Tia Wood has been working with WordPress for about 15 years, but she’s seen the ecosystem from just about every angle. From agency work to commercial plugin companies to running development teams, she’s built the kind of experience that makes solving complex website problems look easy.
These days, through Tabomango, she works behind the scenes helping agencies deliver great work without expanding their teams. What stood out to me in her interview was her love of systems and planning—and her reminder that building a successful business isn’t worth much if you burn yourself out along the way. It’s a perspective I think a lot of us could use.
What got you into WordPress and how long have you been using it?
I was a Joomla girlie back in the day. I found WordPress around 2010. I was searching for a way to make content management easier for clients. Joomla was just too difficult. WordPress hit the spot. From there, I moved on to senior roles in agencies and commercial plugin companies from providing support to running development teams. I’ve seen the platform from a lot of angles.
Tell us about your agency — who do you work with, and what kind of projects light you up?
Tabomango is white-label WordPress development and marketing for agencies and solopreneurs who need to deliver without hiring full-time. I work behind the scenes so agencies can say yes to more clients without stretching their own team thin.
Projects that light me up are where the people involved are excited to help find a solution. It’s just nice when everyone is on the same page and flowing nicely through the milestones.
What part of the website creation process is your favorite to work on and why?
My favorite part is the early planning phase, before a single page exists. It’s an open puzzle: figuring out how a business actually works, what its users need to find, and how a site’s structure can carry that without getting in the way.
After 25 years, I can usually spot where a site will break or bottleneck before it’s built. That’s the part I enjoy most: solving the structural problem before it becomes an expensive one.
What motivated you to start your own business, and what keeps you going when things get tough?
What got me here was wanting control over my own time. What keeps me here is that entrepreneurship gives me structure without someone else designing it for me.
I like having systems. I just want to be the one building them. Running Tabomango lets me set the frameworks, the processes, the pace, and still have the freedom that comes with working for myself. That combination is rare in a regular job: you usually get one or the other, not both.
What’s a hard lesson you learned running your business that’s changed the way you operate?
Overworking doesn’t lead where you think it should. Create a life balance so your important relationships don’t slip away down the road and your mental health doesn’t slip when you hit the inevitable burnout.
What do you do to keep a healthy work/life balance as a business owner?
I make sure I get off the computer several times a day to clean, garden, read, draw, etc. And at least once a week out in nature. I build breaks throughout the workday. It helps keep my head clear and stops the day from turning into one long blur on a screen. By the way, follow my instagram if you want to see my art: https://www.instagram.com/metaprinxss/
What’s a book every agency owner should read?
Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug. (there’s a revised #4 for 2026). It argues that “good web design should require zero thought from the user”.
What’s your favorite podcast to listen to?
I really love listening to Mr. Ballen. If you like true crime and mysteries, you’ll like him.
What’s a WordPress plugin more people should know about?
Admin Collapse Subpages that helps you tidy up pages. Go Live Update Urls is the easiest way to change a URL in the database. All in One WP Migration is great at moving WordPress websites.
What’s your favorite tool, accessory, or gadget on your desk?
I have a little tiny drawer that holds my notecards.
What’s your favorite non-WordPress tool or software?
I really love Zapier. I like how you can connect different services an workflows without using APIs.
