October 21, 2023 — Looking at websites over the past decades, performance is becoming more and more crucial. But still, it’s treated as a “nice to have” or “add-on” late in the development process of a website. What if we would integrate performance into our workflows so we don’t have to worry about it when we’re already done developing?
In my work at the performance-focused WordPress hosting company Servebolt, I come across a variety of developers. From those who build sites using existing themes to those who build their sites from scratch. And many of them have the same problem: their sites aren’t as performant as they could be. Not because they are built badly, but because they aren’t built with performance in mind. It’s treated as an afterthought.
In this talk I will explain why Performance First as a developing methodology should be more widely adapted and what benefits it will bring to you when developing sites for clients.

October 21, 2023 — Failing to pursue a career in IT as a woman from an underserved community is often not a lack of motivation but a lack of access! In Uganda, for example, young women encounter multiple challenges in accessing adequate and formal employment opportunities. The growing demand in the IT sector, however, represents a turning point both for young talent with unmet potential and the constrained market by matching the skills demand – a real chance to create meaningful win-win situations.
Unfortunately, to this day, women are less likely to be employed in the tech sector – and when they are, they get paid less. The gender pay gap of 21.1% in the tech sector, higher than the median gap for the general economy, reflects the urgency for meaningful change. The same happens in African countries, such as Uganda, where the gender gap participation in the tech industry is widening, and women often find themselves stuck in junior and learner roles, hindering their growth and career progression. To address this issue, we at Groundbreaker gGmbH believe it is essential for companies from the Global North to take action and support female talent in sub-Saharan Africa. Implementing a progressive form of corporate giving and engaging employees in a mentorship program can be a powerful step in this direction.
For 5 years, our non-profit organization has been committed to bridging the gap between local initiatives in the Global South and motivated donor companies in the Global North. Our IT scholarship program, “Groundbreaker Talents,” exemplifies our approach to creating win-win situations for young talent and tech companies alike. By focusing on young women from the most underserved backgrounds, we believe in driving change with a gender-centric approach.
Let’s explore how tech companies can move from generosity to effective altruism and how we can all become agents of change to foster diversity and equality in the IT industry!

October 21, 2023 — The way visual design to the WordPress theme development cycle used to run in the pre-Gutenberg era needs to undergo significant change to unlock the efficiency made available by Gutenberg. Educating designers about Gutenberg constructs such as block styles, block variations, block patterns, global style variations, and reusable blocks can bring designers and developers closers, reducing turnaround time on projects and improving quality.

October 21, 2023 — Consider the evolving landscape of the WordPress industry. Striking a balance between the cost of open-source contribution, business involvement, and the sustainability of WordCamps has become a critical necessity. This talk offers an honest look at the issues at hand.

It’s time to pave the way for sustainable contribution to the project, including WordCamps, creating a more balanced WordPress ecosystem.

October 21, 2023 — WordPress is the most popular content management system on the Internet. And the introduction of REST APIs carved out the path to implementing a decoupled and headless architecture.

In this talk, we’ll discuss what JAMstack is, what it offers, the pros and cons, and where WordPress fits in with it all.

October 21, 2023 — – What is Growth Marketing, and how is it different from conventional marketing?
– Why is having a good understanding of Growth Marketing important to startups & entrepreneurs who want to grow quickly, with fewer resources?
– Practical steps to implement Growth Marketing into your business.

October 21, 2023 — If the quality of the content on Online Learning Platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Unacademy makes you think that

You don’t have the resources to teach online
making a course with video content is too expensive
you are not good at talking in front of a camera
then this session is for you.
Sekander will talk about tools and methods you can use at home, like a mirror, a table lamp, a smartphone, a whiteboard, and tools you can find for free online. You can start teaching with as little as 700 Indian rupees.

October 20, 2023 — If we talk about diversity and all that it entails, we can think that it is necessary. WordPress has always been said to be very diverse, but can we improve that diversity? Is it something impossible to achieve?

October 20, 2023 — With WordPress 6.4 due to be released on the 7th of November, now would be a great time to test the new release, and start looking at the developer-focused improvements that are included. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to install and use the WordPress Beta Tester plugin to test WordPress 6.4, as well as look into some of the plugin and theme developer improvements coming in 6.4.

Presentation Slides »

October 20, 2023 — WordPress websites can sometimes have hidden data leak problems, which occur more frequently than one might initially think.
In this talk, I will highlight some common issues concerning data protection in WordPress. We’ll review real examples, discuss why I encountered these issues in certain projects, and I’ll provide tips on how to address them. Whether you’re new to WordPress or have been using it for years, I think it’s essential to be aware of these problems.