El blog de isabella :)

I’m Isabella Nottaro, and this is my final report for the WP Credits program. Over the past months, I had the chance to contribute to WordPress through the Polyglots team, helping translate plugins, themes, and even the new version of WordPress into Spanish (Venezuela). I also contributed photos to the WordPress Photo Directory and gave Blueprints a try, even though that last one didn’t quite work out. This report is my way of looking back at everything I worked on, what I learned along the way, and how the experience changed me as a contributor.

Teams and projects I contributed to

I spent most of my time with the Polyglots team, and I also contributed to the Photo Directory. Specifically, I worked on:

• Helping translate WordPress 7.0.x and the upcoming WordPress 7.1 into Spanish (Venezuela)
• Translating the Kitchio Lite theme and the GPX Route Map plugin into Spanish (Spain), along with part of the WordPress.org site
• Picking up other projects that came up in the Polyglots Slack channel
• Contributing 32 photos to the Photo Directory, which provides free images that anyone can use, including WordPress themes
• Trying to build a WordPress Blueprint. I wasn’t able to get it working, but I gave it a real shot

Learning resources

I leaned heavily on the Polyglots Handbook and the style guide for Spanish translations to make sure my work stayed consistent with how the rest of the community translates things. I also completed several courses on Learn WordPress, including Open source basics and WordPress, How decisions are made in the WordPress project, and Writing in the WordPress voice.

I also had a lot of support along the way. My mentor, Weiko, was a huge help throughout the whole process, always ready to guide me, answer my questions, and point me in the right direction whenever I felt stuck. My fellow WP Credits classmates also played an important role. The course felt a little overwhelming at first, and sharing doubts and tips with them helped me find my footing much more quickly.

Challenges and solutions

Looking back, a few things stood out as challenges:

• Getting comfortable with the translation platform. It felt a bit confusing at first, although not nearly as overwhelming as the course itself. To find my footing, I reached out a few times in the Polyglots Slack channel to check whether my strings were on the right track and to see how they looked once they had been approved. After a short while, everything clicked and the platform became straightforward to use.
• Learning to navigate the course. The course structure was a bit complicated at the beginning. With the help of my mentor and my classmates, I soon found my way around it.
• Building a Blueprint. This was probably my biggest challenge overall. I spent time reading about how to build one in JSON, but I never managed to move beyond the default WordPress starter template. Rather than force it, I decided to shift my energy to the Photo Directory, where I could contribute in a way that felt more natural to me. Spending an afternoon walking around and taking photos turned out to be a far more enjoyable way to give back. I learned a lot from trying, and I’m glad I gave it a real shot.

My contributions

Here is where you can find the work I did during the program:

Translations.

• Spanish (Venezuela): WordPress 7.0.x and WordPress 7.1.x (Development)
• Spanish (Spain): the Kitchio Lite theme, the GPX Route Map plugin, and part of the WordPress.org site

Photos.

• 32 photos in the WordPress Photo Directory, available on my author page

You can also see everything in one place on my WordPress.org profile.

Key learnings from the WP Credits program

A few things I’ll take away from this experience:

• Translating WordPress isn’t just about swapping words from one language to another. It’s about making sure Spanish-speaking users feel like the software was built with them in mind.
• Asking for help early makes everything easier. A few short questions in Slack saved me a lot of doubt, and mentors and classmates can make a big difference.
• Not everything works out, and that’s fine. My attempt at Blueprints didn’t succeed, but trying something outside my comfort zone, and then finding another way to contribute, taught me more than a quick win would have.

New skills gained

• Technical: Using the WordPress translation platform, understanding how translations are reviewed and approved, preparing and submitting photos for the Photo Directory, and getting a first look at WordPress Blueprints
• Soft skills: Paying close attention to language and tone, asking for feedback, communicating with other contributors, and knowing when to change approach and try a different way of contributing

Personal reflections and next steps

What I enjoyed most was discovering how much there is behind WordPress. I loved getting to know the platform, the Slack workspace, the Polyglots corner, and attending WordPress events, which made the community feel real rather than just a name on a screen. I also really enjoyed heading out with my camera, thinking about how each photo could work as stock, and learning the guidelines that come with that.

What surprised me most was how many of my photos were rejected. To me, they looked like perfectly good stock photos, but they didn’t meet certain requirements. Going through those rejections changed the way I look at images. Now I notice details I would have ignored before, and I think it made me a better photographer and a more careful contributor.

Looking ahead, I plan to continue with the Learn WordPress developer path. My goal is to finally learn how to build a Blueprint and to keep improving my programming skills, both for WordPress, where I’m still not sure what my contribution will look like, and for my career as a developer in general. WP Credits gave me a first step into the community, and I’m excited to see where it leads.