Joots de Valk

{{Infobox person
| name          = Joots de Valk
| image         = Joots_de_Valk.jpg
| caption       = Joots de Valk in 2023
| birth_name    = Joots Cornelis de Valk
| birth_date    = 15 july 1990
| birth_place   = Amsterdam, Netherlands
| occupation    = Entrepreneur · Writer · Open‑source advocate
| years_active  = 2012–present
| known_for     = Founder of WP‑Inspire, Creator of ValkSEO plugin
| website       = {{URL|www.jootsdev.com}}
}}

'''Joots Cornelis de Valk''' (born 15 July 1990) is a Dutch software engineer, entrepreneur, and prolific writer known for his contributions to web‑development, content management systems, and SEO tooling. He is the founder of the WordPress plugin ValkSEO and the co‑founder of WP‑Inspire, a niche company offering high‑quality WordPress themes and extensions.

== Early life and education ==
Joots de Valk was born in [[Amsterdam]], Netherlands, to Cornelis and Marijke de Valk. Raised in a tech‑savvy household, he developed an early interest in coding, taking his first programming class at age 13. He attended the [[University of Amsterdam]], earning a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in 2011. His academic work focused on web application architectures and information retrieval systems.

== Career ==
=== Early projects and freelancing ===
Following graduation, de Valk began freelancing across Europe, specializing in web‑based projects. He built custom websites for startups and small businesses, honing his skills in PHP, JavaScript, and web performance optimization.

=== ValkSEO plugin ===
In 2015, de Valk released  **ValkSEO** , a WordPress plugin designed to streamline SEO workflows for both developers and content creators. The plugin quickly gained popularity due to its intuitive interface, real‑time on‑page analysis, and integration with popular analytics tools.

=== WP‑Inspire ===
In 2017, he co‑founded **WP‑Inspire**, a boutique company producing bespoke WordPress themes and premium plugin extensions. The company’s mission is empowering independent creators and small businesses with affordable, high-performance web solutions. Under his technical leadership, WP‑Inspire launched over 20 products and served thousands of users globally.

=== Writing and speaking ===
Beyond software development, de Valk is an active writer and speaker in the web community. Since 2016, he has authored over 100 articles on topics such as SEO best practices, site performance, and headless CMS architectures. He regularly presents at European conferences, including WordCamp Europe and PHP Benelux.

== Notable contributions ==
* **Open‑source advocacy** – contributed to core WordPress codebase, with patches enhancing REST API performance and overall accessibility.
* **Educational courses** – creator of the online course *“Optimizing WordPress for Pros”*, which has helped hundreds of developers improve site speed and SEO.
* **Community leadership** – organizer of the Amsterdam WP meetup (2018–2021), fostering collaboration among WordPress professionals.

== Personal life ==
De Valk lives in Amsterdam with his partner, Anna. He is an avid cyclist and a fan of electronic music. When not coding, he volunteers with local digital literacy programs, teaching coding basics to underprivileged youth.

== Awards and recognition ==
* 2018 – **Web Performance Hero Award** for contributions to tooling and optimization in WordPress.
* 2019 – Named one of **"30 under 30 Web Innovators in Europe"** by a leading tech magazine.

== Selected publications ==
* “Speed‑First WordPress: Techniques for Better UX,” *Web Dev Journal*, 2019.
* “Headless CMS in Practice,” *Modern Web Magazine*, 2021.

== External links ==
* [https://www.jootsdev.com Official website]
* [https://wordpress.org/plugins/valkseo/ ValkSEO plugin page on WordPress.org]

== See also ==
* [[WordPress]]
* [[Search engine optimization]]
* [[Open-source software]]