Talk Time: Episode 008 – Lester Chan

4,962 words, 26 minutes read time.

Editor’s Note

In our eighth Talk Time episode, Lester brings pragmatism.

If you’ve ever used WordPress, there’s a good chance you’ve used something built by Lester Chan without even knowing it. 😄

One of his best-known plugins, WP-PageNavi, has been used by WordPress users around the world. I’ve personally used it on dozens of client websites.

Lester has created 20+ WordPress plugins over the years, and his WordPress journey goes back to 2003.

What fascinates me most is why he started creating plugins: he wanted features that WordPress didn’t have, so he simply built them and shared them.

That simple decision turned into more than two decades of open-source contribution.

I recently had the chance to learn more about the person behind that journey through Talk Time by WPKitchen. 🎙️🍛

Lester’s story is a great reminder that you don’t always need to build a company to make an impact. Sometimes, you can simply build something useful, share it freely, and keep contributing.

If you could ask Lester Chan one question, what would it be?

It could be about WordPress, plugins, open source, AI, freelancing, leadership, or his 20+ years in the ecosystem.

Drop your question in the comments. 👇

🇵🇰 Roman Urdu Version

Lester Chan ka Talk Time interview ab Roman Urdu mein bhi parhein.

👋 INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

Let’s start by getting to know you. This section covers your background, current work, interests, and the experiences that have shaped your journey.

Please introduce yourself.

Hello, my name is Lester Chan, and I am a blogger and WordPress plugin author at night and a software engineering manager by day.

What’s your hometown, and where do you currently live?

Born and have lived in Singapore my whole life.

What do you do professionally?

Software engineering manager for a Tech company that is based in Singapore.

What is your educational background?

I hold a Diploma in Multimedia Technology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems.

What are you working on these days?

With AI advancement, I actually use it a lot to rewrite my plugins and implement a lot of features requested by my users.

What achievement are you most proud of?

Got to be creating my WordPress plugins as I get to know users from all over the world.

What hobbies do you enjoy outside WordPress?

Blogging about tech and gadgets on my own blog at lesterchan.net

What motivates you in life?

The mindset of retiring at 45.

What is something the WordPress community doesn’t know about you?

Although my wife and I have been in Singapore our whole lives, we actually got married in Las Vegas instead of in Singapore.

How would your friends describe you?

I talk very fast.

🔍 DISCOVERING WORDPRESS

Every contributor has a beginning. Share how you first discovered WordPress, what attracted you to it, and how your journey started.

How did you first discover WordPress?

When I am looking for a software to replace News Pro,, which is written in Perl, I came across b2, which is the predecessor of WordPress.

What was your first WordPress project?

I actually have no idea what my first WordPress plugin is. WP-Polls, WP-Print, WP-Email, and WP-UsersOnline have been around for more than 20 years.

What attracted you to WordPress?

WordPress is easily extensible, and I love PHP as it was just getting popular in the early 2000s.

Who helped you when you were getting started?

I would say all the users who helped me test the plugins. In terms of coding, I learn everything from scratch.

What was the biggest challenge in your early days?

I would say dealing with entitled users, as the plugins are free, I do not earn a single cent from them.

When did you realize WordPress would become part of your career?

WordPress is actually not part of my career, but it did help me start my career as a software engineer, as people know me from WordPress meetups in Singapore.

What was your first contribution to WordPress?

Probably 2008, but my contributions are mainly on bug reporting.

What skills did WordPress help you develop?

As a developer who is mostly self-taught, I did not consider security and localization right from the start.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Not really related to WordPress, but to Invest, invest, and invest.

What keeps you interested in WordPress today?

My blog still uses it, so as long as it’s up and running, I will be interested in WordPress.

< /> CONTRIBUTION JOURNEY

Contributions are at the heart of the WordPress project. Tell us about your contribution, experiences, motivations, achievements, challenges, and lessons learned along the way.

What does open source mean to you?

