December 2, 2016 — If you have ever had a client pick out a random theme, and asked you to build it out- then you spent 2 days learning how it worked- then this is for you. Don’t spend all your time learning new wheels- get a framework and learn it inside and out. Frameworks are going to be your best friend- there are several out there, I will talk about my top four faves- and the pros and cons of each. And, there are so many snippet resources out there- implementation will be your best teacher. The Bonus? Build sites in 2 days, not 2 weeks.

Presentation Slides »

December 2, 2016 — In this presentation, presented in English (avec des sous-titres français au bas de l’écran) 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 Sixteen 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.

December 2, 2016 — Newbies can get overwhelmed by being aware of how much we don’t know. It’s easy to use learning or researching as a way to avoid doing. Who do you trust for answers? A quick intro to the basics of information literacy can help you choose a few good sources from those millions of results. It isn’t just research though, is it? Once you have your site, post, or idea who do you run it past? The WordPress community of course! We will look at some of the ways to get your idea out and connect with others. (Blogging fundamentals, community pool, social media…)

Presentation Slides »

December 2, 2016 — – How do I make my plugins and themes available to the whole world?
– Which functions should I use and how do I prepare the strings?
– What are the .pot, .po, and .mo files and why are they no longer needed?
– What should I do if someone has sent me a translation for my project?

Presentation Slides »

December 2, 2016 — Suwash Kunwar is a founder of WEN Solutions. Prior to forming a company that works on Theme Review and Support, he was a passionate coder possessing high patience level.
Suwash gave a basic overview on how to use the WP command line interface in order to complete regular administrative tasks like upgrades,

Presentation Slides »

December 2, 2016 — We always tell the people in the support forums they should use a child theme to make customisations. So many talks are introductions to create child themes. But what if you have a child theme and the parent theme got an update? How do you keep track of your changes?

A talk for people who don’t want to be beginner any longer and need to be intermediates. Including a plugin solution.

Presentation Slides »

December 1, 2016 — Genuinely helpful money advice from veteran WordPress designers and developers. Save yourself a ton of hassle, time and money by learning what these experts had to learn the hard way. Topics will include: how to price your work, how to plan for scope creep, how to detect and avoid time sinks in advance, red flags with new clients, common pricing pitfalls for newbies, how to get paid ahead of any other vendors. Format: a series of lightning talks (5 mins each) followed by Q & A. For all skill levels and anyone new to WordPress.

December 1, 2016 — In higher education and non-profits, we are expected to produce and maintain enterprise-level websites with extremely limited resources. Throughout this session, we’ll discuss methods to prioritize tasks that need to be accomplished, manage your resources, delegate those tasks that can be delegated, and when you simply need to say “no”. Using these methods, it is possible to maintain that enterprise website on your shoestring budget.

December 1, 2016 — WordPress is tremendous with scaling for a large audience, especially for online learning. However, unlike a typical classroom, engagement among a community is not a given. Let’s explore the tools and tactics you can use with WordPress to create an engaged community through strategic student interaction, gamification, challenges and content to keep visitors returning, growing and flourishing in your website. Not only will we explore the “how” with the plugins that achieve this, but also the “why;” strategies that actually work. Having worked with 500 members in WP Elevation (a large community member WordPress website) and over 100 members in RockStar Empires (a large community member WordPress website), I’ve quickly seen what it takes to avoid the sound of “crickets” and inspire a passionate community.

Presentation Slides »

December 1, 2016 — “I failed at freelancing because I made sure I was compensated properly and stayed on top of my finances.” – No one ever

More and more people try freelancing but many never make it: not because they do bad work, but because they fail at running a business. Most of the mistakes are self-inflicted and can be avoided. This talk covers the three keys to freelancers’ long-term success:

1. Staying on top of the finances,
2. Taking care of one’s self and
3. Understanding when to pay a pro.

The talk will empower aspiring and current freelancers by giving them the tools to avoid the pitfalls and come out on top.