Do the Woo is back: A podcast for the WooCommerce community

Do the Woo is relaunching as a dedicated WooCommerce podcast under the Open Channels network, and I'm excited to be co-hosting alongside James Kemp from Woo.

Why WooCommerce needs a dedicated podcast

WooCommerce has grown into a large, diverse, and fast-moving ecosystem. It powers millions of stores, supports many thousands of agencies and product companies, and influences a significant portion of open web commerce. Yet there's currently no consistent, high-quality podcast or discussion platform focused solely on WooCommerce.

I've written before about why people choose WooCommerce. The flexibility, ownership, and community support make it truly unique. However, too often, WooCommerce ends up as a secondary topic within broader WordPress discussions. That's a problem because merchant expectations are rising, agencies are delivering more complex projects, and product companies are building increasingly sophisticated extensions. On top of all that, the competitive pressure from platforms like Shopify has never been higher.

The relaunched Do the Woo will change that by giving WooCommerce the dedicated platform it deserves and bringing it to the forefront as one of the most (probably the most) important sub-ecosystems within WordPress.

• Visit the new Do the Woo website.
• Subscribe on YouTube.
• Follow on X.

Bringing back the Do the Woo brand

For those who don't know the backstory, Do the Woo was originally created by Bob Dunn as a WooCommerce podcast. Bob built something special by focusing on the people and businesses within the WooCommerce space, and the show developed a loyal following.

Over the years, the show grew and evolved. It expanded into a network covering multiple WordPress topics beyond just WooCommerce, and was eventually renamed to Open Channels to reflect its wider focus. This was a natural evolution, but it left a gap. There was no longer a dedicated home for WooCommerce-specific conversations.

James Kemp - Core Product Manager and I - previously hosted the ProductChat show at Do the Woo. After the Open Channels rebrand, we realized that it was no longer meeting our goal of raising the profile of WooCommerce. As a result, we decided to do something about it!

But once we had decided to launch a dedicated WooCommerce podcast, we had a decision to make. Should we build something entirely new, or revive the Do the Woo brand?

We chose to bring back Do the Woo. The name carries real recognition within the community, and people associate it with quality WooCommerce content. There's also something meaningful about continuity. Bob built something valuable, and reviving Do the Woo feels like honoring that legacy while taking it in a focused direction.

We got to work and created a new, revamped Do the Woo - complete with a new brand, logo and website - which goes live today.

What we'll cover

The show will reflect the breadth of the WooCommerce ecosystem, with content for everyone who works with WooCommerce.

For merchants and store operators, we'll discuss conversion optimization, checkout improvements, catalog management, and the operational realities of running WooCommerce stores. Merchants shape the direction of everything in the ecosystem, so their needs will be front and center.

For agencies and developers, we'll explore architecture decisions, performance engineering, subscription setups, and lessons from delivering WooCommerce projects at scale. These are the people who turn merchant needs into real-world solutions.

For product builders, we'll cover building and scaling WooCommerce extensions, pricing models, marketplace strategy, and what it takes to grow a successful product business. This is close to my heart, and I know there's a lot of demand for honest conversations about the realities of building for WooCommerce.

For the wider ecosystem, we'll tackle the big-picture questions. What's happening with the WooCommerce roadmap? How does Automattic's strategy affect the rest of us? Where does WooCommerce fit in the competitive landscape?

Your hosts

The show will be co-hosted by James Kemp and me, combining perspectives from both sides of the ecosystem.

James is the Core Product Manager at Woo. He founded IconicWP before it was acquired by Liquid Web, so he understands both the inside and outside of Automattic. He has direct insight into how platform decisions are made and where WooCommerce is heading.

As founder and CEO of Barn2, I've launched WordPress plugins and WooCommerce extensions which are now used on 90,000+ stores. I bring the perspective of an independent product builder, and I've been openly sharing how we run and grow Barn2 for years.

Between the two of us, James and I can explore WooCommerce from every angle: how decisions are made, how products are built, how agencies implement them, and how merchants experience the final result.

First episode: Matt Mullenweg on the future of WooCommerce

We're opening the relaunch with a guest whose influence on WooCommerce and WordPress is unmatched: Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic.

Matt will join us to discuss the future of WooCommerce, the strategic direction of the platform, and the opportunities ahead for merchants, agencies, and product builders. It's a rare chance to hear directly from the person ultimately responsible for shaping WooCommerce's long-term vision.

Subscribe and get involved

The relaunch will take place on 14 January 2026, and new episodes will be available on all major podcast platforms.

To get notified when the first episode drops:

• Visit the Do the Woo website.
• Subscribe on YouTube.
• Follow on X.

If you have ideas for topics or guests you'd like us to cover, let me know in the comments. This podcast is for the WooCommerce community, and we want it to reflect what you most want to hear about.