DeveloperWil

Calling all Current and Potential Meetup Organisers

Posted on July 16, 2018 July 16, 2018 by DeveloperWil

If you are coming to WordCamp Sydney and you are also a meetup.com WordPress group organizer, or if you are thinking about starting a new local WordPress meetup group, then why not come along to our catch-up session.

We’ll be sharing stats and information about our local WordPress meetup groups and talking about how we can collectively move forward and engage more in the community as part of the larger WP Australia entity.

Fill out the form below so we can get an indication of numbers and maybe follow up on some additional information if you’re new.

Where: Sydney CBD – Location will be shared privately by email (fill out the form below).

When: 3pm – 4pm Friday 27th July, 2018

Schedule is Up

Posted on July 12, 2018 by DeveloperWil

We’ve almost finalized all of our speakers and just waiting for a bit more info before we do the final speaker announcements.

In the mean time we’ve been putting together the schedule for the two days. It may change as speakers shift slots around but we’ll keep it up-to-date.

We’ll also print out a schedule each day and pin them to the lecture room doors so you know who is talking, where and when.

Making the most of WordCamp Sydney

Posted on July 5, 2018 July 4, 2018 by DeveloperWil

Sure there are some seasoned WordCamp veterans out there but maybe this is the first WordCamp or even first big conference you’re going to. You may be coming as a speaker, sponsor, volunteer or attendee and we’re sure you’ve got some questions.

Perhaps you’re not sure if a session matches your current skill level or you’re on your own and feel a bit overwhelmed.

We want you to make the most out of WordCamp Sydney so here are some tips and information to help you do just that. Remember you can always ask us questions in person at the conference or via the comment box below.

If you’ve never been to a WordCamp and don’t know what to expect, our good friend Troy Dean from WP Elevation put together some awesome testimonial videos that will help explain what you can expect from a WordCamp.

What is WordCamp and what should I expect from WordCamp Sydney?

WordCamps are local, volunteer-run, not-for-profit technical conferences designed to embrace open source software and foster WordPress community in an educational setting for all levels of WordPress users.

These “camps” are created so you can dive into the world of WordPress, discussing and learning in a friendly community of like-minded individuals.

WordPress Sydney brings together local and national developers, designers, SEO gurus, marketing people, artists, writers, business owners, IT consultants, enthusiasts and of course newcomers to network, brainstorm and share their knowledge.

Your job is to have fun, learn some new things and make some new friends and/or business contacts.

wcsyd-2014-1

How can I prepare? What should I bring?

Dress for comfort.
The venue is enclosed and air conditioned so perhaps a warm top would be useful if the air-con is a bit too chilly. You will be sitting down for 30-40 mins at a time.
If your primary goal is to create some business contacts perhaps dress smart casual. It’s unlikely you’ll see anyone in a business suit or shirt and tie. WordCamps are a bit laid back so you’ll see plenty of t-shirts, shorts and jeans. Perhaps even some onesies.
Meet up with somebody.
This may be your first time at a big conference and you may be a bit nervous. Why not sign up with a friend and come along together?
You can watch the #WCSyd hashtag and reach out to some of the people in the conversation. Ask to meet them at the conference registration desk on day 1.
Make it fun by challenging yourself to make 10 new contacts over the weekend!
Bring a small bag or backpack.
There’s usually some good swag (freebies) to be had at WordCamps. It goes pretty quickly and you may run out of pockets to store them if you’re not fully prepared.
Plus you’ll need somewhere to store your water bottle, t-shirt, all the business cards (yours and theirs) as well as your fav tech devices or even a pen and writing pad!!
Keep personal items close-by at all times.
WordCamp Sydney is held in the University of Technology Sydney and the venue is used by students. We don’t want anything getting stolen or broken and making your weekend unforgettable for all the wrong reasons so please don’t leave your bags, wallet or tech unattended. If you need to nip out to the loo or elsewhere, ask a friend or colleague to keep an eye on your stuff while you are gone or pop out to the registration desk and find a volunteer or oganiser to watch over it for a few mins.
Bring battery backups for tech devices.
The conference room desks have power sockets so you should be good for recharging devices. Maybe bring an extension adapter if you have multiple devices and at least one battery backup for the “just in case”.
Read the attendee list.
Have a look over the attendee list to see who else is coming to WordCamp Sydney. Chances are you may use their product, read their blog, listen to their podcast or have a common interest in craft beers or onesies.
Review the schedule before the conference.
Have a good look through the conference schedule and mark down your “must” or “maybe” sessions. Build in time for your “hallway track”, this is an unofficial opportunity to collaborate on ideas with other attendees while sessions you may not be interested in are in full swing.
Use Twitter.
During the conference the #WCSyd hashtag will get very busy. Keep an eye on it for updates, announcements and commentary from other attendees.
Read about speakers and retweet what others post. Follow speakers so you can tag them as you mention their talks and share gratitude for their willingness to speak along with funny and helpful quotes.
Go to the After Party.
It’s a great chance to unwind and chillax after a long day of listening and talking. Talk is usually less “businessy” and more social and fun.
You’ll find new friends and go deep in conversation (and possibly song) in a way that can’t happen between traditional sessions. It’s a time to let your hair down and enjoy being part of the WordPress community.
Come with Issues and Questions.
Every WordCamp has a group of dedicated expert volunteers charged to help answer your needs. At WCSYD we call it the Happiness Bar and we guarantee to make you smile, even if we can’t find you a quick fix.

wcsyd-2014-2

How can I make the most of WordCamp?

