The Future of WooCommerce in 2025 with James Kemp, Woo's Core Product Manager

In this episode of 'Within WordPress,' I talk to James Kemp, the new Core Product Manager for WooCommerce. James shares his journey from founding IconicWP to joining WooCommerce, detailing his previous roles and responsibilities. We discuss the future direction of WooCommerce, focusing on the 'More in Core' initiative aimed at integrating essential plugins into the core product. James elaborates on the decision-making process behind adding new features, handling community feedback, and maintaining the balance between extensibility and basic functionality. He also emphasizes WooCommerce's ongoing efforts to enhance performance and user experience, making 2025 a promising year for Woo merchants and developers alike. 00:00 Introduction00:17 Meet James Kemp: WooCommerce Core Product Manager01:09 James Kemp's Career Journey03:24 Building WooCommerce Plugins06:12 Magento and WordPress Integration07:37 Transition to WooCommerce12:43 Role and Responsibilities at WooCommerce13:24 Core Experience vs. Core Platform15:48 Order Management and Fulfillment20:54 Deciding Features for WooCommerce Core23:24 Premium Plugins and Core Integration28:35 WooCommerce Plugin Strategy30:10 Comparing WooCommerce and Shopify33:28 User Feedback and Core Features35:26 Challenges of Integrating Plugins into Core37:11 Future Plans for WooCommerce Core40:09 Balancing Core Features and Plugin Ecosystem44:39 Extensibility and Community Feedback59:00 Looking Ahead to 2025