Shawn Hesketh – @shawndh

Member Since: June 1st, 2007
Location: Houston, TX
Website: wp101.com
GitHub: leftlane
Job Title: WordPress Educator, Founder
Employer: WP101
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Bio

Creator of WordPress 101, the popular video tutorial series that has helped three million beginners learn how to use WordPress. 30 years experience as a solopreneur. Cigar and whiskey enthusiast. GeekDad³

Interests

I’m an avid fan of F1 and IndyCar racing, and raced sports cars at an amateur level for many years. I enjoy running, being a GeekDad, and traveling with my wife and three kids. When I’m not in front of the computer, you’ll often find me on the back porch, enjoying a cigar with a nice glass of Scotch.

WordPress Origin Story

I started designing websites in 1994, using WYSIWYG apps like Adobe PageMill. As my skills and the complexity of my clients’ sites grew, I migrated to more powerful apps like Adobe GoLive and Dreamweaver. But by the mid-2000s, my clients began requesting the ability to edit their own content. I explored several of the most popular CMS systems, but they were all overbloated, unnecessarily complicated, and unintuitive. So, imagine my relief when I discovered WordPress 2.0 in June 2006.

Compared to Joomla, Drupal, and Expression Engine, I found WordPress to be super-intuitive, and thankfully, so did my clients. They particularly enjoyed the freedom of being able to edit and create their own website content using just a web browser—without having to learn code or hire a ‘webmaster’ to handle even the smallest of changes. So I began recommending WordPress for every new website, and have never looked back!

In 2008, I created WP101.com, which has become one of the most popular WordPress tutorial sites in the world. Since then, the WordPress 101 tutorial videos have helped more than two million beginners learn how to use WordPress to build their own website or blog. And that’s been both immensely gratifying and deeply humbling.

Contribution History

Plugin Developer
Plugin Developer

Activity
Plugins
Favorites

Committed [2204762] to Plugins Trac:
Tested up to 5.3

4 months ago
Committed [2204738] to Plugins Trac:
Tested and verified for WordPress 5.3, plus some minor housekeeping.

4 months ago
Committed [2030801] to Plugins Trac:
Tested for compatibility with WordPress 5.1

1 year ago
Committed [2010188] to Plugins Trac:
In addition to whether or not the Classic Editor plugin is installed ...

1 year ago
Committed [2000078] to Plugins Trac:
CSS Fix for Arrows

1 year ago
Committed [2000061] to Plugins Trac:
Re-added the original WordPress 101 videos for the Classic Editor in ...

1 year ago
Committed [1998524] to Plugins Trac:
Updated with all-new WordPress video tutorials for the all-new ...

1 year ago
Committed [1998516] to Plugins Trac:
Deleting faulty branch with new 4.1 branch.

1 year ago
Created a topic, Not PHP 7.2 Compatible?, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
As you know, PHP 5.6 and 7.0 will both reach end of li…

1 year ago
Committed [1861460] to Plugins Trac:
Roll back upgrade to 4.1

2 years ago
Committed [1861457] to Plugins Trac:
Add videos for the MailPoet plugin!

2 years ago
Posted a reply to Is the plugin supported or compatible with PHP 7?, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Yes, the WP101 Plugin is compatible with and optimized for PHP 7. Hope this helps!

2 years ago
Posted a reply to WP multisite, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Yes, and you'll want to review the documentation so find out how to add your…

3 years ago
Posted a reply to Worth every penny!, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Hey Jackie, Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with…

3 years ago
Created a topic, Connecting with your site visitors couldn’t be easier., on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Holler Box is a refreshingly simple way to connect wit…

3 years ago
Posted a reply to Payment Required, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Thanks for your question. Actually, the WP101 Plugin qualifies as “Serviceware,” under point number 6…

3 years ago
Created a topic, These videos are completely stolen from WP101., on the site WordPress.org Forums:
The videos used in this plugin use copyrighted materia…

3 years ago
Posted a reply to Recipient “” has too many recent signup requests, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Hi Brandon, I'm getting the same error on my site, ShawnHesketh.com. Have tried your recommendation…

3 years ago
Registered to attend WordCamp San Francisco 2014

6 years ago
Registered to attend WordCamp San Francisco 2014

6 years ago

Developer

WP101

Active Installs: 10,000+

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Bio

Interests

WordPress Origin Story

Contribution History

Developer

Plugins