Open source means the source code is fully available (normally in GitHub), and other developers can modify it to suit their liking.

How did you get involved in contributing?

I found bugs in WordPress in the early days and contributed by filing tickets with fixes so other people wouldn’t waste time debugging the same issues.

What was your first contribution experience like?

There is a lot of discussion, and some people are against it (for their own reasons), while others are for it. So kinda time is spent debating whether it should be fixed.

Which contribution are you most proud of?

Can’t remember any instance; I am probably proud of all the issues I brought up.

Which teams or projects have you contributed to?

Mainly WordPress, a few one-off merge requests to other repos on GitHub, which I can’t really recall.

What motivates you to contribute?

It is just a form of giving back, so other people will benefit from it.

What have you gained from contributing?

I will compare it to teaching: you go in to help others, but you come out having learned just as much.

What challenges have you faced as a contributor?

Probably the same as #23, where alignment takes up most of your energy instead of the code/fix itself. Kinda same as the corporate world.

What contribution would you like to make in the future?

Nothing I can think of yet.

How has contribution changed your career?

I don’t think it changes anything, but perhaps the number of followers and activities on GitHub is an indicator to recruiters out there I am a good hire?

Why should others contribute?

You should always give back to something that has given you so much.

🗓️ COMMUNITY & EVENTS

The WordPress community is built by people. We’d love to hear about your experiences with meetups, WordCamps, community building, and the connections you’ve made.

What does the WordPress community mean to you?

It is a gathering of like-minded people to share tips and tricks about WordPress.

What was your first WordCamp experience?

I was the organizer of the first WordCamp in Singapore, so it was pretty chaotic. If I were the participant, my experience would be different.

What is your favorite WordCamp memory?

Probably don’t have one.

Have you organized a meetup or WordCamp?

Yes, both Meetup and WordCamp

What makes a great community event?

The topic of sharing is interesting rather than all the advertorial pitches

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned from the community?

People from all walks of life use WordPress differently.

What keeps you involved?

Honestly, I haven’t been very involved in the community for many years because I am just too tired after my day job.

📈 WORK & PRODUCTIVITY

How do you approach your work and manage your day? This section explores your work habits, productivity, tools, and professional insights.

What does a typical workday look like?

Make coffee -> send my wife to work -> go to office -> catch up on Slack messages, have 1-1s before lunch, as after lunch is mostly project meetings.

Where do you usually work from?

Mostly in the office.

Morning person or night owl?

Morning person as I got older. I used to be a night owl.

What helps you stay productive?

The computer and the Internet must be fast.

How do you handle stress?

Retail therapy, aka buying things that I like

How do you avoid burnout?

Buying gadgets makes me happy. Also, take a break as and when you feel you are going to be burned out. Travel to Japan at least once a year.

What tools can you not live without?

Probably all my gadgets like MacBook Pro, iPhone Pro Max, and iPad Pro.

What does success mean to you today?

On track to retire by 45 years old.

What is the best career advice you received?

As a manager, you should not be insecure; always hire people who are smarter than you.

What work habit has helped you most?

I would say having a fixed routine does help. Also, start the day early to clear work as there is no disturbance.

🤖 AI & THE FUTURE

Explore how AI is changing the way we work, learn, and contribute

How has AI changed the way you work?

AI has made code cheap. You can ask it to build and ship something in minutes, and nobody bothers reviewing the code line by line anymore.

What AI tool do you use most often today?

Claude Code.

What’s the most useful thing AI has helped you do?

Rewrite all my 19 plugins so they are consistent and up to date with modern standards.

What excites you most about AI?

Execution of ideas is now cheap with AI. So you can test out your ideas quickly and easily,

What concerns you most about AI?

Lots of jobs will be lost, and at the same time, many will be created around AI.

How do you think AI will impact WordPress over the next five years?

We will see more and more attacks and more WordPress exploits. WordPress has been around for more than 20 years. Since coding is cheap now, there will be a flood of plugins/themes for WordPress. I think paid themes and plugins developers will be affected because you can just pay S$30 to Claude and have them do what you need.

