How Andrew Wilder Scaled NerdPress to Over 900 Sites and Practical WordPress Advice You Can Use Today

On this week’s episode of the Niche Pursuits podcast, Andrew Wilder and I discuss his journey from lighting designer to WordPress support expert. He explained how he scaled NerdPress to support more than 900 websites and the steps every site owner should take to improve performance and protect their digital assets.

The conversation started with Andrew’s backstory, delved into how he transformed his freelance work into a thriving subscription business, and ended with a practical checklist for WordPress website owners. Whether you’re a blogger, an ecommerce owner, or a WordPress enthusiast, this episode discusses the exact systems and decisions that keep hundreds of sites running smoothly. Let’s explore Andrew’s path and his practical insights.

Watch the full episode

From theater lighting to website support: Andrew’s unexpected path

Before NerdPress, Andrew Wilder worked in theater and lighting design for over a decade, even designing light shows for Princess Cruises. But burnout and a desire for change led him to reinvent himself.

• Started his tech journey at the age of 8, programming on an Apple II.
• Worked in theater and live events for 10 years before making a career change.
• Launched a blog about healthy eating in 2010, which introduced him to food bloggers.

His passion for technology turned into a business when fellow food bloggers started asking him for help with their sites. What started as free support quickly became paid freelance work, and in 2013 Andrew packaged recurring support tasks into monthly subscriptions.

How NerdPress was born and then renamed

In 2013, Andrew introduced his first WordPress support plans with three pricing tiers: $39, $99, and a more expensive plan he jokingly called the “Captain of Industry” tier.

• Early prices were determined by intuition and comparison with competitors.
• The real growth started when he raised prices based on perceived value, not cost.
• A crucial conference moment helped him realize that customers distrusted his service because it was priced too low.

The original name of his company was Blog Tutor, but it did not reflect the technical nature of what he did. During a brainstorming session during a road trip, a friend came up with the name “NerdPress,” a fitting identity for a team of technical problem solvers focused on WordPress.

Growing a team: targeted recruitment

Andrew now leads a team of 22 people, all based in the US, supporting over 900 locations. But becoming CEO came with challenges, especially around hiring and letting go.

• Seek curiosity and competence over deep technical knowledge.
• Diversity, equality and inclusivity are central to the team’s recruitment process.
• Uses real-world testing, asking hiring candidates to solve live WordPress issues on Zoom.

Andrew emphasizes the importance of not making excuses during recruitment. “What you see is what you get,” he explains. Relying on warning signs and evaluating actual work has helped him build a strong, collaborative team culture.

Pricing lessons for freelancers and service providers

Prices were a recurring theme in the conversation. Andrew talked about how fear kept him from raising rates, but feedback at a conference was a wake-up call.

• People equated low prices with low quality, prompting him to raise rates.
• A simple change from $39 to $59/month resulted in dramatic revenue growth.
• Now focused on charging what it takes to support high-quality service.

For anyone struggling with pricing, his advice is to iterate and test, but also not to price yourself too low. “There is no perfect price,” says Andrew, “but you can get good enough.”

Backup Basics: Your First Line of Defense

When it comes to best practices, Andrew doesn’t start with site speed; he starts with backups. It is the most boring yet crucial part of WordPress management.

• Automate backups to avoid forgetting them.
• Store backups externally (such as Dropbox, Google Drive, AWS).
• Regularly test your ability to restore from backups.

He shares a horror story about a blogger who lost everything when her hosting company disappeared overnight. It took years to rebuild her site from scraps. The lesson? Don’t rely solely on your host’s backups.

Site security: small changes, big impact

Security isn’t as glamorous as SEO, but Andrew considers it an essential layer for any site.

• Use strong, unique passwords with a password manager.
• Enable two-factor authentication on your site and email.
• Log out when using public Wi-Fi to prevent session hijacking.

A practical example involved a hacked site where the attacker did not even visit the login page. They gained access by stealing a session cookie over a public Wi-Fi network.

WordPress Updates: Why You Can’t Ignore Them

Many site owners put off updates for fear of breaking something. But outdated plugins are one of the most common ways sites get hacked.

• Keep plugins and WordPress core updated regularly.
• Delaying updates increases the risk of compatibility issues.
• Keep change logs to anticipate major changes or vulnerabilities.

Andrew recommends doing major updates and being careful with big jumps in the plugin version. Avoid automatic updates unless you have monitoring in place.

Core Web Vitals: The Real Deal for SEO and UX

When Google made Core Web Vitals a ranking factor in 2020, Andrew saw panic on the internet. But understanding and addressing these statistics can really make a difference.

The 3 core metrics:

• Largest content paint (LCP): Time taken to load the largest visible element (must be less than 2.5 s).
• Interaction with next paint (INP): The time it takes for the site to respond after a user interacts (must be less than 200 ms).
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures how much things move during loading.

Simple optimization steps:

• Use a caching plugin like WP Rocket.
• Enable Cloudflare for Enterprise or similar CDN solutions.
• Keep your site lightweight by minimizing JavaScript and removing unnecessary items.

Andrew also warns against paying obsessive attention to the PageSpeed ​​Insights score. “That 0-100 score is simulated,” he says. “What really matters is the field data at the top. That’s what Google uses for rankings.”

When to get technical and when to simplify?

For technical users trying to hack their way to better scores, Andrew advises caution.

• Don’t fixate on micro-optimizations.
• Focus on statistics from real users, not simulated tests.
• Remember, a better user experience leads to better SEO performance.

The mix of your traffic devices is also important. A site that is primarily viewed on mobile has different needs than a desktop-oriented site. Knowing the behavior of your target audience can help you make smart optimization decisions.

Final thoughts

Andrew Wilder’s journey from live event lighting to leading a 22-person web support team is full of lessons for entrepreneurs. He built NerdPress not from day one with venture capital or massive scale, but through consistency, curiosity and customer-driven growth.

Here are some lasting insights from the interview:

• Don’t underestimate your work; price based on value, not fear.
• Build a team based on cultural fit and curiosity, not just skills.
• Backups, security, and updates are fundamental to any WordPress site.
• Core Web Vitals matter, especially now that trust and UX are SEO signals.
• Let the boring things get done (even if you’re not the one doing them).

Whether you’re running a blog, a portfolio site or a growing business, Andrew’s advice is clear: get the basics down, and your site and business will be in a much stronger position.

Links and sources