Topher DeRosia is a web developer with 30 years’ experience and about 15 years deeply involved in the WordPress community. He’s attended nearly 80 WordCamps worldwide, contributed to projects like HeroPress, and advocates for open source and remote work. In this conversation he and Nathan Wrigley discuss the value of doing work in public and how sharing your work openly can create unexpected opportunities over time.
Topher’s entry into WordPress was accidental: he didn’t know the community existed until friends suggested organizing a WordCamp. That sudden introduction changed his life. His wife and children became involved too; both children have spoken at WordCamp US. For Topher, the community isn’t just professional networking—it’s a global safety net and extended family.
Why does the WordPress community feel different? Topher argues that open source and remote work are the key ingredients. When people worldwide can access and build on the same software, individuals in Malaysia, Michigan, or Malta can compete and collaborate on a level playing field. He notes that other niche conferences (for example, higher education tech or small CMS communities like Umbraco) have the same atmosphere: people genuinely love the software and the shared purpose.
Gratitude and real human impact keep contributors engaged. Topher recounts meeting a person at WordCamp London who learned WordPress from his OS Training videos and went on to support his family. Moments like that—strangers expressing how a tutorial or plugin changed their lives—are powerful motivators. Topher emphasizes that while contributors don’t create to get thanks, knowing your work matters makes it easier to keep giving time and effort.
Topher says his inclination to help others goes back to college, when he became fascinated by motivation and the role gratitude plays in encouraging generosity. He and Nathan reflect on studies that suggest giving and deep friendships are major predictors of happiness—both abundant in communities like WordPress.
Much of Topher’s career growth came from doing things openly rather than planning a publicity campaign. He made videos for OS Training and other places without trying to build a personal brand, but that body of work later led to opportunities—for example, being asked to make videos for others because his previous work was visible. HeroPress began as a simple project and gradually became a substantial resource because he kept adding essays over time. Small contributions—plugins with a dozen installs, photo contributions, posts—add up and signal competence to others in the community.
Topher recommends collecting your scattered contributions in one place. He built topher.how to aggregate his blogs, videos, and projects so people and potential collaborators can see his history. This long-tail visibility leads to serendipity: a Bangladesh company that knew his work hired him to appear on camera for videos, a client relationship rooted in prior public contributions.
He distinguishes “community-known” from fame: within WordPress you can be widely recognized for tangible contributions, while outside that circle you remain anonymous. Pippin Williamson advised Topher early on to avoid seeking fame; instead, being useful and generous naturally leads to being known within a community without chasing attention.
The conversation also touches on the tension between philanthropic open source ideals and commercial realities. Successful WordPress businesses must handle payroll, growth, downturns, and hard decisions like layoffs. When a beloved community company faces hard times, it can disappoint people who assumed the company was driven only by community values. Topher notes that companies that scale have more bills and responsibilities—even if they started with the best intentions. This tension is complex and unlikely to be fully resolved, but WordPress still often fares better than many IT communities in addressing inclusivity and diversity. He warns against resting on laurels: acknowledging strengths doesn’t excuse complacency.
Topher believes the WordPress ecosystem will continue because there will always be a new person—often young or from an underserved place—discovering the software and starting a new life with it. That prospect motivates him to keep supporting newcomers and producing free resources. He admits it can be a struggle: monetizing content would help pay bills, but making resources freely available can reach someone in a low-income situation who needs them most.
An example of his current approach: he planned a paid beginner course but shifted to creating free YouTube videos when a WordPresser sponsored the work on condition they be published publicly. He’s producing frequent short videos aimed at absolute beginners—“one-minute” clips on basic tasks—and also some longer developer-oriented walkthroughs. He’s intentionally taking the long view: slow, consistent public work builds a foundation that grows over years rather than weeks. HeroPress and his other projects all grew that way—one essay, one video, one plugin at a time.
Topher’s advice for people in 2025 and beyond: do useful things in public, be patient, and prioritize helping those who need free access. Public contributions create a cumulative record that can lead to interviews, opportunities, clients, and lasting relationships. You can build credibility without chasing influencer status; the long-term, incremental approach rewards generosity and persistence.
Where to find Topher: his aggregated site is topher.how, and his personal blog is topher1kenobi.com. He also uses the handle Topher1Kenobi across platforms.