Learn WordPress like a
professional uses it.
No code required. No jargon. Just the real skills that let you own your site, stop paying retainers, and actually understand what’s happening under the hood.
A consultant who actually
wants you to understand.
A lot of people in this space will fix your site and move on. That’s not how I operate. My instinct, every single time, is to stop and explain what’s happening. Not because you asked. Because I think you deserve to know.
Before I was a consultant, before I was a developer, I was the person in the room raising my hand at WordPress meetups asking “but why does it work that way?” That curiosity never left. It just turned into a way of working with people.
Whether you book a training session or hire me to fix something, you’re getting the same Russell: someone who will jump on a call, share a screen, walk through it with you, and make sure you actually get it before we hang up. That’s not a bonus feature. That’s just how I work.
Where are you starting from?
Whether you’ve never logged into WordPress or you’re already in the dashboard every day, there’s a track built for you.
Start From Zero
You have a site (or want one) and have no idea how WordPress actually works. We start from login and build from there, at your pace, no assumptions.
- What WordPress actually is (and isn’t)
- Navigating the dashboard without fear
- Pages, posts, menus & media: explained plainly
- Installing & using plugins safely
- Understanding your theme without touching code
- Publishing content like a pro
- Keeping your site backed up & secure
Level Up to Power User
You’re already in the dashboard. You know the basics. Now you want to troubleshoot like a support tech, understand what developers do, and become the go-to WP person in any room.
- Reading & debugging PHP errors (no coding required)
- Plugin conflicts: how to find & fix them
- Staging environments & safe testing
- Site migrations from scratch
- DNS, hosting & domain management
- Core Web Vitals & speed optimization
- Communicating with developers like a peer
Core WordPress skills — the ones that matter
These are the fundamentals I’ve used across casinos, mortgage companies, agencies and solo sites. No filler, no fluff.
Backups & Disaster Recovery
Multiple backups are the most important WP skill. We cover UpdraftPlus, ManageWP, and what to do when things go wrong.
Plugins — Install, Manage, Survive
How to evaluate, install, activate and safely update plugins without tanking your site. Includes conflict detection.
Themes & Page Builders
Understanding how your theme and builder (Elementor, Divi, Kadence, etc.) work together, and which one to choose.
Site Migrations
Move a site from one host to another, or from local to production, using Duplicator, All-in-One WP Migration or manual methods.
Staging Environments
Test before you break things live. Setting up staging via your host, WP Staging plugin, or a local tool like Local by Flywheel.
DNS, Hosting & Going Live
Domain records, nameservers, SSL setup and the pre-launch checklist I use on every single site I manage.
Documentation & Client Handoffs
Writing clear notes and walkthroughs so clients understand their site. The skill that separates support pros from everyone else.
Performance & Core Web Vitals
Caching, image optimization, CDN basics, and how to read a PageSpeed Insights report without your eyes glazing over.
Responsive Design & Accessibility
Making sure your site works on every screen size and meets basic accessibility standards, without hiring a developer.
From first session to fully independent
We Talk First
Tell me your situation: your site, your goals, your frustrations. I’ll map out what we should cover together.
1-on-1 Sessions
Live screen share. Your site, your dashboard, your real questions. Not slides. Not recorded videos. Actual learning.
You Practice
I give you specific things to try between sessions. Mistakes are expected. That’s where real understanding happens.
You’re Independent
The goal is for you to not need me anymore. I’ll tell you when we’re there. And I mean it.
Forged in Vegas.
Teaching from Indianapolis.
Everything I know about WordPress I tested in the fire. Not in a classroom. At Vegas meetups at 10pm, in WordCamp speaker rooms, managing casino websites with thousands of daily visitors, and doing updates on 550+ client sites every Tuesday and Wednesday at WebDevStudios.
The Las Vegas WordPress Meetup Group and WordCamp Las Vegas built me. That community gave me a real career. I carry it everywhere. Now based in Indianapolis, IN, available for in-person sessions and online anywhere in the US.
Before you reach out
AI is coming to WordPress.
I’m already in it.
AI is changing how WordPress sites get built, maintained, and scaled. Not in a theoretical “someday” way. Right now. The tools are here, the workflows are forming, and the people who figure this out early are going to have a serious edge.
I’m not going to stand up and call myself an AI guru. That’s not what this is. What I can tell you is that I’ve been using AI tools heavily in my own WordPress work: building products, writing code, debugging faster, and doing things in hours that used to take days.
It’s going to become part of how I teach WordPress too. Not replacing the fundamentals. You still need to understand backups, plugins, and DNS. But knowing how to put AI to work on top of a solid WP foundation? That’s the next level.
Stop Googling at 3am.
Let’s fix this together.
One session with me will save you more time than six months of forum posts. No fluff, no retainer required, no disappearing act.