Bob Cristello

My name is Bob Cristello. I am the Director of Digital Operations at PKWARE. I build Enterprise Marketing Stacks that feature Classic WordPress Enterprise tactics, and I have been writing software since 1979.

I don’t just build systems, I teach teams to build themselves.

What I do

At PKWARE I lead enterprise web solutions and marketing operations: WordPress architecture and security, marketing technology integrations, SOC 2 compliance and the attribution systems that show what marketing actually returns. My goal is digital platforms that don’t break, don’t drift and don’t depend on tribal knowledge.

I’m still hands-on. I write themes and plugins in PHP, build REST API integrations and work in SQL, and I run SEO, AEO and GEO strategy, analytics and security alongside them.

How I got here

  • US Army, 1979–1984. I started as a technician on the Nike Hercules missile guidance system, then moved to the Computer Sciences Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, in 1982. There I was on the original COBOL team for an Army system running on a Honeywell Level VI mainframe.
  • The Hyde School, 1986–1992. Director of Computer Sciences: I designed the curriculum and ran IT for the whole campus. I also directed the performing arts and coached football, wrestling and tennis.
  • Sallie Mae, 1999–2000. Technical lead on an online self-service student loan center, with a team of five developers in three states. Every change went through dev, QA and production. I’ve believed in that ever since.
  • REBAR IDG, 2000–2002. Head of Development, leading a 17-person internet development team on global intranet, extranet and internet projects.
  • TweetClean, 2001–2015. Independent web development: WordPress, PHP and large-scale data migrations.
  • Davidson Belluso, 2015–2017. Web programmer and digital advertising strategist in Phoenix.
  • Freelance, 2017–2021. Full-stack WordPress architecture, SEO and digital marketing consulting from Rutland, Vermont.
  • projekt202, 2021–2022. WordPress architect on a mission-critical WordPress application for Experian, with full CI/CD from AWS through custom post types and block development.
  • PKWARE, 2022–present. Director of Digital Operations.

Why this site exists

Most of what’s written about WordPress is about building sites quickly: buy a theme, add a page builder, install plugins. That’s fine for a lot of sites. It’s not how I build WordPress for enterprises, and it’s not how this site is built.

wpbob.com is where I write about WordPress built like it matters: custom classic themes, hardened setups, minimal plugins and real development discipline. I call it Classic Enterprise. You’ll find three kinds of posts here:

  • CVE Watch: serious WordPress vulnerabilities, how they work and what to do about them
  • Development: how to build and run WordPress properly
  • Blog: everything else I’ve learned along the way

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed on this site are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views, policies, or positions of PKWARE Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or representatives. This content was not reviewed, approved, endorsed, or authorized by PKWARE Inc.

The author is writing in a personal capacity based on independent research, analysis, and industry experience. Nothing on this site should be construed as representing PKWARE’s business strategies, methodologies, or official statements.

This content is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Readers should consult qualified technical, security, and operational professionals before implementing any concepts or methods discussed here.