Elliott Richmond has been working with WordPress for more than two decades, tracing his experience back to the b2 days. Largely self-taught and freelancing from early on, he’s built sites across multiple CMS platforms, contributed to community projects (including a 2013 WordPress advent calendar), and now combines development, teaching, and a surprising local food business.
A pizza business built on WordPress
During the COVID lockdowns Elliott and his wife Rachel launched a local pizza delivery project that started as a temporary effort and evolved into a busy weekend enterprise. The operation now employs staff and is offered as a licensed model to others. WordPress is at the heart of the stack: WooCommerce, Jetpack, WordPress core and custom code power the site and workflows.
To support the model he created a plugin called Pizza Pilot. It manages ordering with slot-based time windows, enforces postcode-radius delivery rules while allowing out-of-radius customers to collect, and implements other ordering constraints needed for local, time-limited sales. Pizza Pilot is a freemium plugin with a Pro tier bundled for licensees. The goal is to make the approach portable for bakeries, pop-ups and other small-scale, time-sensitive vendors.
Content partnerships with wordpress.com and Automattic
Elliott was connected into a sponsored content opportunity through community contacts (Michelle Frechette) and introductions to Automattic colleagues (Stacey Carlson and Brit Solata). The arrangement gives him early access to wordpress.com tools and the freedom to create videos for his YouTube audience that show how he uses those features in real workflows.
Content is produced primarily on his own channel but aligned to a brief and target audience provided by wordpress.com. Elliott appreciates the flexibility: there are goals and guidelines, but not heavy-handed mandates, so he can make candid, useful material.
Creative influences and formats
He cites Jamie Marsland (head of the wordpress.com YouTube channel) as an influence—particularly for approachable video styles and the “speed challenge” format—and plans to produce a mix of long-form tutorials and short social clips. His aim is to make new or complex functionality accessible, and to bridge gaps between developer-facing documentation and everyday user needs.
Education, documentation gaps, and feedback
Education is central to Elliott’s work: he demonstrates features, shows how to implement them, and outlines practical workflows. As WordPress evolves rapidly—templates, template parts, patterns and AI-driven changes—creators like him help translate platform shifts into actionable knowledge.
YouTube comments serve as a real-time feedback loop. He uses audience reaction and critique to iterate on topics, clarify confusing points and refine future videos, welcoming critical feedback as a driver for improvement.
How he makes videos
Elliott scripts loosely, preferring structured notes or flashcard-style prompts that let him go off-script naturally. His workflow typically includes:
– Brain-dumping voice notes into Apple Notes using accessibility voice input.
– Refining and lightly polishing the draft (sometimes with AI assistance).
– Recording on an iPhone with simple lighting; he jokes about DIY diffusers made from a cat food pouch box and tissue.
– Editing and adding motion graphics in DaVinci Resolve (he uses the paid version but notes the free edition is very capable).
– Monitoring audio on studio monitors (NS-10s) and iterating cuts.
He enjoys editing and motion graphics, is learning node-based animation, and uses visuals and analogies to demystify complicated topics. Topics he’s keen to cover include developer tools (for example, Xdebug in the Studio app), templating concepts, and the impact of AI on workflows.
A practical, low-cost kit
Elliott intentionally keeps his setup accessible:
– Camera: iPhone for recording.
– Lighting: LED lights and DIY diffusers.
– Notes/scripting: Apple Notes with voice input; AI for polishing.
– Editing/motion graphics: DaVinci Resolve.
– Audio monitoring: studio monitors (NS-10s).
His point: clear explanations and a solid structure matter far more than expensive gear when you’re trying to teach and demonstrate practical workflows.
Where to find him
– YouTube: elliottrichmondwp (his WordPress-focused channel).
– Website/blog: elliottrichmond.co.uk (note the double L and double T in his name).
Summary
Elliott Richmond combines long-term WordPress development experience with hands-on small-business application and educational content creation. His pizza project shows how WordPress can power local commerce and bespoke workflows, while his videos and tools aim to make platform changes understandable and usable for a broad audience of developers and creators.