We all acknowledge the power and beauty of simplicity. Whether in art, technology, music, fashion, or software development, simplicity is the undisputed mark of quality craft. As WordPress blazes into its second decade, theming, plugin development, and WordPress core itself are reaching troublesome levels of complexity and confusion, challenging the very essence of what has gotten WordPress to where it is in the first place. Pulling from diverse areas of culture and tech, we’ll tie together our need for simplicity, and issue a call to arms for the next ten years of WordPress. Given at WordCamp Maui 2015.

1. Simplicity

2. The quality or condition
of being easy to
understand or do.

6. (modern toilet)

8. Efficiency
Effectiveness
Ease-of-use

9. Essence

10. Simplicity
vs.
complexity

11. Simplicity
and
complexity

12. The world is
extremely complex.
All of it.

13. (Russian nested dolls)

15. (refridgerator)

17. (dust mite)

19. (old town cars)

20. (massive highways)

21. Efficiency

22. Less is more
(assuming less
is enough).

31. Effectiveness

32. For sale
Baby shoes
Never worn

33. simplicity != easy

35. (musical scale)

37. 2 4 7 9 111286531 10
C D E F G A B

38. (Gregorian chant)

42. Ease-of-use

43. People need to
get things done.

44. (elevator)

45. Continue travelling in
the same direction
until there are no more
stops in that direction.

48. “Something simple”

49. Actions
and
Filters

50. Backwards-
compatibility

52. Menus

53. Themes

54. API

59. What now?

61. Thank you.
@kwight
kwight@kwight.ca