From Developer to AIOSEO President: Ben Rojas on the Road to Growth

Ben Rojas. All in One SEO (AIOSEO)president, a self-taught WordPress and PHP developer with over 25 years of experience. Starting out as a regular developer at Awesome Motive, Ben quickly rose through the ranks and eventually became a leader at AIOSEO. Here's Ben's story and his advice for future WordPress developers.

A First Look at Ben Rojas: Leader of AIOSEO

Before becoming President of AIOSEO, Ben started his career in IT and customer support roles. However, his development journey began much earlier. At the age of 13, Ben wrote his first line of HTML code on his own through a library book.

He recalls his childhood, when his family tried to limit his computer time by getting him to spend more time outdoors. Ben came up with a "solution": handwriting code with paper and pen. He still has these manuscripts today. This love of learning and perseverance has been the foundation for his leadership in the WordPress community.

Into WordPress: From Support to Development to Leadership

Ben was first introduced to WordPress in 2008 when he took an IT position at a non-profit organization. Later, he joined a WordPress e-commerce product team called Cart66 in a customer support role. Taking the opportunity to learn more about the WordPress code structure, he progressed his development skills and became a developer on the Cart66 team.

During this time, Ben started his own side business developing PayPal plugins for Easy Digital Downloads (now part of Awesome Motive). He then took a brief break from WordPress development, but eventually returned to his roots. In 2016, Ben joined Awesome Motive as a software developer for Envira Gallery.

The Road to Transition: From Developer to AIOSEO President

Since joining Awesome Motive, Ben has continued to refine his technical and managerial skills. He has demonstrated strong PHP development skills on the OptinMonster team and has helped the team transition to a new JavaScript framework that has dramatically increased productivity.

After a stellar performance, Ben was tasked with leading the AIOSEO team. The challenge was huge - he had inherited an outdated codebase and the team had to decide whether to build on existing code or refactor from scratch. Ultimately, under Ben's leadership, the team chose the more challenging but sustainable refactoring approach and completed the code rewrite from scratch in 11 months.

Leading AIOSEO's Continuous Innovation

AIOSEO is one of the most popular SEO tools on WordPress with over 3 million users. As the first WordPress SEO PluginIt provides users with powerful features in terms of on-page optimization, meta tags, site maps, and more.

Led by Ben, the AIOSEO team continues to roll out new features such as redirects, internal linking, local SEO, and more. In addition, the recently launched Search Statistics tool that enables users to view SEO data directly in the WordPress dashboard and provides optimization recommendations.

The team has also launched Keyword Rank Tracker respond in singing AIOSEO Writing Assistantthat help users gain insight into keyword rankings and optimize content readability and keyword usage. The innovations in these tools have greatly enhanced the SEO optimization experience for users.

Advice for future developers: the power of adaptation and learning

For newbies, Ben emphasizes the importance of never stopping learning. He advises prospective developers to start with PHP and JavaScript, which are key to mastering WordPress development. He also points out that adaptability is at the core of success, and that it's important to keep a learning mindset whether you're dealing with an unfamiliar codebase or a new work environment.

He said."The most important thing is to be adaptable, keep a teachable attitude and accept challenges, which will make you grow faster!".

Looking Ahead: Continued Progress for AIOSEO and the WordPress Community

Talking about the future of AIOSEO, Ben said, "We will continue to improve the AI Writing Assistant and Keyword Rank Tracker tools and develop more new features."He is also looking forward to the WordPress community's security and performance optimization efforts.

Ben's career has proven that learning, adapting, and contributing to the team are the keys to success, from developer to manager. He exemplifies the importance of lifelong learning and sets an example for WordPress developers and the community.

Through Ben Rojas' story, we see the importance of persistent learning and adaptability. Whether he's a developer or a leader, he has demonstrated exceptional professionalism and a passion for technology. We believe that under his leadership, AIOSEO will continue to be an important force in the WordPress community.