also covers WordPress Student Clubs, giving students ongoing ways to engage and learn. Together, the guests highlight the importance of accessibility, community, and making WordPress education available to young people everywhere. If you’re curious about how to bring WordPress into your local school, university, or community, or if you just want to hear how WordPress is making a difference far beyond the web, this episode is for you.

On the podcast today we have Michelle Frechette and Jonathan Desrosiers, and we're here to unravel the key differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. We explore the historical development, technical distinctions, and user experiences of both platforms, including issues of ownership, ease-of-use, open-source philosophy, community contributions, and the evolving feature sets. The discussion also touches on branding confusion, community perceptions, and the value of both approaches, emphasising that the right choice depends on individual needs rather than a strict rivalry between the two versions. If you’ve ever wondered which version of WordPress is right for you, why the project seems split into two variants, or how community and commerce intertwine in the WordPress ecosystem, this episode is for you.

In this episode, Nathan Wrigley interviews Bob Dunn about his journey from hosting Do the Woo, a WooCommerce-focused podcast, to launching OpenChannels.fm, a broader podcast network covering the open web, open source, and technology makers. Bob discusses the motivations behind the rebrand, his multi-channel and multi-host format, challenges with managing a growing podcast network, the technical side of production, and the evolving sponsorship model. He shares insights on maintaining flexibility, expanding to new topics and voices, and his ongoing commitment to staying engaged while giving others a platform to host and share content. If you’re interested in open source, podcasting, or building community-driven content, this episode is for you.

In this episode, Nathan Wrigley talks with Karla Campos, a lead organiser for WordCamp US 2025 in Portland. Karla shares her journey into organising the flagship event, describing the volunteer-driven, time-intensive process, and how her background in marketing and large-scale event planning helps. They discuss event logistics, the role of production teams, community involvement, challenges faced, efforts to engage students, and some new event features like a hackathon and remote collaboration. Karla emphasises the welcoming community spirit of WordCamp and encourages everyone, especially newcomers and students, to attend. If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of WordCamp US, how it’s organised, how volunteers are supported, and what motivates people like Karla to invest their own time and resources, this episode is for you.

In this episode, Nathan Wrigley talks with Mariya Moeva from Google about Site Kit, Google's official WordPress plugin. Mariya shares her journey from studying classical Japanese literature to leading SiteKit's development, emphasising its goal of making Google tools accessible and easy for WordPress users. They discuss how Site Kit integrates services like Analytics and Search Console, its popularity, support structure, recent features like Reader Revenue Manager, and future plans including more actionable insights for site owners. Mariya also highlights Google's motivation to support the open web and WordPress community. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by analytics dashboards, or are looking for ways to make data more practical and valuable inside WordPress, this episode is for you.

On the podcast today we have Adam Silverstein. He's here to discuss how new browser APIs and web technologies are transforming the WordPress experience. Adam explains advancements like the Popover API, Scroll Animations, CSS carousels, customisable selects, view transitions, and speculative loading, many of which reduce reliance on heavy JavaScript and improve accessibility, performance, and user experience. He also touches upon modern image formats, browser-based image processing, and running AI directly in the browser. Adam highlights the growing collaboration among browser vendors and encourages developers to engage in shaping browser standards for the open web. Whether you’re a theme designer, plugin developer, or site owner simply curious about what’s next, this episode is for you.

In this episode, Nathan Wrigley talks with Charlotte Bax at WordCamp Europe about making websites more environmentally sustainable. Charlotte shares her journey into sustainable web design, offers practical advice on reducing a website’s carbon footprint, like choosing green web hosting, optimising images, improving UX, applying caching, and managing visitor traffic, and introduces advanced concepts like grid-aware websites. The conversation also touches on WordPress’s role in digital sustainability and recent efforts to revive its sustainability team. Charlotte offers resources and invites listeners to connect for further advice on building greener websites. If you’ve ever wondered how digital choices impact the planet, and what steps you can take today to help, this episode is for you.

On the podcast today we have Joe Dolson and Jonathan Desrosiers. We're talking about the concept of canonical plugins in WordPress, focusing on accessibility. We discuss what canonical plugins are, their potential benefits and drawbacks, and whether accessibility features should move from Core to a dedicated plugin. The conversation explores the complexities of accessibility, legal requirements, user experience, and the importance of keeping WordPress inclusive while ensuring essential features remain discoverable and maintained. Whether you're a developer, a site owner, or someone interested in the ethical questions at the heart of open-source software, this episode is for you.