Zao

A WordPress web development agency with a focus on eCommerce and custom plugins.

We build. You thrive.

[Zao @zaowebdev]

WHOA! epic is right - check out our latest blog post on how we integrated Algolia and BuddyPress to create one of the fastest social networks ever!

[Justin Sainton @JS_Zao]

heyo! an epic, nearly 4,000 word technical case study on how we helped create one of the fastest social networks on the planet.

https://t.co/sidga0eiPc

massive shoutouts to @algolia, @shaybocks, @SalesHacker, @webdevstudios, and of course, @missionlabweb.

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

This is a brilliant article.

The core idea: you have roughly 12 major “shots” in your career (assuming 4 years each across 50 working years), and three forces determine whether they land. In order of importance: 天 (timing), 地 (place/environment), 人 (people).

Timing matters most because power laws dominate outcomes. You don’t need 12 wins. You need one or two shots that catch the right wave. An average team in the right market at the right moment beats a brilliant team solving yesterday’s problem.

But here’s the tension the framework surfaces: timing is both the most important variable and the least controllable. You can’t predict when 天 aligns. You can only recognize it.

Which changes the strategy completely. The real optimization is shot frequency, not shot selection. You need enough at-bats that one of them accidentally lands in perfect timing. The people who hit outsized outcomes usually ran faster cycles early, failed cheaper, and built the pattern recognition that makes timing visible.

Four years per shot might be too conservative for most people in their 20s and 30s. Compressing cycle time on shots that don’t work teaches you what 天 looks like before you’ve burned half your window.

The “red paperclip” insight in the piece is the real unlock: you probably already have what you need to take your next shot. The constraint is usually permission, not resources.

“You have 12 shots, choose wisely” leads to paralysis. “You have 12 shots, shoot faster” leads to learning.

[Justin Sainton @JS_Zao]

loved the idea, thought it would be at least valuable to me, so knocked it out over the last couple days.

https://t.co/kUJpxfWQZr

[Justin Sainton @JS_Zao]

🧵 I built "Spotify Wrapped" for Amazon orders this weekend 😂

[Dave Amirault @ozskier]

Congratulations to @Sierra_at_Tahoe on the new site launch! I love it when a good ol' collab between @struck and @JS_Zao comes together. 💕

It's on WordPress, btw. https://t.co/0aUoPR0nE8

[Glauber Costa @glcst]

Mitchell is just conveniently forgetting to mention some important context: he's a billionaire.

For us mere mortals, who really can't afford life... this is all equally true. Nothing changes. Kids are the best.

Go have kids.

[Justin Sainton @JS_Zao]

I'm on a mission to rid the WordPress plugin ecosystem of anxiety. The pricing, the ads, the dark patterns - it's wild and broken.

I believe we can actually do it at https://t.co/tM5fBmFxlI

I'm excited to spend a few days at #WCUS with friends old and new to celebrate!

[Justin Sainton @JS_Zao]

Our pricing is simple—you can’t spend more than $365/year with us.

That’s a $1/day.

No licenses. No upsells. No soul-selling.

Just beautiful plugins that work.

https://t.co/tM5fBmFxlI

[Justin Sainton @JS_Zao]

Ever logged into a WordPress dashboard that…

⚡️ Loads slow because of 20 license checks
⚡️ Bombards you with upsell ads
⚡️ Runs plugins that do everything poorly?

Yeah, us too.

That’s why we started Simpull: a refreshingly simple product incubator. https://t.co/tM5fBmG5bg

[Justin Sainton @JS_Zao]

20 years in WordPress + eCommerce has taught me one thing: the premium plugin ecosystem is broken.

So we built something new.

✨ Simple.
✨ Honest.
✨ Anxiety-free.

Meet Simpull → https://t.co/tM5fBmFxlI

[Mike McAlister @mikemcalister]

Super high quality products made by people who have been doing super high quality stuff forever? Yes, please.

[Zao @zaowebdev]

@scottbolinger Our favorite AI plugins we've built so far are the voice-enabled ones. It just feels like the future

-JS

[Krishna Kant Chourasiya @lushkant]

It's been a long time since I posted something here guess I got too busy in work over the past 6-8 months.
I've built a lot of #WordPress tools/plugins/themes in these few months, released some of them at my own agencies while some more awesome ones going to be at @zaowebdev.

[Open Channels FM Podcast Network @OpenChannelsFM]

The WooExpert Awards: Americas, 2023

Congrats! 🎉

The Newcomer Award: @zaowebdev
The Open Source Champion Award: @WpSpins
The Agency Excellence Award: @FirstTracksNH
The Top Agency Award: @brightvessel
The Innovator Award: @KelpAgency

https://t.co/TcxdPLnzOj

[Zao @zaowebdev]

@strebel @Pagely Cool swag bruh, you have our address...

[Melissa West @Melissakaywest]

@Pagely I love seeing @zaowebdev represented at the @Pagely booth! @hasnain_ashfaq

[Zao @zaowebdev]

At #WCEU and looking to join a growing team of WordPress developers and core contributors who work with some of the world's best and brightest companies (including a few of the coolest sponsors of @WCEurope)?

Track down Team Zao, we're here and we'd love to chat!

[Hasnain Ashfaq @hasnain_ashfaq]

So we hosted @JS_Zao for our annual @zaowebdev meetup. It was super fun as we explored north of Pakistan together. Some amazing team moments and stand-ups in the middle of the mountains made it very special! Special thanks to @MelissaSainton for being so gracious. 🤩 #WordPress

[Sharaz Shahid @sharazghouri1]

Off to gilgat with @zaowebdev team😍

[Zao @zaowebdev]

We couldn't be *prouder* to be friends and partners with the folks at @Pagely and @GoDaddy - and this is exactly why.

Just the *best* people.

(And congrats on your new daughter, @austinbenerdy!)

[Austin Adamson @austinbenerdy]

I’m sitting at home doing the dishes, giving my wife some time with our newborn daughter, and I can’t stop thinking about how blessed I feel right now because of the people at @Pagely and @GoDaddy. Here’s the sappy reason why…

[Zao @zaowebdev]

@Pagely @WCEurope Almost our whole team! (Except @JS_Zao and @Melissakaywest)