{"id":1606,"date":"2012-06-29T10:08:17","date_gmt":"2012-06-29T15:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/?p=1606"},"modified":"2024-01-01T01:28:51","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T07:28:51","slug":"mike-zielonka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/mike-zielonka\/","title":{"rendered":"Finely Tuned Consultant: Mike Zielonka"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MikeStraight Outta’ Racine, Wiskaaan<\/em>son, Mike Zielonka is talking to us this week. \u00a0Mike manages day-to-day operations at Tuna Traffic<\/a>,\u00a0and also acts as a Web Strategy consultant with their clients. Mike\u2019s expertise is in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Social Media. \u00a0He’s also a bit of a baller in WordPress, HTML5, & CSS3. This Tuna can dunk. When Mike isn’t coding and optimizing your SEO, he’ll sit down with a cup of coffee, eat a pizza with extra cheese, and play with his 3 dogs: Bella, Sassy, & Thor. \u00a0Ok, he probably doesn’t do all three at once, but it’s a cool visual.<\/p>\n

In his own words: <\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m Mike, and I want to make sure Austin covers this:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>The Green Bay Packers Blog is the best in the NFL and its build on WordPress. \ud83d\ude1b\u00a0http:\/\/blog.packers.com<\/a>\/. \u00a0And when I know I’m going to be working on WordPress, this is how I top my pizza:\u00a0Thin Crust, sassy sauce (no sweet stuff), fresh Italian sausage, mushrooms (canned), black olives, mozzarella, Colby jack, sharp cheddar, & asiago cheese.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, onto Mike’s answers!<\/strong><\/p>\n

When was the first time that you really got excited about WordPress and at what point did you decide to make it your career? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We (Doug, Brian, Sud, & Myself) founded Tuna Traffic as a Marketing and Technology Company back in October 2010.\u00a0 One of our first needs was to identify a CMS that we could build our clients\u2019 web presence around.\u00a0 It was a no brainer then that we choose WordPress. But for the first year, I thought something better would come out that would give WordPress a run for its money.\u00a0 Ironically, we have never tested another CMS and frankly, may never.\u00a0 Let me take that back\u2026I did buy a book on Drupal 7 but I never read it (it was an inch thick\u2026since then I now only buy books for my Kindle App on my iPad).<\/p>\n

Where do you go first to get your WP news, insights, and updates?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

I used to follow about 10 different WP- centric sites in my feed reader but have since moved on to using Twitter. I found myself only checking my feeds once a week and that put me too far behind.\u00a0 In no particular order: @wpengine<\/a>, @managewp<\/a>, @wpcandy<\/a>, & @smashingmag<\/a> are my top 4 that I trust for quality and relevant WP news.\u00a0 I highly recommend tuning into the @wpcandy podcast\u2026you\u2019ll get to hear some very interesting WP banter for some big names in the WordPres community.\u00a0 I vaguely remember hearing an \u201cshameless self promotion\u201d by the guy who writes at: http:\/\/blog.asmartbear.com\/<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0(ED: Just in case this went over your head, Mike is making a reference to Jason Cohen’s, the founder of WP Engine blog.<\/p>\n

What WP consultants deserve more love than they get? Who should we be paying attention to?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

I am sure there are so many more folks out there that I am missing out on but each one of these folks have shared just a little knowledge with me (even if they may or may not know it) here are the few folks that I really think are doing great and innovate things with and around WordPress:\u00a0Amir Helzer<\/a>\u00a0(Founder of onthegosystems.com<\/a>: WMPL, ICanLocalize, WP Types & Views Plugins),\u00a0Andrew Powers<\/a>\u00a0(Founder of PageLines),\u00a0Carl Hancock<\/a> (Founder of Gravity Forms),\u00a0Joost de Valk<\/a> (Yoast\u2026I am sure you have used one of his plugins),\u00a0Vladimir Prelovac<\/a> (ManageWP),\u00a0Doug Shimp<\/a> (Founder of 3Back, Mentor, Friend, Agility Genius, & Scrum Coach),\u00a0Dan Pastori<\/a> (Co-Founder at 521 Dimensions, Friend and WP Developer about to release some really cool plugins),\u00a0Rand Fishkin<\/a> (SEOmoz\u2026SEO is important\u2026you need folks to come visit your WordPress site, right?)<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to tell it to you like this\u2026it\u2019s not about what you know but who you know.\u00a0 If you surround yourself with visionary & brilliant friends, mentors, & scholars\u2026you will absorb more knowledge than you could ever dream.\u00a0 You may never even meet some of the folks you learn from, but the great ones will help lead you down your path to WordPress stardom (or to at least a master black belt ninja level).<\/p>\n

What performance tips would you give to other pros (as related to speed, scalability, security, plugins, backup, etc.)?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do not try and reinvent the wheel.\u00a0 There are really smart folks out there that have all ready solved 99% of the use cases out there.\u00a0 Become a master plumber instead. Connect all the best pipes and fittings together to create one bad ass WordPress instance.<\/p>\n

Always be looking for the \u201cnext big thing\u201d but \u201calways be testing\u201d before going live (trust me\u2026its tempting to just install and activate a plugin).<\/p>\n

Make sure you are checking for plugin resource hogs.\u00a0 Use P3 Profiler<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you want to know my setup\u2026you will have to tweet me @mikezielonka<\/a> \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n

