Additional menu

Gary Jones

Software Engineer at WordPress VIP

Hey, I’m Gary. Engineer, ex-Teacher, and a member of the WordPress community since 2008.

Photo of Gary in front of the sea and sunset.
Gary Jones, Software Engineer

Main Content

Latest Articles

🧠 Modernising WordPress Plugins: A Practical Guide to Adding Namespaces

As WordPress developers adopt more modern PHP practices, one of the most impactful (and underused) features is namespacing. If you’re working with plugins—especially ones with multiple files, custom classes, or a growing list of hooks—introducing namespaces can help future-proof your code, reduce conflicts, and keep things maintainable. This post is a hands-on, practical guide for […]

The Pitfalls of Adding WordPress Filter and Action Hooks to a Class Constructor

WordPress is a powerful content management system that offers a flexible architecture for developers to create themes and plugins. One key feature that makes WordPress extensible is its robust system of hooks, which includes both filter and action hooks. However, while hooks are essential for customising WordPress functionality, adding them directly to a class constructor […]

Press This Podcast Transcript

I was invited by David Vogelpohl to appear as a guest on the PressThis podcast, to talk about the Genesis Framework. Here is the transcript.

I’m joining Automattic

After 10 years of running my agency, Gamajo, I’m joining Automattic to become a VIP Developer.

Be Like Bill – How To Start The Engine Like A Genesis Expert

There’s a line in the Genesis Sample theme, commented with “Start the engine”. All of the child themes by StudioPress have it. So do most child themes in the community.

This article looks at the drawbacks of this start the engine approach while exploring some of the advantages an alternative setup function may provide.