January 18, 2024 — The art of debugging code requires a good understanding of the codebase and logical deduction skills. A good debugging tool is like a code mentor that can walk you through the code and help you better understand what is going on, but deductive reasoning is still up to you. In this session, you will learn how to use Xdebug, a PHP debugging tool, as well as tips and tricks on how to think about and approach debugging.

August 30, 2023 — Do you constantly feel like you are hacking code together? Do you find it difficult to maintain, adapt or even read code you’ve written previously? Chances are, you are not taking into consideration some of the basic principles of software architecture.

Come learn how some simple habits and changes in perspective can make you a more productive developer!

Takeaways:
– How to keep your code simple and straightforward
– How to reduce bugs in your code
– How to become a more productive developer

May 24, 2023 — Whether working alone or with a team of people, understanding what version control is, how to use it, and how it can improve your WordPress development process is imperative.

This session is designed to teach developers the basic concepts and best practices of version control. This session will be focused on Git and GitHub as our version control tools.

May 22, 2023 — WordPress is awesome, but everyone runs into issues now and then. Whether you own, maintain or build WordPress sites, troubleshooting is a skill set that will save you time and money.

In this session, you will:
– Learn about the types of WordPress issues you may encounter and how to diagnose them.
– Discover the step-by-step processes that will help you find the root cause of an issue.
– Learn what your next steps are once you know the source of an issue.
– Learn what information you should be providing when interacting with developers or your web host to help speed up the problem resolution process.

April 26, 2023 — WordPress is an awesome platform with a vibrant community of developers and a huge market share. Even though WordPress developers are a dime a dozen, it can still be difficult to find developers who really know their craft.

Don’t be “just another WordPress developer”. Learn how to create a roadmap for growth, hone your craft, gain confidence and stand out from the crowd. In this presentation, you will learn:

– How to identify where you are in the learning process.
– What you should be focusing on right now to optimize your learning.
– Mistakes you should avoid when learning new things.

Ultimately, the concepts learned here can be applied to learning any number of things, but we’ll be specifically focused on learning WordPress development.

March 29, 2023 — Do you see caching as “that vague and confusing thing that developers do to speed up your site”? Maybe you’ve even gotten brave and tried installing and configuring a caching plugin.

The reality is, you aren’t really sure how caching works and it always seems to make things more complicated than they need to be. If this is you, don’t miss this session!

You will come away understanding what caching is, what types of caching exist and how they work, why you might use different types of caching, and will be able to avoid common pitfalls that DIY caching novices fall into.

February 23, 2023 — Every back-end WordPress developer must learn “The WordPress Loop”. It can be simple, yet also very nuanced.

We will learn what functions and classes WordPress provide and what the best practices are, what to avoid, how to optimize performance, and much more.

November 30, 2022 — Chrome is not just a great browser for viewing websites, but also an invaluable tool for building websites. Out of the box, Chrome ships with “developers tools”. Many web developers are aware of this and make use of some of the tools it provides. However, most developers only scratch the surface of what the browser can do. Join in as we take a deep dive into the Chrome developer tools and learn, among other things, how to:

– Quickly test styling fixes
– Emulate handheld devices to test responsive designs
– Easily navigate and debug JavaScript
– Use the JavaScript console
– View form submissions
– Monitor AJAX requests
– Check for performance issues
– Troubleshoot caching issues
– Create and use your own snippets
– Share replays of website interactions
– Auto-generate front-end tests
– Share the current state of Chrome dev tools with another developer

November 21, 2022 — Whether you own, maintain, or build WordPress sites, troubleshooting is a skill set that will save you time and money.

Learn more about common WordPress issues and how to diagnose them. Find out how to identify root causes with a step-by-step process and determine next steps.

Get tips for constructive communication with developers or web hosts to help speed up a problem resolution process.

October 27, 2022 — Composer is a command-line dependency management tool designed for PHP. Come learn how Composer can help you:

– Simplify new project creation
– Minimize duplication of code in your project repositories
– Quickly install and update plugins and themes in bulk
– Manage versioning within your project
– Follow best practices when managing code for your projects