Confess to us your biggest moment of WP fail? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I deleted the Production VPS instead of the Staging VPS in cPanel and somehow managed to add the Staging VPS IP in the dns\u2026to make matters worse when I restored the backup (my first multisite btw) only one of the sub-sites would load and the others couldn\u2019t locate the blogs.dir folder. The fix: delete all the imported users until you have just 1 admin and 1 super admin.\u00a0 I found the solution buried in a WordPress Trac ticket.\u00a0 Sadly, I never was able to recreate this perfect storm to report it as a bug.<\/p>\n

If you were going to spend this weekend creating a plugin that doesn’t exist, what would it be? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d either make a really cool section for PageLines or a WordPress plugin for Pizza Restaurants to take orders online (Did I ever tell you guys that I love pizza with extra cheese? Feel free to tweet me for my address lol).\u00a0 In all seriousness I work 7 days a week and weekend plugin creating time has been scarce. :\/<\/p>\n

Do you use Themes & Child Themes, roll your own or both? <\/strong><\/p>\n

My setup:\u00a0 PageLines<\/a> as my WordPress Theme Framework and then I child theme on top of that.\u00a0 Note to all \u201cframework haters\u201d you may not use a official WordPress framework but I am willing to bet that you have \u201cborrowed\u201d just a little code to make your own. \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n

What’s your favorite theme or theme framework? Why? <\/strong><\/p>\n

PageLines is the best WordPress Framework by far.\u00a0 Personally I think it gives the best canvas to lay your design on and plug your code into.\u00a0 It gives you drag and drop where it makes sense, amazing global and page\/post controls and 150+ hooks and actions. The PageLines Store is full of free and premium solutions when I need them and Twitter\u2019s Bootstrap will be built in when they release v2.2 in the very near future.\u00a0 I gave a nice little talk about PageLines at the Milwaukee WordPress MeetUp Group.<\/p>\n

Favorite plugin?<\/strong><\/p>\n

4 way tie\u2026 ManageWP<\/a>, WordPress SEO<\/a>, Gravity Forms<\/a>, & WP-Types.<\/a><\/p>\n

Least favorite plugin?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to rat anyone out\u2026but there is one plugin that themes your WP Login page that uses a ton of system resources\u2026and I mean a ton!<\/p>\n

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done with Custom Post Types?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Taught customers how to use them when they edit their own sites.\u00a0 My customers rock!<\/p>\n

What do you think is the biggest challenge that WP consultants will face in 2012?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

There really are two:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Learning how to balance monetizing your services while still supporting the best open source community on the planet.<\/li>\n
  2. Learning how to become a true \u201cJedi Master\u201d of one core skill rather than being a \u201cJack of Trades and Master of None.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you could change one thing today about WP, what would it be?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

    Re-think how WordPress does mobile sites\/themes or refactor the darn visual editor.<\/p>\n

    Where do you see WordPress going in the next 2-3 years? <\/strong><\/p>\n

    I see: media (images, videos, etc.) features\/tools being built smarter into the WordPress Core, a true mobile theming vision evolves, and the \u201cNext Facebook\u201d will be built using WordPress.<\/p>\n

    Tell us a story where you saved the WP day for yourself or on a client project. \u00a0What made the difference for you?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

    We started our partnership with Halle Cottis and her Organic & Holistic Recipe Site, Whole Lifestyle Nutrition<\/a>,\u00a0last fall.\u00a0 Together we have grown traffic by over 3000% and are adding more amazing members to the community everyday.\u00a0 The difference wasn’t WordPress per say, but it was the collaboration that WordPress allows Halle and I to have enabling us to work together even though we live 50 miles apart.\u00a0 It\u2019s already the top Holistic Recipe Blog and within 6 more months it will be the top Organic Recipe Blog.<\/p>\n

    What’s the biggest misconception you encounter about WordPress, and how do you clear it up for your clients?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I find that folks still don\u2019t understand how powerful and dominating WordPress is as a CMS.\u00a0 The sheer numbers speak for themselves: 48 of the top 100 blogs are powered by WordPress, and as of March 2012, 72.4 million sites are powered by WordPress. WordPress.com (the world\u2019s largest multi-site) has over 32 million blogs (source: http:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress-stats\/<\/a>)<\/p>\n

    If you were interviewing another WordPress developer for a job, what is the first question you would ask and why? <\/strong><\/p>\n

    Tell me your favorite CSS3 feature, explain why, and explain how it works in Internet Explorer.\u00a0 I assure you the answer you receive from \u201cweb developers\u201d or \u201cweb designers\u201d will shock you\u2026.<\/p>\n

    Thanks Mike!<\/strong><\/p>\n

    You can follow Mike on Twitter at: @mikezielonka<\/a> until he finishes his personal website.
    \n<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Straight Outta’ Racine, Wiskaaanson, Mike Zielonka is talking to us this week. \u00a0Mike manages day-to-day operations at Tuna Traffic,\u00a0and also acts as a Web Strategy consultant with their clients. Mike\u2019s expertise is in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Social Media. \u00a0He’s also a bit of a baller in WordPress, HTML5, & CSS3. This Tuna can…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[411],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-finely-tuned-expert"],"yoast_head":"\nFinely Tuned Consultant: Mike Zeilonka<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mike\u2019s expertise is in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Social Media. He's also a bit of a baller in WordPress, HTML5, & CSS3. 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