Why should a WooCommerce builder care about free WordPress training? Robbie Adaircolleague asked me on Do the Woo, and my answer started with the fact that WooCommerce runs on WordPress. I was the guest, talking as a GoDaddy Pro developer advocate and a Training team rep.
🎙️ Episode details
- Show: Do the Woo, episode 209 (now archived on Open Channels FM as Open Makers)
- Host: Robbie Adair
- Guest: me, Courtney Robertson
- Released: March 15, 2022
- Topics: who builds Learn WordPress, where a WordPress certification was heading, and free WordPress training for WooCommerce builders
- Listen and read along: Why Free Learning Makes You a Better Web Builder, with a transcript, on Open Channels FM
📚 Who builds the free WordPress training on Learn?
I explained my split: GoDaddy Pro gave me Five for the Future time for the Training team, and I contributed past work hours too. Meanwhile, I handled much of the instructional design. My co-rep Hauwa Abashiyacolleague, based in the UK, brought project management skills, which matter when the curriculum changes with every WordPress release.
Learn’s free WordPress training has several content types to update after each release. Meetup organizers and groups such as Girl Develop IT used our lesson plans, which tell an instructor what to say and which exercises to run. The team also leans on other teams: WordPress.tv for video, and documentation as the textbook behind the lessons.
🎓 Where was a WordPress certification heading?
Next, Robbie asked about certification. I pointed to the team’s 2022 goals, set by about a dozen of us over three weeks, and to the next step: a rough needs analysis that March. For context, a needs analysis asks what to teach, in what order and with what priority. From it, we hoped to form a curriculum advisory board.
In addition, the team wanted to learn from other open source projects and from organizations with certifications. We also discussed role based credentials, for jobs like technical support, instead of one blanket WordPress certificate. However, WordPress.org profiles already used “badge” for team contributions, so the label was still open.
I also floated an idea I hadn’t written up yet: if employers ask for a certification, they need a way to verify it beyond eyeballing a profile. And when we invite employers to say what they need, I wanted both WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads voices in the room.
🧪 What can you take from this talk on free WordPress training?
- WooCommerce builders: time on WordPress fundamentals pays off in every store you build.
- Employers: your input on job skills shapes the curriculum and any future credential.
- Meetup organizers: lesson plans on Learn WordPress give you a ready made session.
Also, more conversations like this one live in my podcast and speaking archive.
🗓️ Archival note
Do the Woo released this episode on March 15, 2022. This post held only a link until November 9, 2026, when I wrote it from the publisher’s transcript. However, I reviewed the transcript, not the audio.