[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/uncategorized\/how-nicolas-lecocq-built-6-new-wordpress-products-with-ai\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/uncategorized\/how-nicolas-lecocq-built-6-new-wordpress-products-with-ai\/","headline":"How Nicolas Lecocq Built 6 New WordPress Products With AI","name":"How Nicolas Lecocq Built 6 New WordPress Products With AI","description":"If you\u2019ve been part of the WordPress community for a while, then you\u2019ve almost certainly heard of OceanWP. Launched as a free theme with premium-level ... Leer m\u00e1s<\/a>","datePublished":"2025-08-15","dateModified":"2025-08-15","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/author\/mitzamitza-es\/#Person","name":"adrimadise\u00f1o","url":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/author\/mitzamitza-es\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f04015a3698191a873267b006e8e8789ce30b6ee841a5518a6033860d50fe16?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f04015a3698191a873267b006e8e8789ce30b6ee841a5518a6033860d50fe16?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"adrimadise\u00f1o.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/cropped-logo_adrima.png","url":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/cropped-logo_adrima.png","width":450,"height":90}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/interview-with-nicolas-lecocq-og.png","url":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/interview-with-nicolas-lecocq-og.png","height":1080,"width":1920},"url":"https:\/\/xn--adrimadiseo-beb.com\/uncategorized\/how-nicolas-lecocq-built-6-new-wordpress-products-with-ai\/","about":["Uncategorized"],"wordCount":2078,"articleBody":"If you\u2019ve been part of the WordPress community for a while, then you\u2019ve almost certainly heard of OceanWP. Launched as a free theme with premium-level features, it quickly became a staple for freelancers, agencies, and DIY site owners.The creator, Nicolas Lecocq, stepped away from WordPress after selling the theme, only to return years later with a whole new approach to building products. This time, he\u2019s creating faster and thinking differently about performance, user experience, and the role AI can play in development.Under his new company, DigiHold, Nicolas has launched six WordPress products in less than one year \u2014 work he says would have taken him years before.In this interview, Nicolas shares what\u2019s possible when experience meets new AI tools and when you prioritize creating products that truly help customers.\u201cA product works when it solves a real problem\u2026 that\u2019s what I focus on now.\u201dNicolas Lecocq \u2013 Creator of OceanWP & Founder of DigiHoldKeep reading to get insider advice and tips from the creator of one of the most successful themes in WordPress history.\ud83d\udce3 This is our series,\u00a0#MyWordPressStory, which brings you insights from some of the most successful leaders in the WordPress industry.If you\u2019d like to be featured in our interview series \u2013 whether you\u2019re a plugin developer, founder, or SEO expert \u2013 feel free to reach out and let us know through our\u00a0contact form.\ud83d\udcf9 Video Interview with Nicolas LecocqIf you\u2019d like to check out our complete video interview with Nicolas Lecocq, then you can watch it below:Or you can use the links below to see what we covered in the interview (and more):\ud83d\ude80 Meet Nicolas Lecocq: From Sports Blogger to Self-Taught DeveloperNicolas\u2019s journey with WordPress started in 2012, not with a business plan, but with a personal hobby.His first blog focused on MMA sports, and although it didn\u2019t last long, it introduced Nicolas to the flexibility of WordPress.\u201cI wanted to create a blog and I searched on Google \u2018the best way to create a blog,\u2019 and it was obviously WordPress.\u201dNicolas LecocqSoon, he was tinkering with themes and experimenting with code. At the time, learning resources were far more limited than they are today.Nicolas relied on a mix of YouTube tutorials, online forums, and something many seasoned developers still swear by: studying the code of other themes to see how they were built.\u201cI was watching YouTube videos, but there was not a lot of information like now\u2026 I learned really myself and little by little by editing themes.\u201dNicolas LecocqHis early freelance work involved making client websites responsive, back before mobile-friendly designs were the standard.That process revealed an insight that would later define his career: every project seemed to require learning an entirely new theme.Nicolas began imagining a single, versatile solution. One theme that could handle any type of website \u2014 from eCommerce to real estate \u2014 while keeping a consistent workflow for developers and site owners alike.That idea became OceanWP.