I’m Utsav Singh Rathour, a long-time WordPress enthusiast. That’s the short version of my introduction—but since I’ve got some space to fill, let me share a bit more about my journey.
Back when I first started building web pages, MS FrontPage was the WYSIWYG (heard that somewhere?) Editor, and Geocities was the go-to place to host your pages. Layouts were built with tables, and Flash (not jQuery) was the king of banners and animations (ah, the good old days). If those names don’t ring a bell, it probably means I’ve been around in this field for quite a while. And no, you didn’t Google something. You Yahoo’d or Altavista’d or whatever you would call it.
Before you start imagining how old I must look, I’ll just drop a photo somewhere around here.
I was born in a small city in Nepal, aptly called Nepalgunj City. Did my schooling there and was already into web before I left it in 2002, right after my schooling. Did a couple of years of High School in Bangalore, India, before moving to Lalitpur (Kathmandu for people outside Nepal), Nepal.
How it all began
Just before I got my own personal computer in 2000, I had just started hearing about the web and started using it in cyber cafes that had just started popping up. I would pay around Nepal Rupees 120 per hour. That was like 10 plates of Momo back then. And yes, our currency equivalent is Momo
What fascinated me was Macromedia Flash, which later got acquired by Adobe and became Adobe Flash. I wanted to learn it to make Flash games and basic animations. Slowly, I fell for PHP, the language that people said was soon going to die back in 2004. I started working in a company right around the end of my first semester as a web developer in late 2005. That is how it all started.
My WordPress journey began when I was looking to start looking for freelancing projects. I wanted to be good at one CMS and make that my strong point. That is when I found WordPress. That is when everything started aligning for me. While I was doing more of core PHP than WordPress then, from around late 2010 or early 2011, I dived fully into WordPress.
What also played a vital role was the WP community. When I didn’t find a WordPress community back then, I tried starting on my own. But the introvert that I was, it never really materialised, until around late 2011, I found there were some other people who were also trying to build a community and were doing monthly meetups. I got in touch and attended a few meetups. I then spoke at a few meetups before we had our first-ever WordCamp Nepal in 2012, where I attended as a speaker. Since then, I have spoken at over 15 WordCamps in Nepal and internationally, as well as emceed at WordCamp Asia. I have organised a lot of WordCamps in Nepal and was part of the first-ever WordCamp Asia. I also led the WordPress community here in Kathmandu and was the lead organiser for WordCamp Kathmandu 2019 and WordCamp Kathmandu 2022.
The Need for “Code Pixelz Media”
Code Pixelz Media logo
Code Pixelz Media, the journey
Back in 2010, with 2 more friends, I first formed Code Pixelz Media. A web agency that wanted to power local businesses. While we had the intention and team, we lacked sales skills and had to close it in a year. However, things kicked off again when my now partner, Yam Chhetri, noticed me at one of the WordCamps and we kicked it off again with me, Yam and Dhananjaya from July 2014.
11+ years down the line, we are a team of 18 delivering projects with love and logic. We have worked with clients of all sizes. From small ecommerce stores, to mid-size companies and also for large Realtors. Whoever we are working for, our aim has always been to deliver the best results. We have partnered with agencies worldwide to help them with everything in and around WordPress. The journey wasn’t the smoothest at times, but it was well worth it.
Code Pixelz Media mainly focuses on bespoke sites built on top of WordPress, as well as extending plugins to the client’s needs. We love working with WooCommerce and other popular plugins. We also build apps, where we keep WordPress at the heart of the project. Our apps are generally powered by WordPress because it gives us one less thing to worry about in the development cycle.
Advice for Business Owners
If you are looking to get into the WordPress business, there are a few things you should keep in mind. There are a lot of products out there for almost everything you need. But with time, they have grown too big, leaving behind a market for products that solve small problems and aren’t too big.
Stay in Touch
This niche will always remain because, as the products become popular, they are bound to grow from the peer pressure of their user base, leaving behind yet another void for smaller products to play.
If you are planning to get into WordPress service, then something that you will have to focus on is communication. If I have had ups, it is because of the communication, and if I have had downs, it is also mostly because of communication. Apart from that, delivering what you promise is key. That will get you long-lasting clients. When you can communicate properly and walk the talk, the clients keep coming back, which in turn means less time being spent on finding new clients.
WordPress & Beyond
We are currently making shifts with AI and Blockchain becoming so big. We plan to work around WordPress as the core, but with AI and Blockchain being the driving force. We are looking as well as working on projects and products that would help integrate these two worlds.
Around the end of the next 5 years, WordPress’s growth might look a little stagnant. Given that it already powers almost half the internet. But that doesn’t mean things will stop working for WordPress; it would mean it has reached its peak, and the next challenge will be to stay there at the top. With how quickly things are moving in the WordPress ecosystem, especially in the last 5-6 years, it means that WordPress is catching up with every advancement and is up-to-date.
As long as the ecosystem is good and the people are respected, I think WordPress has too big a community to go down as some may suggest. Community has always been the strongest pillar for WordPress,and that is what sets it apart from other competitors, and it is what will keep it alive and kicking amongst its competitors.
The WordPress Community
The heart of the philosophy of WordPress and open source in general. I run an agency because I got into the community and started talking to people, started talking at the meetups and started collaborating. I have always been vocal about how being involved in the community, even just being there, can help with growth.
The regular meetups and WordCamps we had in Nepal resulted in not just mine but a few more companies employing hundreds of people. The number of jobs people were able to create and the amazing WordPress products that have come from Nepal have all had some kind of influence on them of the WP events and WP people they met along in the community. We have been among the most active communities worldwide. I cannot keep myself out of this action and make time to attend every WordCamps here in Nepal with my partner in crime, my wife, Alina Kakshapati.
Life outside Work
I enjoy my work so much that it has been my life. But apart from that, I do have a family whom I love going home to. I like to spend weekends with them and play a little bit of Futsal with friends. My kind of break is sitting lazily in a cafe, sipping coffee with my wife.
Sports are something I like a lot as well, and I won’t miss Arsenal matches as much as I can. If it is Arsenal playing or Nepal’s national team playing Cricket or Football, then I am glued to the TV. So much so that we have the game on our office TV in the middle of the workroom.
I also like to travel and every other month I am travelling somewhere or the other. Pokhara is my number one destination. We make at least two office trips every year. To make sure the team is refreshed as well and not overloaded with work. If I am not travelling with my team, I am doing so with my wife, where I can simply be the designated driver and follow instructions and chill. We love our breaks.
Connect With Me
If you want to have a quick chat or just be in the loop, you can connect to me on Facebook, X or LinkedIn.