Has AI changed the way you create content, code, or support customers?

Yes, I use AI for all of them now, even to draft and debug forum issues. I have a skill for that.

What skill do you think will become more important in the AI era?

I would say more soft skills like communication, alignment, and taking a stand.

If AI could completely automate one task for you, what would it be?

Write a blog post in my own tone. It is getting there, but still not there yet. After getting AI to analyze all my 20+ years of blog posts, the post it wrote still feels a bit AI.

What advice would you give WordPress professionals adapting to AI?

Embrace it. It’s not going to replace WordPress professionals, but professionals who use AI will replace those who don’t.

🚀 ENTREPRENEURSHIP & LEADERSHIP

Explore the ideas, risks, and lessons behind building products, businesses, teams, and communities.

Have you ever started a business, product, or side project?

I started a web hosting business many years ago, but it was not sustainable because everyone was undercutting one another on prices.

What inspired you to build it?

WordPress was just starting out, and companies wanted to establish their own online presence. So having a web hosting kind fills that gap.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from entrepreneurship?

Being good friends doesn’t mean you can work well together in a corporate environment.

What was your biggest business mistake, and what did it teach you?

Don’t start it with friends because everyone’s expectations are different. Go solo even if it is tougher.

What advice would you give someone launching their first WordPress product or business?

Given the rise of AI, I would probably advise against that unless your product is something a developer on an S$30 Claude Code plan cannot replicate.

Do you prefer building products, managing teams, or creating communities?

Managing teams. That is my day job; I am managing a team of 14 engineers.

What is a failure or setback that taught you an important lesson?

Probably, I am not a business or entrepreneurial person.

If you were starting from scratch, what would you do differently?

I don’t think I will do anything differently. I mentioned earlier, I would invest much early.

What opportunity in the WordPress ecosystem excites you most right now?

I want to see where Gutenberg will go. I am still on the Classic Editor on my blog. I am also waiting for WP-Admin to be redesigned to be modern.

What’s one thing every entrepreneur should learn early?

Learn to fail early. It’s cheaper and faster than failing late.

Who are you mentoring or helping today?

No one.

🍽️ FOOD & DRINKS

Now for the fun part! Share your favorite foods, drinks, food memories, and the meals that bring you comfort, joy, or inspiration.

What is your favorite food?

Steak

What is your favorite drink?

Iced Lemon Tea

Tea or coffee?

Coffee

What food reminds you of childhood?

Wan Ton Noodles

What is your comfort food?

Wan Ton Noodles or Minced Meat Noodles

What is your favorite breakfast?

Wan Ton Noodles

What is the best meal you’ve ever had?

I can’t really recall

What do you usually eat while working?

Mixed Vegetables Rice

What is your favorite snack?

Kinokuniya Chili Oil Shrimp Crackers

What local dish should visitors try?

Minced Meat Noodles

🔥 COOKING & KITCHEN

Whether you’re an experienced cook or just enjoy experimenting in the kitchen, we’d love to learn about your cooking experiences, favorite dishes, and kitchen stories.

Do you cook?

No. Not a fan of cooking because both the cooking and the cleanup afterward require a lot of effort. I would rather just pay for my meal, and I can rest at home after that.

🏡 FAMILY, HOME & TRADITIONS

Discover the people, traditions, and memories that helped shape your journey.

What food instantly reminds you of home?

Lontong that is cooked by my second uncle.

Who has had the biggest influence on your life outside of WordPress?

Maternal Grandfather

What is a family tradition you cherish?

Yearly traveling with the family.

How do you balance family life with your work and community involvement?

I can’t, that is why I stopped being involved in the community.

What’s a lesson from a parent, partner, grandparent, or family member that still guides you today?

In the corporate world, you either eat or get eaten. There’s no middle ground.

Who is the best cook in your family?

Both my parents can cook as well; if I have to choose one, it will be my second uncle.

What meal brings your family together most often?

