Hi, I’m Shawn.
I’m a WordPress educator with more than 30 years of experience as a ‘solopreneur’. In 2008, I created a series of WordPress 101 video tutorials, which has helped more than three million people around the world learn how to use the WordPress software to build their own website or blog.
I’m also an avid fan of F1 and IndyCar, and raced sports cars at local tracks for many years. When I’m not in front of the computer, you’ll often find me enjoying a nice cigar and whiskey with my amazing wife of 25 years, Kay. But my greatest joy in life is helping our three teenage ‘dynamos’ discover and nurture their own passions and sense of purpose.
Want to learn how to use WordPress?
In 2008, I created the original WordPress 101 video tutorial series. Today, it’s one of the most popular WordPress tutorial sites in the world, and has helped three million people all around the world learn how to use WordPress to create their own website or blog. That’s both immensely gratifying and deeply humbling.
Need a custom tutorial video for your product?
I also create clear and concise tutorial videos that will help your audience fall in love with your product or service. I’ve created hundreds of custom screencasts and promotional videos for notable clients like GoDaddy, Automattic, WooCommerce, Namecheap, BigCommerce, Beaver Builder, Yoast, Ninja Forms, and others.
Questions about video production or creating online courses?
With more than 30 years of experience as a solopreneur, I enjoy helping small business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs connect and communicate more effectively with their audience. Need help creating an online course? Or just want to improve your audio and video production? Let’s chat!
Testimonials
Here’s what people have to say about working with Shawn…
“As you watch most screencast tutorials, what you’ll quickly realize is that the person recording them is just clicking on every screen and checkbox, trying to show you everything that’s in their head. That’s because they’re not teachers. They’re not educators. They’re just expert users of the software. The difference with Shawn’s videos is that he’s focused on education. He’s focused on making sure that the viewer can learn. And to that end, his videos have a completely different feel… one that I think you’re going to appreciate. When I think of quality video tutorials, there’s really only one name in the WordPress space — and it’s Shawn Hesketh.”
Chris Lema
VP of Product at Nexcess, Consultant, Speaker“Working with Shawn was awesome, but that’s a massive understatement. We hit a very busy season in our business just as we hired him to create some videos. I was only able to send a few apologetic emails, and I assumed that our video production would suffer as a result. Boy was I wrong. Shawn knocked each and every video out of the the park; his initiative and work ethic blew us away. If you need videos, you should definitely hire Shawn.”
Kevin Stover
Co-founder of Ninja Forms“Shawn is a consummate professional. His knowledge of both the WordPress platform and business development combined is unmatched by anyone I have ever met. He is as much a pleasure to do business with as he is brilliant at solving problems, and crafting innovative solutions to challenges.”
Jay Harper
CEO of Red Apple Lipstick“We worked with Shawn to produce an invaluable video that we are proud to feature on our homepage. It’s the first thing people see when they visit our website. The video tells the story of what we offer in under two minutes, which is hard to do. Working with Shawn was professional, fun, and time efficient. The resulting video, audio, and script far exceeded our expectations. The video is incredible, but the real genius of the Shawn and his team was their ability to craft and tell the compelling story of our business and brand in under two minutes.”
Chris Badgett
Founder & CEO, LifterLMS“I’d have been happy to pay many times over for my 30-minute call with Shawn today. I wanted to improve my screencast creation workflow. He not only quickly got all my issues unblocked but gave me several stellar extra tips that have seriously improved my productivity and the quality of my videos. Don’t hesitate to book a call with Shawn. Such a nice guy, too!”
Dave Foy
Online Educator“We hired Shawn to create a series of videos to help new users get up to speed with our email software product, MailPoet. We’ve now had those videos available directly within the UI of our plugin for a couple of months now. Videos in our documentation used to account for about 3% of page views. They are now 15%! We’re quite happy about that.”
Kim Gjerstad
Partner at MailPoet”The call with Shawn was excellent, and worth every cent. He came into the call prepared, having read the documentation I sent before. As a consequence, his advice was adapted to my situation, and very actionable.
We covered a lot of topics, from course design, to pricing, to which learning platform to choose. Shawn is an expert on these topics, and provided detailed insights.”
Frank Klein
WordPress Developer & EducatorWPFounders Interview
Recently, I had a chat with WPFounders, a platform that inspires young WordPress entrepreneurs and business owners by sharing the success stories of different WordPress businesses. I had the pleasure of sharing my experiences as a young entrepreneur, along with the many challenges I faced. If you’re also trying to create a business in the WordPress space, you may find my journey something of interest. Read the interview.
Drop me a line…
I’m available to chat about creating video tutorials, online courses, or getting the most out of your audio and video gear. Get in touch!
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go out and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
— Howard Thurman