\ud83d\udca5 Related Post: Tobias B\u00e4thge turned a hobby project for his baseball team into TablePress, a WordPress plugin now powering 700K+ sites. Read the full interview to see how he did it.\ud83d\udcc8 The OceanWP Phenomenon: When Free Beats PremiumOceanWP started as a way to streamline Nicolas\u2019s client work. Instead of adapting to a new theme for every project, he built one that could handle anything, and he knew it inside and out.\u201cWhen you have one theme to create anything, it\u2019s easier for you when you know how to use it.\u201dNicolas LecocqOriginally, Nicolas planned to sell OceanWP as a premium theme. But when his first attempt at a paid theme on ThemeForest didn\u2019t gain traction, he decided to take a different approach.He released OceanWP for free, but paired it with a companion plugin, Ocean Extra. This allowed users to unlock the full potential of the theme without breaking WordPress.org guidelines.They could access an unusually generous set of features for free at a time when most powerful themes were locked behind paywalls.\u201cI put so many free features\u2026 it was like a premium theme made for free. So everyone loved it.\u201dNicolas LecocqAlongside these tools, Nicolas also launched premium OceanWP add-ons for paid features.Growth was slow in the first six months, fueled mainly through word of mouth. But once it caught on, it grew very quickly.Within a year, OceanWP went from a side project to one of the most popular themes on the market. With thousands of installs, Nicolas saw his OceanWP income jump from around $2\u20133K per month to $15K per month.The combination of flexibility, rich features, and a free entry point made OceanWP a favorite for freelancers, WordPress agencies, and DIY site builders alike. We can also vouch for the OceanWP theme. We\u2019ve recommended it tons of times over the years for its versatility and complete feature set.In fact, we often include it among our top choices for free themes in multiple categories. It even comes in at #4 on our list of the best free WordPress business themes.\ud83c\udfaf Learning From Success and SetbacksBuilding OceanWP gave Nicolas a crash course in what it takes to grow and sustain a popular WordPress product. Alongside the wins came valuable lessons.One of the biggest? Performance matters.\u201cI added so much features I didn\u2019t really think about performance\u2026 now performance is the first thing to think about.\u201dNicolas LecocqEarly versions of OceanWP packed in a huge list of capabilities, but Nicolas admits that some of those features slowed down websites. \ud83d\udca5 Related Post: Interested in learning more about WordPress website performance? Check out our ultimate guide to boost WordPress speed and performance.Over time, user feedback helped shape improvements. This was feedback that came in through contact forms, WordPress.org forums, support emails, and even GitHub.For Nicolas, those conversations weren\u2019t just bug reports or feature requests. Instead, they were a roadmap for making the product better.\u201cIt is your creation, but it\u2019s their product. So you always need to listen to them.\u201dNicolas LecocqAfter three to four years, he decided to sell OceanWP. The experience had been formative, but he wanted to explore new ideas and address personal priorities. His next project, Olympus, aimed to be faster and more focused than OceanWP. But just after launch, personal circumstances and partnership issues forced him to step away.The setback reshaped how he approaches collaboration.\u201cI will not make my mistake with Olympus to do bad partnerships now. I\u2019m very selective about who works with me.\u201dNicolas LecocqFrom those experiences, Nicolas carried forward several important lessons: prioritize performance, build for user needs, and choose collaborators with care.\ud83e\udd16 The AI-Powered Comeback: Building 6 Products in Under a YearIn 2024, Nicolas returned to WordPress development with a familiar starting point: freelancing and building websites for clients.But he noticed something that would define his next chapter. Nearly every client wanted to sell something, whether it was services, eBooks, or eLearning content.That observation became the foundation for his new company, DigiHold.DigiHold is designed to cover eCommerce needs with the following products:DigiCommerce \u2013 A platform for selling digital goods, services, and online coursesDigiBlocks \u2013 A collection of Gutenberg blocks for building high-performance sitesDigiFusion \u2013 A minimalist WordPress theme with Pro features for full customizationEach product also has a Pro version, making a total of six releases, all built in under a year.The difference this time? A performance-first approach paired with the power of AI.\u201cYou cannot do coding without AI. It\u2019s so much faster\u2026 it\u2019s a game changer.