I have dinner with my parents twice a week, so just a normal dinner. Nothing special.

What’s your favorite childhood food memory?

Eating Wan Ton Noodles at my childhood home’s coffee shop. The auntie selling the Wan Ton Noodles has retired.

If you could share one meal with your entire family tonight, what would be on the table?

Marmite Chicken just popped up on my head.

What does “home” mean to you?

A place where I can be myself and be relaxed.

😋 WORDPRESS & FOOD

Tell us about the meals, drinks, and food experiences connected to your WordPress journey.

What do you usually drink while contributing?

I don’t drink.

What food keeps you productive?

No food in particular

What is your favorite WordCamp food memory?

Can’t recall.

Have you made friendships over a meal at a WordPress event?

Yes

Which country had the most memorable WordCamp food?

I’ve only been to Singapore once, so I can’t compare.

What food would you serve at a global WordPress gathering?

I think it is tough because there will be dietary restrictions, given how diverse global events are. Probably Halal + Vegan.

If you could have lunch with a contributor, who would it be?

I actually met up with Andrew Nacin for lunch when I was in Washington!

What meal best represents your local community?

Chicken Rice

What food reminds you of WordPress events?

No idea.

If contribution had a flavor, what would it taste like?

I am a savory person, so it has to be savory.

😄 FUN & REFLECTION

A collection of lighthearted and thought-provoking questions designed to reveal more about your personality, perspectives, and interests beyond WordPress.

Pineapple on pizza: yes or no?

Yes

Sweet or savory?

Savory

What food do you love that surprises people?

I can eat very spicy food. I mean, really spicy.

What food do most people love but you don’t?

Innards

What hidden talent do you have?

Probably, I can talk very fast, so if I can’t convince you, I will confuse you.

What makes you laugh?

A good joke.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

Teleportation, as I hate the time spent in travel.

What is something on your bucket list?

See northern lights.

What life lesson took you the longest to learn?

Investing earlier. It took me the longest to learn.

What are you grateful for today?

Able to have a roof on top of my head, food in my mouth, and have no debts.

🧐 LOOKING AHEAD

As we conclude, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the future of WordPress, your personal goals, and the impact you’d like to make in the years ahead.

What excites you about WordPress’s future?

Honestly, I have no clue.

What would you like to see improved in WordPress?

A redesigned WP-Admin

What goals are you currently pursuing?

I am investing heavily, so I can achieve my goal of retiring by 45.

What impact would you like to leave behind?

My open source work would help people in their lifes, especially when they used it to earn a living.

What advice would you give new contributors?

Don’t overthink it. There’s no right or wrong, just start contributing.

What message would you share with the WordPress community?

Thanks for having me for more than 20+ years.

What contribution opportunity would you encourage others to explore?

“Find the area you enjoy most, whether it’s code, docs, or support, and contribute there

If you could share one meal with the whole WordPress community, what would it be and why?

Minced Meat Noodles or Laksa, or Chicken Rice.

How would you like to be remembered by the WordPress community?

One of the few WordPress plugin developers in Singapore.

Is there anything you’d like readers to know that we didn’t ask?

I think you guys covered everything.

🎯 PERSONALIZED QUESTIONS

Every Talk Time guest has a story that is uniquely their own. This section explores the experiences, work, contributions, and perspectives that make each guest’s journey different, with questions tailored specifically to their background and work.

If you could nominate one person from the WordPress community for a Talk Time interview, who would you nominate and why?

I am interested in Mark Jaquith as we started almost the same time and kinda found our own path outside WordPress. Just curious to know his journey.

You’ve spent more than 20 years creating things that other people use for free. What do you think people misunderstand about the motivation behind open-source work?

Hmm I am not sure how to answer this, I have not seen anyone question the motivation behind open-source work.

If someone hired you today to build a custom WordPress plugin from scratch, what would your hourly rate be, and what factors would you consider when setting that rate?

