An interview with our partner WPBuffs

In September we were supported in the inaugural edition of FemTechConf by WPBuffs (based in Washington, DC). We are incredibly grateful for the support of our partner WPBuffs. WPBuffs aim to be the very best technical support partner for any individual, business or organization with a WordPress website.

Recently we (virtually) sat down with our friends and supporters at WPBuffs to talk with them about their company culture and why they supported FemTechConf! WPBuffs were incredibly supportive both in word and as a partner of our inaugural conference experience. The team are truly doing an incredible job at supporting the community through all their work and their support of D&I is clear. Read about this great organisation below in their own words!

Tell us a little background about your company?

“WP Buffs was founded by our CEO Joe Howard. He started off as a freelancer, doing project based work. He built a productized service out of WordPress maintenance in order to make the business more productive, profitable, and predictable. Through that decision, he was able to scale the business to what we are now: 100% remote team of almost 30, aiming for 50 in 2021!”

Tell us about the Values of TheWPBuffs as a company?

“We have 6 core values at WP Buffs — practice radical transparency, make decisions and own them, take customer-focused action, deliver exceptional results on-time, lead by example, and always have each others’ backs. These values apply to a WordPress engineer working with clients on maintenance. They apply to our CEO and COO. They apply to our marketing and community team. Everyone!”

What type of work does your team carry out?

“We offer WordPress maintenance services to direct customers as well as White Label Partners. We handle unlimited website edits, WordPress-targeted performance enhancements, daily health maintenance and regular security troubleshooting. Our goal is to help site owners free up time and energy and focus; making sure they can look toward growth and creativity rather than maintenance.”

How does WPBuffs support the Community?

“We try to be active and supportive members of the WordPress community, but the wider tech community as a whole as well. As the Community Manager, I have 4 main focuses — online community, events, internal community and tied into all of that, diversity. To break that down a little, we have various online projects (like our podcast, blog, YouTube channel, social media, newsletter etc.) that allow us to communicate with and provide value to the community.

For example, I donate $200 to underrepresented causes through my newsletter every month. We are active participants (speakers, sponsors and volunteers) in conferences. For instance, we just sponsored FemTechConf, I recently volunteered at WP Accessibility Day, and one of our engineers in South America will be speaking at a WordPress meetup in London at the end of the month. Our internal community is focused on ongoing employee education and support to do things like contributing to the WordPress open-source project. And my diversity focus means that I approach all things I do or support with a focus on inclusivity.”

What did your team enjoy most about FemTechConf?

“We loved the range of event topics. WordPress events are just focused on WordPress. It was awesome to go to an event where topics ranged the entire span of working in tech — from leadership styles to AI. And the support was unlike anything I’d ever seen. I loved scrolling through Twitter and seeing just how empowered and inspired other women around the world felt by the event.”

Why did you decide to support FemTechConf?

“We see and understand that women are underserved and underrepresented in the tech community. It’s a systemic issue that cannot be resolved by one person, one event, or one donation. Continuously and habitually putting on, speaking at, attending, and sponsoring events like these is how we can address the issue in the long term. In addition to that, it looked like a strong, focused event with organized leadership and fantastic speakers and topics. We would have been interested in sponsoring topics like these, even if it was not entirely women. But the focus on female empowerment made it a no-brainer to try to support.”

Tell us about the company culture at WpBuffs?

“The company culture at WP Buffs is pretty special. It’s like working on a professional cheerleading squad. You’re going to feel uplifted and supported. You’re going to have a smile on your face most of the day. But you are also going to work hard, play your part, and never settle for “just okay.” There is a blend here of high expectations, combined with compassion and empathy.”

Do you have anything else you’d like to share with the FemTechConf Community?

“The organizing team was a dream to work with and the content was extremely valuable. We are especially grateful for the extra tickets that came with the sponsorship. We were able to send many team members — men and women. We gifted some of our partners, and gave some to a few young women who are up-and-coming in this industry. We were so impressed with this event and were honored to be associated with it as a small sponsor.”

To learn more about WPBuffs you can follow their blog: [https://wpbuffs.com/blog/] and their podcast [https://wpmrr.com/podcast/].

Or read more at their website: https://wpbuffs.com/

Thank you again to this amazing organisation and their incredible team. Not only were they a partner but they were incredibly supportive to us and the community. Furthermore they gifted a large number of their tickets to underrepresented individuals in the community.