Joshua Alexander will be presenting on “How To Generate Leads With WordPress”.

We asked Joshua a few questions, so you can get to know him a little before hand…

Where do you go first to get your WP news, insights, and updates?

I get most my news from WordPress.org forums. But I find that being a beta tester for Automattic gives you the best information first since we can test the upcoming versions.

What WP consultants deserve more love than they get? Who should we be paying attention to?

I think there is two worlds one is those in the development and design business. And others are in the internet marketing industry. Some like myself dabble in both sides so we get to see the marketing side that some of the rest of the community doesn’t get to see.

What performance tips would you give to other pros (as related to speed, scalability, security, plugins, backup, etc.)?

Outsource sales and you’ll be able to do what you like doing. Ever since I outsourced my sales it has easily tripled my business.

Confess to us your biggest moment of WP fail?

I think that the biggest fail was in the beginning trying to push the envelope before I really knew what I was doing. Over time you learn what not to do. But you feel way better when you can fix the problems without re-installing that’s when I felt way more comfortable.

If you were going to spend this weekend creating a plugin that doesn’t exist, what would it be?

Either a drop box plugin to make it easier to transfer data between me and my clients without using drop box. Or a content syndication plugin to automatically blast out my content, videos, and audios to other websites.

Do you use Themes & Child Themes, Roll your own, or both?

We use Genesis and custom build child themes for them.

What’s your favorite theme or theme framework? Why?

My favorite is Genesis so far but I’m always open to looking at other frameworks. I’ve been using Genesis since I started so a lot of it is probably just comfort level for me.

Favorite plugin or least favorite plugin?

Favorite: Easy Webinar Plugin (Premium) Automated Webinar Plugin
Least Favorite: Popup Domination (Premium) Crashes too many sites

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done with Custom Post Types?

Nothing really cool just the regular stuff required for client projects.

What do you think is the biggest challenge that WP consultants will face in 2013?

I think the biggest challenge WordPress in general faces is the introduction of new technologies. With tablets and mobile more prominent we need to ensure that the technology changes with it.

If you could change one thing today about WP, what would it be?

Making the default theme a drag and drop to attract new users.

Where do you see WordPress going in the next 2-3 years?

I wish I could tell so I can develop that market first. But I’m sure where ever it goes it will continually improve.

Tell us a story where you saved the WP day for yourself or on a client project. What made the difference for you?

During the recent hack attacks in WordPress we had several competitors contact us to unhack their client sites that weren’t properly protected. We were able to land several contracts where they decided to stop building and refer all future builds to my company.

What’s the biggest misconception you encounter about WordPress, and how do you clear it up for your clients?

I think we all have this one but we get isn’t that a blog. And I clarify it by showing examples of sites we’ve done and how much its not just a blog but a marketing hub that can help them send content from a single location by linking their social media etc to the site for automatic syndication.

If you were interviewing another WordPress developer for a job, what is the first question you would ask and why?

I usually want to see clean coding that keeps security in mind. Then I usually try them out on a one week trial for test project and make my determination after that.

When was the first time that you really got excited about WordPress OR at what point did you decide to make it your career?

I started out with WordPress back in 2008-2009 after testing several platforms. Been addicted ever since. I started a website development company as an accident actually I started out as a business consulting firm and found that websites seemed to be their number one issues that they were requesting so I decided to throw my hat in the ring now we are a full-time website development and SEO company.