WordPress.org

Bio

I’m the founder of Awesome Motive Inc., the company behind WPBeginner (largest free WordPress resource site), OptinMonster, WPForms, AIOSEO, Duplicator, WPCode, and many other popular WordPress plugins. Collectively over 25 million websites use the software we create.

Interests

I want to help small businesses grow and compete with the big guys through our superior tools, team, and training.

WordPress Origin Story

I discovered WordPress in 2006 when I was 16 years old and immediately fell in love with the community. Now I’m over 33 years old and have spent more than half of my life working in the WordPress ecosystem. WordPress has changed my life and have provided me with opportunities beyond my wildest dreams. I’m extremely grateful. You can read more about my story at my blog: syedbalkhi.com

Contributions Sponsored

Awesome Motive sponsors Syed Balkhi to contribute 1 hour per week to the Core team.

Member Since: June 22nd, 2008
Location: Florida
Website: wpbeginner.com
GitHub: syedbalkhi
Job Title: Founder and CEO
Employer: Awesome Motive
Find me on:

Contribution History

Core Contributor
Plugin Developer
WordCamp Organizer
WordCamp Speaker

Wrote a comment on the post Guidance on plugins that install other plugins, on the site Make WordPress Plugins:
Thank you Francisco for the detailed information and starting the discussion. I believe a combination…
2 months ago
Mentioned in [58254] on Core SVN:
Upgrade/Install: Restore Activate button's href native behavior.
5 months ago
Mentioned in [58250] on Core SVN:
Upgrade/Install: Restore Activate button's href native behavior.
5 months ago
Mentioned in [57786] on Core SVN:
Upload: Add links back to installer pages.
8 months ago
Mentioned in [57681] on Core SVN:
Export: Include featured image for posts or pages.
9 months ago
Wrote a comment on the post Admin Design, on the site Make WordPress Core:
The idea of a new modern admin interface is indeed exciting, and it's much needed.…
1 year ago
Wrote a comment on the post Advance Notice of Retirement, on the site Make WordPress Plugins:
Thank you Mika for all that you have done for the community. Wish you all…
2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post Big Picture Goals 2023, on the site WordPress.org Project:
Thank you for outlining these Josepha. It's really nice to see the goals laid out,…
2 years ago
Posted a reply to Free version for WooCommerce is completely useless, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Thank you for sharing your feedback, but it seems there must be some confusion. WPCode…
2 years ago
Posted a reply to Used to be a great plugin, not anymore, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Hey Mircea, you can easily switch to the Simple Mode option under Settings to disable…
2 years ago
Posted a reply to Political agitation in the admin menu after updating to 2.0.4.1, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Hi @novoleg Thank you for bringing this to our attention. In our plugin, we use…
2 years ago
Posted a reply to Cloud snippet library, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
These are all great ideas - I'm adding this to our feature list. We do…
2 years ago
Posted a reply to CSS, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Thank you for making that suggestion. You can currently add CSS snippet using the Universal…
2 years ago
Posted a reply to Sidebar label name change, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Thank you for the suggestion. We specifically made sure that our menu label is different…
2 years ago
Posted a reply to Another good plugin ruined, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Thank you for your feedback. It's unfortunate that you're unhappy with the additional features which…
2 years ago
Posted a reply to Thanks for the simple mode, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Thank you Charles. I personally wanted to make sure that the simple mode existed because…
2 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post Enabling WebP by default, on the site Make WordPress Core:
I believe this should remain as plugin territory, and if people really want it, they…
3 years ago
Posted a reply to The worst nightmare from security point of view, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
It's important I emphasize that for someone to add scripts via this plugin, it requires…
3 years ago
Mentioned in [49361] on Core SVN:
Embeds: Remove Facebook and Instagram as an oEmbed Source
4 years ago
Mentioned in [49359] on Core SVN:
Embeds: Remove Facebook and Instagram as an oEmbed Source
4 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post Facebook and Instagram embeds to be deprecated October 24th, on the site Make WordPress Core:
Just wanted to comment here, since our Smash Balloon Instagram and FB feed plugins are…
4 years ago
Committed [2311679] to Plugins SVN:
another update to see if plugin description fixes itself
4 years ago
Committed [2311664] to Plugins SVN:
fix plugin description error
4 years ago
Committed [2311627] to Plugins SVN:
add the other screenshots that got missed in last commit
4 years ago
Committed [2311621] to Plugins SVN:
new screenshots, plugin banner, and readme
4 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post Fullscreen mode enabled by default in the editor, on the site Make WordPress Core:
I love this decision. I really enjoy the full screen editor. It makes things the…
5 years ago
Posted a reply to Dissappointed with the latest version!, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
@shehryaraziz thank you for taking the time to write a review. Our new update was…
5 years ago
Posted a reply to Return the old version!, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
@franciscofgb thank you for taking the time to review. We tried to maintain the old…
5 years ago
Posted a reply to Return to the OLD version, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
@jonas720 thank you for taking the time to write a review. We tried to maintain…
5 years ago
Posted a reply to Return to the previous GADWP plugin, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
@jorge89 thank you for taking the time to write a review. In the process of…
5 years ago
Posted a reply to What Happened?, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
I apologize for this issue as it was out of our control. We have implemented…
5 years ago
Posted a reply to Certainly Everything Changes and I am blanked,, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
@shivwddm thank you for taking the time to write a review. In the process of…
5 years ago
Posted a reply to Bait and switch, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
First, let me start by apologizing for the misunderstanding. I wrote the email to introduce…
5 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post The Block Directory, and a new type of plugin, on the site Make WordPress.org:
While "Single Block Directory" may sound like a great idea in theory, it will only…
6 years ago
Confirmed as a speaker for WordCamp Miami 2018
6 years ago
Committed [1964009] to Plugins SVN:
Updating Readme to add new features like Surveys and Form permissions
6 years ago
Created a topic, Perfect – does exactly what it says – Beginner friendly, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
This plugin is an outstanding example of simplicity an…
6 years ago
Posted a reply to Shady Bait and Switch, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Hello, Syed here. I'm the founder of WPForms, and I wanted to personally respond to…
7 years ago
Posted a reply to SPAM Plugin, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Hi Gecko_Guy, Our intention is never to annoy any of our users. This notice is…
7 years ago
Posted a reply to Why is this plugin injecting spam into my dashboard, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Hi Gecko_Guy, Our intention is never to annoy any of our users. This notice is…
7 years ago
Posted a reply to crashed my site, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
I sincerely apologize for the issue Daniel. During the update process, one of the files…
7 years ago
Committed [1730923] to Plugins SVN:
Updating readme stats
7 years ago
Wrote a comment on the post Plugin Support Reps, on the site Make WordPress Plugins:
Thank you for adding this :) It's going to immensely helpful for our team and…
7 years ago
Posted a reply to straightaway i delete the plugin.., on the site WordPress.org Forums:
This plugin is 100% free for you to use and create your contact forms with.…
7 years ago
Posted a reply to Easy to use, on the site WordPress.org Forums:
Thanks for the kind words. Yes, we do have entry management as a feature available…
7 years ago
Committed [1671317] to Plugins SVN:
new readme description
7 years ago
Committed [1671206] to Plugins SVN:
adding a faq
7 years ago
Committed [1667415] to Plugins SVN:
Fixing readme
7 years ago
Committed [1667412] to Plugins SVN:
Updating readme
7 years ago
Committed [1667396] to Plugins SVN:
Updating FAQ
7 years ago