Understanding plugins, the future of custom themes, and WordPress Site Editor with Lauren Gray from Once Coupled. ----- Welcome to episode 418 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Lauren Gray from Once Coupled. Navigating the Changing Landscape of Technology in Food Blogging Lauren is the Founder and Director of Development at Once Coupled, a small development agency that works with food bloggers and other online publishers. She also happens to be the Web Development Expert here at Food Blogger Pro and is truly an expert on all things themes, plugins, and WordPress. And that’s exactly what Bjork and Lauren are chatting about in today’s podcast episode! They cover a lot of ground, from Site Editor and Block Editor to custom themes and technical debt. If you’re curious about making changes to your website, updating your theme, or looking to add specific functionalities to your site, this is an interview you won’t want to miss! In this episode, you’ll learn: What Lauren does at Once Coupled and how they support food bloggers. How Once Coupled’s services and offerings have changed over the years to reflect the changing landscape of food blogging. What Site Editor in WordPress is, how it works, and how it changes things for publishers and developers. What WordPress Blocks (and the Block Editor) are. The pros and cons of using Site Editor vs. a custom theme right now. Lauren’s recommendations for how beginner food bloggers should progress through their website journey. What technical debt is, and why you need to keep it in mind when building your website. The purpose of, and future plans for, Once Coupled’s plugins company, Small Plugins. The functionality of the Dynamic Connector plugin from Small Plugins. Resources: Once Coupled The Food Blogger Pro Podcast Episode 122: Site Speed in a Mobile-First World with Lauren Gray Nerdpress Bill Erickson The Food Blogger Pro Podcast Episode 236: Themes – Performance-Focused Designs with Bill Erickson Squarespace Webflow Wix Genesis Theme iMark Interactive Upwork Media Wyse Feast Small Plugins Get 70% off of Small Plugins plugins! Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group ----- This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership