Elliott Richmond brings two decades of WordPress experience to a mix of teaching, plugin development, and an unexpected pizza business built on the platform. A self-taught developer who began with early CMS tools like b2, he’s freelanced, contributed community resources (including a 2013 advent calendar of code snippets), and now blends development, education, and small-business operations.
Roots in the community
Elliott has watched WordPress evolve from a simple blogging tool to a full CMS and credits community events and meetups with shaping his skills and outlook. Teaching and publishing are part of a feedback loop for him: sharing ideas sparks responses that refine his thinking and suggest new tutorials or tools.
From lockdown project to licensed pizza model
During the COVID lockdowns Elliott and his wife started a local pizza delivery service. What began as a temporary neighborhood offering grew into a staffed operation and eventually a licensed model that could be replicated by others. WordPress is central to the business—sites run on WordPress, with WooCommerce, Jetpack, and custom code powering orders and operations.
Pizza Pilot: a plugin to copy the model
To help others replicate the setup, Elliott developed a plugin called Pizza Pilot. It integrates tightly with WooCommerce and adds business-oriented features, such as:
– Time-slot ordering and slot-based availability
– Radius-based delivery limits using postcode lookup and distance checks
– A freemium approach: a free base plus a Pro bundle for licensees
Elliott stresses that WordPress’ ecosystem—plugins, payments, extensibility—made launching and scaling a microbusiness feasible without bespoke infrastructure.
Working with Automattic and wordpress.com
Contacts at Automattic invited Elliott to produce content showcasing wordpress.com workflows and features. The collaboration gives him early access to some updates while allowing him to publish independently on his own channels. He proposes content ideas, aligns with broad goals, and creates educational videos that reach his audience while also illustrating wordpress.com capabilities.
Content strategy and topics
Elliott plans long-format educational videos alongside shorter clips. His focus is on demystifying newer WordPress concepts (templates, template parts, patterns, developer tooling) and helping people adopt features like full-site editing. He sees creators filling documentation gaps at a time of rapid change—core updates, site editor evolution, and AI tooling all create learning needs.
Community input—both praise and criticism—guides his topics. He treats negative comments as prompts to clarify or expand, turning critique into material for further explanation.
Examples of topics Elliott wants to cover:
– Practical tutorials and workflows for wordpress.com and developer tools
– Studio and developer environment features, such as enabling Xdebug
– AI and tooling: breaking down complex topics into accessible explanations
Creative freedom and trust
Elliott describes his relationship with Automattic as one built on trust and creative freedom. He receives briefs and audience guidance but keeps editorial control. That model supports independent creators with resources while preserving their voice and channels.
Production setup and workflow
His production kit is deliberately low-tech and approachable:
– Recording: iPhone as the camera
– Lighting: DIY solutions (he jokes about using a cat food pouch box with tissue paper)
– Editing: DaVinci Resolve (he uses the paid version but notes the free edition is powerful)
– Audio: experience from music production and studio monitors
His process balances planning with spontaneity: loose scripts or flashcard prompts, initial brain dumps via Notes or speech-to-text, polishing with AI tools, then iterative editing. He mixes scripted segments with off-the-cuff moments and uses motion graphics and analogies to simplify technical ideas.
Motivation
Curiosity and the pleasure of learning motivate Elliott. He compares discovering new technical tricks to finding a new riff on the guitar—small discoveries that spark excitement. While ad revenue helps, his primary drive is the satisfaction of teaching and helping builders solve real problems.
Where to find him
Elliott publishes video content on YouTube under elliottrichmondwp and longer written pieces at elliottrichmond.co.uk (note the double L, double T). His material covers developer topics, wordpress.com workflows, demos, and occasional pizza-related projects with practical takeaways for small businesses.
Summary
Elliott Richmond’s work shows WordPress’ practical versatility: it can power conventional websites and also serve as the backbone for real-world businesses. Through plugin development, educational content, and a small but scalable pizza business, he demonstrates how community, creativity, and accessible tools let makers build, teach, and grow.