December 10, 2015 — This talk will cover a few key “Aha” moments that you should have about the way WordPress works. We’ll talk about things like the template hierarchy, what’s going on in wp-config, where WordPress content is stored (the database vs. the file system), how posts and pages and custom post types are represented in the database, what folks are talking about when they talk about hooks and filters, and just generally review the “behind the scenes” mechanics of how WordPress works. We’ll also touch on a few “tricks of the trade” that you might not realize are out there (version control, staging sites, caching, Vagrant, and other fun tools to make development with WordPress just a little bit easier).

This talk is aimed at designers and new developers who maybe have a few PHP tricks up their sleeves, but still haven’t figured out some of the details behind the scenes.

If you’ve never edited functions.php and don’t know what it is, this probably isn’t a good talk for you just yet. If you’ve written a plugin or modified several .php files in your WordPress themes, this talk will probably be a bit too basic for you. If you’ve set up a child theme before and know what functions.php is, even if you haven’t really used it all that much, or even at all…. you’re probably the exact person who will get a lot out of this talk. And if that’s you, you should be able to walk away with a solid mental model of how WordPress works “behind the scenes” and be in a much better position to do development with it

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December 10, 2015 — BuddyPress is a powerful plugin that adds a social network to your site. But as users who haven’t used BuddyPress much or at all, we might not realize it’s power and flexiblity. This talk will introduce you to BuddyPress. Then it will show you how to start seeing the possiblities BuddyPress can offer and how to creatively intergrate it into sites you’re building for agencies, small businesses, enterprise clients, higher-education, and even your own personal projects. When we’re done, your mind will be filled with exciting new ideas of how to build better and cooler websites for your clients and yourself… all thanks to BuddyPress!

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December 10, 2015 — Mirroring WordPress data to Elasticsearch enables breaking some of the constraints that MySQL imposes on performance and relevancy. There is a high barrier to entry, but some strong benefits. I’ll survey the different use cases I’ve heard about, compare some plugins and libraries, and talk about the impact I’ve seen Elasticsearch have so far.

December 10, 2015 — Let unit testing save you from this nightmare. It’s a lot like coding with a safety net (or body armor if that’s how you roll). It lets you go a bit crazy while minimizing repercussions (as long as the police don’t show up).
Want to try something new? No worries! It’ll let you know if something isn’t working as it should. That’s how most paid plugins maintain a high level of quality over the years.

December 10, 2015 — Advanced Topics in WordPress Development

December 10, 2015 — You’ve got the basics of CSS down, but you are ready to kick it up a notch and add a bit more pizazz and interactivity to your websites. In this session we’ll explore the fundamentals of CSS transforms, transitions, and animation. What are the basic building blocks that make up these capabilities? What is the difference between a transition and a transform? What does browser support look like? Most importantly, how can you put these tools to use in your next project and where can you find good resources to learn more? We’ll answer these questions and more as we explore the basics of how to add some of the more truly dynamic elements of CSS to our websites.

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December 10, 2015 — We talk a lot about all the things you can do with WordPress. But what about what you should do? Let’s talk about making better software design decisions that communicate intent and enable better user and developer experiences.

December 10, 2015 — The New York Times has been using the forthcoming WP REST API in production for over a year. It was initially developed for use during the 2014 midterm elections, but has become the de facto Breaking News platform at the Times. This talk will explain how the project sprang to life, why the REST API was an obvious choice, how WordPress interacts with it, Backbone, and React to power Live Coverage at the paper of record.

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December 9, 2015 — A practical step-by-step of using the WordPress REST API to power a simple WordPress Theme using a little PHP as possible.

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December 9, 2015 — Good user experience in WordPress themes can make the difference between frustrated or happy users. Yet, it’s often overlooked. A solid user experience can feel just right, creating sound expectations and delight. We still see themes with misleading screenshots and demos. Themes with tons of options and complex setups too. This leaves users with false hopes and countless ways to fail. In this talk, we’ll explore user research, theme setup, theme options and more. By the end, you’ll know what makes up a theme’s user experience, and how to set your users up for success.