Prashant Baldha receives the Yoast Care fund for his contribution to the WordPress community

Meet Prashant Baldha, a valued member of the WordPress Community Team! Nikunj Hatkar nominated him for the Yoast Care fund because of his commitment and valuable contributions to the community. Let’s learn more about this passionate WordPress enthusiast.

Nominator Nikunj Hatkar: “Prashant has been contributing to WordPress for around a decade and is the assistant organizer and a regular speaker at the WordPress Surat Meetup. He contributes to several teams, including Community, Core, Design, Documentation, Hosting, Plugins, Polyglots, and Training.”

Let’s get to know Prashant Baldha

Those are some lovely words by Nikunj. Let’s get to know Prashant a bit better and ask him some questions about his work and passion for WordPress:

Prashant, what do you do in the WordPress space?

I regularly contribute to WordPress, which is my passion. I work as a freelance WordPress developer. As of February 2025, I am a senior developer at UpdraftPlus. I have contributed code to the UpdraftPlus Backup, Duplicator, All-In-One Security (AIOS), WP-Optimize, UpdraftCentral, Internal Link Juicer, and WPGetAPI plugins.

How did you first discover WordPress, and why did you start contributing?

After completing my Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science in 2013, I discovered WordPress at my first job. I developed a custom plugin to import CSV file data into WooCommerce products, and from that moment on, I never left WordPress.

I believe in karma—what we give, we receive, and we reap the benefits of our actions. I have always observed that those who contribute to WordPress benefit in return, which is why I continue to contribute.

What excites you most about WordPress?

The open-source and GPL-licensed code, the vibrant and supportive WordPress community, the extensive WordPress plugin ecosystem, the diverse WordPress theme ecosystem, and, of course, WordCamps and WordPress meetups.

What advice would you give to someone just starting with WordPress?

Please start contributing to WordPress, and if you have already begun to, consider contributing even more. By contributing to WordPress, we can learn a lot. Additionally, please attend WordPress meetups and WordCamps to connect with the community.

Where can people connect with you online, at WordCamps, or other meetups?

I write WordPress-related posts on my website. Anyone can contact me via the contact form there. Additionally, you can also connect with me through my WordPress.org, GitHub, LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, and Stack Overflow accounts.

Thank you for this interview, Prashant, and all your contributions to the WordPress community! Do you know someone like Prashant Baldha who also deserves to be in the spotlight? Go to our Yoast Care page and nominate them right away.