November 29, 2017 — In this presentation, I will explain what child themes are and why they should be used. I will then show how to create a child theme using both a plugin as well as manually creating a new directory and putting in a custom style.css and functions.php file. I will then show how changes to a child theme’s CSS overrides the parent theme’s styles when they apply to the same target element, whereas items added to functions.php run in addition to everything in the parent theme’s functions.php. I will also show how to use Inspect Element in a browser to find what style is currently assigned to an element. Throughout the slides, a single child theme of Twenty Seventeen will be created, resulting in a completely custom child theme that is well documented with explanations written in comments about what the code is doing and what line in the parent theme’s style.css it is overriding for reference.
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November 29, 2017 — Bernhard Kau describes how to use docker for the local development environment.

November 28, 2017 — Visual design should work toward the site’s goals, but many of us came to WordPress without a background in design. How then can you select, modify, or build a theme with confidence that your design choices will be engaging and effective?

We’ll take a brief tour of web design fundamentals, and examine how contrast, hierarchy, white space, line length, and color selection can help you avoid design blunders and get a solid design every time.

Presentation Slides »

November 28, 2017 — With seemingly endless new ways to browse the web, we know that responsive design is here to stay. But how do we adapt the traditional design process to flexible screen sizes, device-based restrictions, and multiple use-cases without feeling like we’re giving up all control to the great unknown? We’ll learn how to use our Problem Solving Superpowers to move away from creating endless mockups, and into crafting Design Systems. You’ll learn actionable methods to transform how you design for the web, and workable ways to present these designs to your team or your client.

Presentation Slides »

November 28, 2017 — “What do I need to learn to become a WordPress developer?” This question pops up in forums, social media, and everywhere else on a daily basis. I think a better question is “How do I prepare for a future that looks nothing like the status quo?”

Tech is changing at incredible speed, and what we consider important skills today may be meaningless a year from now. This talk is a discussion of what technologies are on the horizon, how the web and the internet will change, and how we can all prepare for a future with or without WordPress.

Presentation Slides »

November 28, 2017 — Security is important, but can also be complex, overwhelming, and downright scary. Thankfully, as a WordPress user you don’t have to do it all yourself. Find out what WordPress and the WordPress Security Team do to keep your websites safe, how you can help, and what you can do to compliment that security on your own site.

Presentation Slides »

November 28, 2017 — Contributing to open source software can be frustrating for developers accustomed to working in isolation. That’s because you’re no longer just dealing with software, but with people who have their own biases, emotions, and agendas.

Some difficulties new contributors encounter include: not knowing when to contribute vs write companion software; not communicating meta information; disregard for etiquette; impatience regarding discussion; and ignorance of what makes contributions hard to accept for project maintainers.

This presentation will help illuminate some of the unspoken rules of contributing to open source software that will help you be a better contributor.

Presentation Slides »

November 26, 2017 — WooCommerce provides Storefront as its official WooCommerce theme. Storefront is a very clean, responsive theme based on Underscores. While Storefront is great out of the box and there are several add-ons for purchase, what if you want to customize it yourself?

Fortunately, there are many hooks and filters available for developers. Learn how to use them to create your own custom child theme based on Storefront.

Presentation Slides »

November 26, 2017 — A frank and honest discussion with women who have been involved for different amounts of time in WordPress – ranging from development to designer to marketer.
Panelists include:

Michelle Ames
Christine Baker Marriage
Tracy Rotton
Shanta Nathwani
Miriam Goldman

November 25, 2017 — I was very fortunate to be able to interview Thierry, Grégoire and Mathieu for this episode. It took a few weeks to get our schedules to mesh but the wait was well worth it.

Thierry, Grégoire and Mathieu are very active in the Paris WordPress Community. They are members of the WordPress Paris meet up which can be found here: https://wpparis.fr.

They have volunteered at WordCamp Paris and WordCamp Europe.

Thierry, Grégoire and Mathieu also have a podcast called Very French Trip which can be found here: https://veryfrenchtrip.com.