I used to charge US$60 many years back, probably I will charge like US$100 now and it will be faster (lesser hours needed because I will just use AI to do it).

If you were launching a WordPress plugin today, what would you check before spending months building it?

Actually, I will not check anything. I will just release it because I like to be in control of how a plugin works. And besides, I don’t earn anything from the plugin, so even if it is 0 downloads, it wouldn’t matter to me.

If a WordPress plugin company brought you on as an advisor, what areas would you expect them to seek your advice on?

Probably nothing technical because anything technical can be solved by AI. Maybe like how I do support, UX, naming conventions.

After more than 20 years of building and maintaining WordPress plugins, what are the first signs you look for when assessing the quality of a plugin’s code and architecture?

Consistency in naming conventions. But these days it doesn’t matter as there is AI to do it. Going forward, no one is going to read code. It will be written and reviewed by AI.

You’ve lived in Singapore your entire life. From your experience, what would you consider a reasonable daily budget for a good, homemade-style lunch for a WordPress freelancer working from a coworking space?

Probably S$10 per meal excluding drinks

If a young WordPress plugin company gave you complete freedom to advise its founders for one year, what would you focus on first: product, code, users, business model, or team, and why?

Business, product and market fix. Code can be written by AI, users will come if your product is good.

If you were brought in as an advisor to mentor a team of WordPress developers, what is the first habit or skill you would try to develop in them?

Routine probably. Like the first few hours of the day doing support, another few hours doing bug fixing and another few hours doing new features.

WPKitchen is introducing the idea of Visit Time, a three-day program designed to bring international WordPress contributors and leaders to Pakistan to meet local freelancers, students, and ecosystem leaders. As part of the program, we also plan to take our guests on a city tour and introduce them to local food and culture. If you were among the first guests, what would you be most curious to experience in Faisalabad, and what would you like to talk about or share with the local tech community?

Probably my life story on how I got onto WordPress and from my first job till now.

You said that WordPress helped you start your career as a software engineer, even though it never became your actual career. How much do you think your life would have been different if you had never discovered WordPress?

I will probably end up as a software engineer as well, but maybe finding a job is harder because of all the friends/networking I made during WordPress events.

You manage a team of 14 engineers and said that one of your biggest lessons is to hire people smarter than you. What is something you’ve learned from a team member that changed the way you work?

Your words carry weight, so you have to watch what you say as it might have an indirect/direct impact to them.

You described yourself as a self-taught developer who learned everything from scratch. What is one thing you wish you had learned much earlier in your career?

Data Structure And Algorithms, so I can pass interviews easily. I learn that in school instead.

You’ve said that AI has made executing ideas much cheaper. If you suddenly had a completely free weekend and unlimited AI assistance, what would you build just for fun?

I already kinda did. You don’t need unlimited AI assistance. I build a lot of dashboards like wealth, spending, retirement, etc. I also use it to scan logs to ban IPs, dashboard to visualized all the IPs I banned.

You mentioned that you’re working toward retiring at 45. What does an ideal “retired Lester” look like?

Do nothing, chilling, playing games, going to malls.

You said you don’t cook because you would rather pay for a meal and rest afterward. If WPKitchen gave you a personal chef for one evening, what would you ask them to prepare?

Beef Wellington, Mac & Cheese, Blueberry cheesecake, home-made ice cream.

Your wife is the one who actually cooks in your kitchen. If you had to prepare one meal for her as a thank-you, what would you order?

Maybe grilled chicken breast or fish and chips with sauteed long beans.

You said you don’t read books and prefer gadgets, but you also said investing earlier is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned. What made you eventually become interested in investing?

The idea of retiring early.

🥄 ONE MORE BITE

Go beyond the questions and share the little things that make your story uniquely yours. These optional photos, memories, recommendations, and personal details add character, warmth, and a personal touch to your Talk Time interview.

☕ Favorite Mug: Share a photo of your favorite tea cup, coffee mug, or drinking glass.

I don’t have any favourite one, I just any.

