October 30, 2020 — In this case study you’ll learn how one company used its core values to turn a public dispute over website logs with the DOJ into a wildly successful global campaign for internet privacy, AND you’ll learn why open platforms like WordPress are so important to preserving a free and open internet, especially in times of crisis.

At the end of the session you’ll better understand how to:

Use your WordPress blog as a central component of an overall messaging strategy
Interact with media to tell your story
Turn your brand’s core values into media talking points
Navigate the treacherous waters of political brand involvement while maintaining an ostensibly neutral stance

October 30, 2020 — You know your website should be accessible, but how can you achieve that? This session will get you started creating content that is available to all. I’ll review how to layout content on a web page so that it can be read by assistive technology, guidelines to creating sentences and paragraphs that are accessible, and how to include images, charts and infographics in a way that transmits information to those with sight impairments and reading challenges. I’ll also show you how you can include downloadable documents on your website. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDFs all can be accessible.

October 30, 2020 — We’ll talk about practical resources and advice that beginners to seasoned veterans can use to improve their content and their perception to their audience.

Presentation Slides »

October 30, 2020 — In this session we’ll discover how to roll our own efficient, container-aware styling with the JavaScript ResizeObserver object, using code that works in all major browsers. With only a few lines of HTML & CSS we can make our blocks look superb wherever they appear on the page!

Presentation Slides »

October 30, 2020 — We explain what the WCAG 2.1 guidelines are and why they are so important.

Then we will offer 11 easy and actionable steps that you can take as soon as you get home to help you become compliant.

We also go through and explain and give examples of each step so you will understand clearly.

Finally, we offer some links to free software that you can use to test your websites Section 508 compliance.

October 30, 2020 — Learn how Newark Public Schools (NJ’s largest school district – 40,000 students; 70 schools) cut their annual web site technology budget in half by migrating to WordPress from a closed-source, proprietary, expensive, vendor-controlled SaaS CMS. Hear stories from the trenches about budget battles, angry/clueless technology vendors and frustrated administrators from one guy with a vision to disrupt the market and bring better web site technology to our public schools.

October 30, 2020 — Learning to think like a hacker in the security realm is a big part of keeping your assets safe, and there are additional benefits. In this session, Kathy will use the stories of defeating hackers to help you make better security decisions. She’ll also illustrate how the hacker mindset is much more than protecting your site and information. Thinking like a hacker can also help you break through perceived limitations, overcome obstacles, and capitalize on opportunities to innovate.

Presentation Slides »

October 30, 2020 — The WP-CLI gives developers powerful tools to rapidly manage WordPress sites, automate repetitive tasks and diagnose problems from the command line. But if you aren’t building custom commands, you’re leaving tons of time-saving potential on the table!

In this session we’ll explore best practices for creating custom command line interfaces, combining and reusing commands, plus other tips & tricks.

Experience with WP-CLI will be helpful, but not required to attend.

October 30, 2020 — During this session, I will share the 6 Principles and the best practices that they spawn as well as practical tips for applying them in “real life.”

October 30, 2020 — In this talk I’ll give an introduction to GraphQL, how to combine it with WordPress and how to use it.