Brian Coords
^{Developer Advocate}

In this episode, Rob Ruiz and Brian Coords discuss the evolution of WordPress development, focusing on WP Rig, a modern theme framework. They explore how AI, automation, and best practices can streamline theme creation, improve quality, and address future challenges in content management and developer workflows. Links Rob Ruiz on X – https://x.com/robcruiz WP Rig – https://wprig.io/ WP Rig on X – https://x.com/wprigio Chapters Chapters 0:00 Introduction to Rob Ruiz and WP Rig 1:22 WordCamp US experience and key takeaways 3:33 What is WP Rig and why use it? 7:26 The importance of a toolkit for modern theme development 10:52 AI and agentic frameworks in theme creation 9:09 Handling updates and dependencies in WP Rig 14:17 Building components and plugins with WP Rig 16:45 The open component registry and plugin ecosystem 19:33 Supporting classic and block themes 22:09 Creating custom blocks and build system integration 24:40 Building admin UI and settings pages with WP Rig 28:16 Ensuring opinionated and consistent development workflows 38:31 Content management challenges and future solutions 39:51 The role of content storage and JSON in AI-driven development 41:12 Managing plugins, media, and clutter in WordPress 44:47 Getting involved with WP Rig community and resources