🖥️ Workspace: Share a photo of your workspace.

My current gaming setup at home. — My current work setup at home.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Photo (Optional) If you’re comfortable, feel free to share a family photo or a photo with your partner, children, parents, or loved ones. This helps readers get to know the people who support your journey beyond WordPress.

My wife and I first time snow boarding in Japan

📚 Meaningful Item: Share a photo of an item that means something to you and tell us why.

I don’t have attachments to objects; I hold them in my memory instead.

🏷️ WordPress Memory: Share a photo of a WordCamp badge, sticker, T-shirt, or souvenir.

A photo with Matt when he is in Singapore.

🌍 Favorite Place: Share a photo of a place that inspires you.

Japan

🐾 Pet Photo: If you have a pet, share a photo and tell us about them.

No pets

🌱 Something You’re Growing: A plant, garden, herb collection, or anything you’re growing.

I don’t have green fingers.

🎁 Favorite Gift: Share a gift from WordPress community that means a lot to you.

I have a WordPress red scarf with all the filter and hook names printed on it, but I can’t seem to find a picture of it now.

🖼️ Desk Item: What is the most interesting thing on your desk right now?

Divoom Times Gate

🧳 Travel Memory: Share a memorable travel photo or story.

I love Dragon Ball and Japan.

📸 Then vs Now: Share an old photo from your early WordPress days and a recent one.

WordPress Memory (2014) and Travel Memory (2026)

✍️ Handwriting Sample: Besides your signature /autograph, write a short sentence by hand: “WordPress brings people together.”

🎧 Current Playlist: What are you listening to these days?

I always listen to EDM

🍴 Favorite Recipe: Share a recipe, cooking tip, or family dish.

I don’t cook

📖 Current Book: What book are you currently reading?

Sadly, I don’t read books either.

🛒 Kitchen Essential: What is one ingredient or kitchen item you can’t live without?

Dishwasher, because I hate doing the dishes

🎵 Song Recommendation: Recommend one song to the WordPress community.

Avicii – Levels

💬 Favorite Quote: Share a quote that inspires you.

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

🍽️ Empty Plate Question: If you could invite three people from the WordPress community to dinner, who would they be?

Since I met Matt and Andrew Nacin before, the next 3 I will choose will be: Samuel Wood (Otto), Donncha, and Mark Jaquith. The OGs of WordPress.

🎉 Celebration Food: What food do you eat when celebrating a milestone?

Steak

🔮 Future Self: Share one thing you’d like to accomplish in the next five year

Retire by 45. I am 42 now.

🔤 Urdu Localization Pick: If WPKitchen could help translate your own or another WordPress-related project, plugin, theme, or resource into Urdu, what would you choose and why?

No preferences really, any or all my plugins works for me.

💫 BEYOND THE QUESTIONS

Every Talk Time interview includes five personal elements that make it different from traditional interviews. These simple details help readers connect with the person behind the WordPress profile and add a uniquely WPKitchen touch to every story.

📸 A fresh selfie or photo for the interview *: A fresh photo helps make your Talk Time feature more personal and memorable.

Taken last week when I was in HCMC, Vietnam, for work.

🍽️ Current Meal or Drink *: Please share a photo of a meal, snack, tea, coffee, or drink you are currently enjoying. What are you having today?

Was raining the whole day on Thursday, so I ordered a burger on GrabFood.

🏠 Kitchen Photo *: Please share a photo of your kitchen or cooking space. Tell us a little about this space.

A Message for WPKitchen

Love the concept, mixing WordPress stories with food and personal life is a refreshing change from the usual career-only interviews. Keep it going!

Guestbook Autograph

Until Our Next Tasty Conversation

Lester’s Talk Time interview brings more than two decades of WordPress experience, open-source contribution, practical thinking, and a willingness to embrace change. His journey reminds us that building something useful, sharing it freely, and continuing to learn can leave a lasting impact.

Thank you, Lester, for bringing pragmatism to Talk Time and sharing your journey with us.