Nathan Wrigley hosts Elliott Richmond on the Jukebox Podcast from WP Tavern to talk WordPress development, content creation, and an unexpected pizza business built with WordPress tools.
Background
Elliott has developed with WordPress for over 20 years, tracing his experience back to b2 before it became WordPress. Self-taught and active in the community, he once published a developer-focused advent calendar in 2013 and continues to build, teach, and create content—primarily on YouTube.
Pizza business built on WordPress
During COVID lockdowns Elliott and his wife started a local pizza delivery service. What began as a temporary community effort grew into a business employing staff and licensing the model to others. The entire operation runs on WordPress technologies: WordPress core, WooCommerce, Jetpack, and custom plugins Elliott developed.
He created a plugin (Pizza Pilot) that handles ordering needs specific to small food businesses: time-slot booking, radius-based delivery (postcode/distance restrictions), and other workflow features. The plugin has a freemium model and a Pro version bundled with licensees. The license approach is not franchising but a packaged model that includes the plugin and marketing/delivery processes. Elliott notes the surprising reach—customers willing to travel great distances to collect pizzas—and that the plugin can be used for bakeries and other local businesses needing restricted delivery windows or zones.
Working with wordpress.com / Automattic
Automattic (wordpress.com) approached Elliott—via Michelle Frechette and Stacey Carlson—to create sponsored content about wordpress.com features and workflows. That contact led to further introductions and a broader opportunity to produce content through 2026 aligned with wordpress.com’s goals.
Elliott’s remit is flexible. He creates content for his own YouTube channel (elliottrichmondwp), with early access to some features and informal briefs from wordpress.com about target audiences and topics. The arrangement gives him freedom to shape content while aligning with wordpress.com priorities when helpful. He emphasizes that the relationship is collaborative rather than directive, and content remains on his channels for his audience.
Content approach and goals
Elliott focuses on educational videos that simplify technical concepts—templating, patterns, template parts, debugging tools like Xdebug, and emerging topics such as AI integration. He plans long-form videos with spin-off short-form clips for broader reach. His aim is to make complex or developer-focused features understandable and actionable for users and creators.
YouTube as feedback loop
Elliott values YouTube comments and community feedback as part of the development cycle. Comments often inspire new videos and help refine opinions on features. He welcomes both praise and critical feedback because it generates discussion and improvement.
Production process and kit
Elliott’s setup is intentionally low-tech and practical:
– He records on an iPhone mounted near his computer.
– Lighting can be improvised—he described a simple diffuser made from a cat food pouch box and tissue paper over an LED light.
– He scripts loosely, using notes and spoken brain dumps captured with the phone or accessibility tools, then polishes those drafts (often with AI help) into structured scripts.
– Editing and motion graphics are done in DaVinci Resolve (paid for extra features, but the free version is powerful).
– He uses studio monitors and sound tools from his music production background for audio quality.
He emphasizes that you don’t need expensive gear to start; clear structure and the ability to explain concepts well are more important.
Why this matters
Elliott’s story highlights WordPress’s versatility. Beyond typical sites, the platform can power local commerce, bespoke ordering systems, and novel business models. His dual role—developer and pizza business owner—illustrates how WordPress can be the technical glue that enables nontechnical business scaling and productization.
Working with wordpress.com is also an example of how the ecosystem is supporting independent content creators to educate users about evolving features. Elliott sees opportunity for creators to fill documentation and tutorial gaps, especially as WordPress evolves rapidly with new features and AI developments.
Where to find Elliott
– YouTube: elliottrichmondwp
– Website/blog: elliottrichmond.co.uk
This episode discusses developer history, community involvement, building a WordPress-powered local business, creating productized plugins, and producing accessible educational content for a changing WordPress landscape.
