Language: English

  • What it (really) means to be a part of the WP Credits program?

    WordCamp Europe 2026Speaker: Ivana Ćirković

    June 8, 2026 — The WP Credits program is often described as a way for students to “learn WordPress while contributing to the community.” And, while this is all true – it’s not the whole story. In this talk, Ivana (a long-time marketer and WordPress professional, accepted mentor and someone deeply involved in this industry), will share her looks at WP Credits from three perspectives: students, universities and businesses supporting the program. Is it only about WordPress or is there another, bigger picture and all-parties gain from participating in this and projects alike? Why you as a business should join? How does this initiative work and what comes as the benefit for all parties involved? These are some of the questions Ivana will answer, pinpointing it to the factual, practical value WP Credits creates beyond WordPress skills. You’ll leave with a clear understanding of how the program works in practice, what students actually gain, what universities get and why businesses should see WP Credits as a long-term investment.

  • The new engineer: psychology, systems, and open source

    WordCamp Europe 2026Speaker: Daniel Grzonka

    June 8, 2026 — How do we educate students for an AI-disrupted IT market without endlessly chasing the next tool? This talk presents a practical model: combine durable soft skills with strong technical foundations, teach through real problems, and use open source – especially WordPress – as a “living lab” where students build, ship, and contribute through structured programs like Campus Connect, WordPress Credits, and Student Clubs.

  • The fight for the open web is a lie

    WordCamp Europe 2026Speaker: Jonathan Desrosiers

    June 8, 2026 — For decades, open source advocates and Internet purists have rallied behind a righteous call: “we must fight to preserve the open web.” That rallying cry is all wrong. The web itself remains as open as the day Tim Berners-Lee created it – built on patent-free standards, decentralized architecture, and universal access. Yet today, billions of users have been conditioned into believing the opposite is true, unknowingly abandoning and surrendering openness in favor of convenience in the form of walled gardens, proprietary apps, and centralized services. In reality, we’re not losing the open web – we’re losing the battle against closed alternatives trying to replace it. Open source projects like WordPress have long championed the technologies built on open web standards that have powered the web from the very beginning. The project and surrounding ecosystem exemplifies what the web is meant to be: open by default. Let’s explore how WordPress continues to embrace the true spirit of the Internet and identify the real enemy: the closed web that seeks to replace the web’s open foundation.

  • The AI-first WordPress site: crawler to citation

    WordCamp Europe 2026Speaker: Alain Schlesser

    June 8, 2026 — AI platforms generated 1.13 billion referral visits by mid-2025, yet most WordPress sites aren’t ready. This practical session covers the complete AI optimization stack: strategic robots.txt configuration, structured data for AI comprehension, content patterns that earn citations, and measuring AI visibility. Leave with an actionable checklist to make your WordPress site AI-ready today.

  • Documentation as a love language for the future you

    WordCamp Europe 2026Speaker: Birgit Olzem

    June 8, 2026 — You know that thing you do perfectly every time but can’t explain to anyone else? That client onboarding process you’ve refined over the years. That troubleshooting approach that just “makes sense” to you. That way, you organize projects that work beautifully in your head. Now imagine someone asks, “Can you show me how you do that?” And you freeze. Because you genuinely don’t know where to start. This is the documentation gap. The space between what you know and what you can transfer. And it costs us more than we realize, especially in time spent redoing work, in knowledge that walks out the door when people leave, and in contributions we never make because “it’s too hard to explain.” This lightning talk is about closing that gap. Not with perfect documentation that takes forever to create, but with simple frameworks that make your knowledge accessible. You’ll learn: Why documentation is strategic, not overhead A 10-minute template for capturing what matters How to decide what’s worth documenting (and what isn’t) Real examples from the WordPress community contribution Documentation isn’t about being a better writer. It’s about being better at giving your future self (and everyone who comes after you) what they need to succeed. Come ready to take notes. You’ll leave with something you can implement today.

  • Why WordPress feels overwhelming for beginners

    WordCamp Europe 2026Speaker: Priscilla Collado

    June 8, 2026 — One of the most common questions beginners ask is: ‘What should I install?’ Themes. Plugins. Builders. Security tools. SEO tools. And the most honest answer is often: “It depends.” For experienced users, “it depends” feels normal. For beginners, it feels paralyzing. Because when everything is an option, every choice feels risky. Choosing the wrong theme feels like wasting time. Choosing the wrong plugin feels dangerous. Choosing wrong feels permanent. In this talk, I want to explore a simple idea: the same freedom that makes WordPress powerful can also make it overwhelming for people just starting out. And when choice becomes pressure, learning slows down.

  • Nobody knows what you know (and that’s your problem)

    WordCamp Europe 2026Speaker: Vassilena Valchanova

    June 8, 2026 — You’re good at what you do—but nobody knows it. This is the expertise-visibility gap, and it’s the reason talented WordPress professionals stay stuck at the same level while others land bigger clients, charge higher rates, and work on exciting projects. Being good at what you do is not enough. The WordPress market is crowded. Clients can’t tell the difference between a 10-year veteran and someone who finished a course last month. Unless you make that difference visible. In this talk, learn the three visibility channels that actually build thought leadership, the types of content that position you as an expert, and how to identify your “Remarkable Content Angles”—the perspectives that make you the obvious choice for the right kind of clients.

  • AI won’t save your marketing (but it might save your time and money)

    WordCamp Europe 2026Speaker: Monika Dimitrova

    June 8, 2026 — AI won’t fix a weak strategy; it will just amplify what you already have. This talk explores why some businesses see real results while others produce more of what wasn’t working, and how small businesses can use AI as an equaliser without losing what makes them different.

  • Three levels of atomic product-market fit

    WordCamp Europe 2026Speaker: Debbie Levitt

    June 8, 2026 — Most teams think they’ve found product-market fit when they hit one good metric, like downloads, signups, or initial sales. But real PMF happens at three levels simultaneously: macro (market-wide value), meso (features and services), and micro (interactions, moments, and experiences). PMF can be fleeting. You celebrate validating it, but months later, users have disappeared, and you wonder what went wrong. Teams are surprised when users hate the new feature, utilisation is low, or complaints are high. This session will teach my new Atomic PMF model. Learn what tends to block finding and keeping PMF, and how to better convert and retain your target audiences. Atomic PMF: If your company likes failure, they’re really going to love success! Perfect for: Entrepreneurs, freelancers, strategists, startup teams, and Fortune 500 workers and leaders. This isn’t an all-or-nothing framework; take what works for your context, use it as a starting point, and evolve it.

  • Stop positioning into obscurity to unlock growth

    WordCamp Europe 2026Speaker: Liza Bogatyrev

    June 8, 2026 — In this session we explore why product marketers fail to drive revenue and product adoption despite doing everything they are expected to in a textbook perfect way.