\u201dNicolas LecocqNicolas leaned heavily on Claude AI, which he prefers over ChatGPT for development tasks.His workflow involves training the AI on his codebase, asking it to help implement features, and then carefully reviewing every suggestion for performance, security, and user experience.He was quick to emphasize that AI doesn\u2019t replace the need to know how to code, but it amplifies it.\u201cSometimes it tells me very bad things. And I know it\u2019s not good, so I don\u2019t do it,\u201d Nicolas said.\ud83d\udd2e Why AI Integration Matters: Building for Tomorrow\u2019s WebFor Nicolas, AI isn\u2019t just a behind-the-scenes development tool. It\u2019s also something he\u2019s actively building into his products.DigiFusion Pro now includes integrations with ChatGPT and Claude, allowing users to generate content for blog posts and pages without leaving WordPress.It\u2019s part of his larger belief that website owners should be equipped to use AI in their own workflows, not just developers.This focus on AI integration comes from a forward-looking view that the way people search the web is changing.\u201cYou need to know how to implement SEO for AI because it\u2019s the future\u2026 it\u2019s happening.\u201dNicolas LecocqNicolas predicts that AI-driven search tools like ChatGPT will replace many traditional Google searches. For developers and site owners, that means thinking about how to optimize content for AI. This is a shift he believes will become critical in the coming years.\u201cI think it will be easier to search on the web with ChatGPT, so people will use it more and more,\u201d he said.If you want to learn more about it, check out our beginner\u2019s guide to generative AI optimization for WordPress.By designing products with AI capabilities from the start, Nicolas is positioning DigiHold to be ready for that transition and helping his customers do the same.\ud83d\udca1 Product Philosophy & Developer AdviceIf there\u2019s one common feature with all of Nicolas\u2019s products, it\u2019s that they\u2019re born from real-world needs, not trends.DigiCommerce, DigiBlocks, and DigiFusion each came from solving specific problems his clients faced.\u201cA product works when it solves a real problem\u2026 if you just create it to earn money, I believe it will not really work.\u201dNicolas LecocqThat mindset shapes everything from his feature decisions to how he manages performance.Although he believes strongly in the importance of user feedback, he\u2019s not afraid to turn down requests that would slow down a site.Instead, he prefers to offer workarounds via child themes or custom code.\u201cPerformance and user experience have to be in mind when you build WordPress products now.\u201dNicolas LecocqHis development workflow is also lean and intentional. He uses:Visual Studio Code for codingLocal for staging environmentsPhotoshop for design workClickUp for organizing features, feedback, and ideasClaude AI as a coding assistant, but never as a replacement for core skillsFor new developers, his advice is clear: master the fundamentals before relying on AI.\u201cYou really need to learn code first, and then AI helps with your code.\u201dNicolas LecocqThat means starting with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, understanding how things work, and then using AI to speed up and refine what you already know how to do.\ud83d\udca5 Related Post: Looking for more advice from founders? Check out our interview with Ionut Neagu, co-founder of Themeisle.\ud83d\udcad Final ThoughtsNicolas Lecocq\u2019s story comes full circle, from teaching himself WordPress by editing themes to building one of the most popular free themes in the world. Now, he\u2019s returning years later with a new mindset and a powerful new toolset.His journey is a mix of resilience, adaptability, and continuous learning. The setbacks he faced didn\u2019t end his career. Instead, they reshaped how he works, how he chooses collaborators, and how he builds products.Now, with AI as part of his daily workflow, he\u2019s able to move faster than ever while keeping performance and user experience front and center. But his advice to other developers is to see AI as an accelerator, not a replacement.\u201cFor my six products, I believe I could have done them in some years manually. I did it in less than a year with AI.\u201dNicolas LecocqFor developers and entrepreneurs, Nicolas proves that strong skills, user feedback, and fresh tools can unlock new paths.To learn more about what Nicolas is working on today, check out the DigiHold website.\ud83d\udcda Bonus: Expert Resources for WordPress DevelopersLooking to follow in Nicolas\u2019s footsteps and build your own WordPress products? These adrimadise\u00f1o guides can help you get started:If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our\u00a0YouTube Channel\u00a0for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on\u00a0Twitter\u00a0and Facebook. 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