We had the pleasure to talk with Matthew Praetzel, head of Ternstyle, a company behind several WordPress plugins. He shared his opinions with us about new trends in design and development, business, and many other topics. Enjoy!
Matthew, how things are going in Ternstyle, and what is inspiring you these days!?
Right now I’m fascinated with WordPress optimization. One downside to the plethora of theme and plugin functionality available for WordPress is how tempting it can be to take an easy route, installing plugins and themes with reckless abandon. It can be difficult to wrangle clients in terms of plugin installation and tacking on new functionality.
I think as WordPress theme and plugin developers, we should be focused on SEO with the same resolve we bring to the aesthetic and user-experience. I’m building a theme that automatically interfaces with and optimizes popular plugins.
What do you think about new trends in WordPress design and development?
I think my favorite part is customizability. Good plugin and theme developers offer great flexibility now in their products, offering myriad hooks and filters to take their out-of-the-box functionality to the next level. This is something worth emulating and it’s worthy of appreciation.
How do you sell WordPress plugins, using WordPress.org, marketplaces, only your website, other channels…!?
As of right now, I’m selling my WordPress plugins on shop.ternstyle.us only. WordPress.org has been an amazing tool for offering free versions of my plugins. There are two active plugins at the moment. Automatic YouTube Video Posts and Members List.
How much do you use social networks in Ternstyle’s marketing and communication !?
Honestly? Not much at all. I’ve strayed from the social media usage quote a bit over the last couple of years.
One of your businesses is web hosting. In which area is “Ternstyle” more successful, in the area of WordPress plugins or in the area of web hosting !?
That’s a good question. Aside from WordPress, and international WordPress plugin sales, we operate locally. I’d say the most lucrative pillar of our business is custom software development. It’s the most fun too. The creativity you can bring to software development and problem-solving can be quite pleasurable.
On the official website, you say that we are all brilliant and that we all have a piece of the puzzle. Tell us more about your business philosophy, your way of working, and the team you manage !?
I guess I cling to some old school thinking when it comes to business. If you build trust, you make money. I’m very forthcoming with my clients. I sell them only what they need. I believe in educating and empowering my clients. If they are informed, they make better decisions and we can collaborate in more efficient ways.
I seek out relationships that feel like partnerships. I try to avoid ones that don’t. It’s my goal to uplift and helps build the businesses and people I work with. I expect the same in return. I have a small network of marketers and designers I work with, only the best and only honest hard-working people.
At the end of this interview, send one special message to the WordPress community, our readers and fans !?
WordPress, and any other modern open-source web solutions available, have given so many of us the ability to offer amazing products to our clients at low cost to us in our time commitment, energy output, education, and monetarily.
In as much, we should take care of our clients, passing on these efficiencies to them. And don’t forget so much of what we get and charge for, we get for free! We should take care of each other within our WordPress community as well. Warm regards to all.