Speaker Interview: Tracy Rotton

Tim: What’s your WordPress “origin” story?


Working as a government contractor a few years ago, I needed a solution to create some small federal websites that would be easy for office staff to update on their own. I didn’t know much about WordPress at the time, but it seemed to be a perfect fit.

As the years went on, I’ve been consistently impressed by what is possible to create with WordPress, and have built increasingly complex sites with it as it has continued to evolve. I’ve also made great friends in the local and global WordPress community and enjoy the opportunity to spend time with that at WordCamps around the country.

Tim: Whats your top 3 WordPress plugins? Why?

  1. Advanced Custom Fields Pro is a must-have on every project. I’ve come to use its “”Flexible Content”” fields as a way of making truly flexible WordPress sites that are still easy to manage for our clients.
  2. WP Migrate DB Pro is another must to make the development process run smoother when you’re working on teams and need to keep databases in sync.
  3. Finally WP REST API is one I’ve used a lot lately, as we’ve continued to push the envelope when it comes to front-end experiences built off of Backbone.js and the JSON REST API. I’m very much looking forward to its inclusion in WordPress core.

Tim: Whats your most proud achievement around WordPress?


At RP3 Agency, we’ve built some truly awesome, award-winning sites using WordPress. We launched the Washington Area Women’s Foundation website (thewomensfoundation.org) earlier this year, and it has increased their effectiveness and improved their ability to fulfill their mission to help DC-area women who are trying to overcome poverty.

Tim: What do you want our readers to know about you?


I live, breathe, eat, and drink all things web. I spend most of my time trying to think how I can improve the web experience we build for our clients, or how I can improve my skills. My personal motto is “Always be leveling up,” which is why I love speaking at WordCamps and conferences. I want to share what I’ve learned with others so that together we can make the web a better experience for everyone.

Tim: Define yourself with one word.


Passionate

Tracy is talking about SASS + RWD: THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT , so you won’t want to miss it.