Arrive early to sessions.
Plan to arrive a few minutes before a session starts and sit close to the front. As well as making the speaker feel at ease you’ll have an easier time seeing what’s on the screen especially if the speaker is diving into code!
Challenge yourself.
Go to at least one talk that is out of your comfort zone. You may feel that your skill level is too low for a session but you may be surprised at some of the things you learn and take away to investigate later.
Embrace track cross-over; being a developer doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy and learn from a session on business management or copy-writing. The reverse is true, as well.
Take sparse notes.
Remember that you’re here to have fun and enjoy the conference. Don’t scratch down everything the speaker is saying or you’ll miss the whole essence of the talk.
Jot down “Aha” moments and things you want to look up later. Slides and session videos will be available later on WordCamp.tv so you can always go back and watch or review the talk.
Write down speaker details, name, company, twitter handle etc so you can connect/follow them and ask them questions after the conference.
Introduce yourself.
Turn round and say “hi” to your conference chair buddies – those people sitting next and around you. Introduce yourself and ask them what brought them to WordCamp. You may end up creating a new friendship or business colleague.
Connect with people.
If you’re a business card person, bring plenty along to offer others. Take plenty too.
If you’re more an social media animal, offer to connect with people on LinkedIn and follow them on Twitter.
Listen out for new tools.
Some of the speakers we have at WCSYD are seasoned WordPressers. They’ve been doing it for a long time. Have a listen to the types of tools, processes, software, services, plugins and other stuff they use.
Even if one of their recommendations saves you time or money or hassle it will have been worth the investment.
Talk to speakers, organisers and sponsors.
Feel free to approach the speakers, organisers, and sponsors. Everyone is at the event because they love WordPress and want to share.
They all want to help you with WordPress.
Don’t eat alone.
Lunch can be an excellent opportunity to meet someone new and compare notes about what you’ve both seen and learned so far at the event. More from Chris Lema.

wcsyd-2014-4

Share your experience

Take lots of photos & videos.
One of the fun aspects about WordCamps is looking through all the photos and video snippets that get posted on social media.
Share photos of you and your day, from selfies to swag! Be sure to tag the people and companies represented and share how you feel. Follow up with a blog post or capture moments of your day with a live or follow up video.
Express gratitude!
People love to be thanked in social media and through the mail. Do what works for you, but remember that WordCamp Sydney has many sponsors, contributors, organizers and volunteers dedicated efforts on your behalf. Make their day by showing your appreciation.
Reconnect with people.
Keep track of who you met and solidify the interaction in social media or with a phone call or email referencing how you met in the weeks to follow WordCamp.
Things and people transition pretty fast in Australia and if too much time passes, you may be forgotten.
Say “Hi” to the organisers.
It takes a lot of time and energy to pull off a successful WordCamp. Remember that organisers are not getting paid for doing this so tell them about your WordCamp experience; sessions you liked and new stuff you learned.
Maybe you would like to help out at the next WordCamp Sydney or are thinking it would be neat to run one where you live. Share your thoughts with the organisers.

Have more suggestions on making the most of your WordCamp Sydney experience? Comment below with tips and tricks you recommend.

Speaker Announcements: Batch 3

Posted on July 4, 2018 July 10, 2018 by DeveloperWil

We’re exited to announce another batch of excellent WordCamp Sydney presenters.

Cath Hughes

Cath Hughes is a Sydney-based web designer, WordPress consultant and WordPress tutor, speaker, mentor and an active member of the WordPress community here in Australia, and online.

Cath is also a coach at WP Elevation, where she trains and mentors website designers and web development professionals in business.

Cath founded her first business, Phase Creative, back in 2013, and launched Live By 5 with the aim of bringing quality sites to the freelance, consultant and soloist market.

Presenting: Beyond the theme: Affirming the role of the designer in the WordPress ecosystem

With a market spanning DIY to Enterprise, WordPress has cemented itself as the tool of choice for nearly 30% of the world’s internet creators.

We celebrate the robust content engine and the thousands of themes available, but with so much ‘done for us’, where does the role of designer fit within the WordPress environment, and how can we continue to use design to influence and shape the experience of WordPress for businesses, developers, DIY’ers and their respective audiences.

Ricky Blacker

Ricky is a self taught web professional who found and fell in love with WordPress, and the community behind it while looking for a CMS platform to build websites for clients.

He originally built his own web design business after being made redundant from a factory job in 2013, but now works for WP Engine as a Pre Sales Engineer, providing a Digital Experience Platform for WordPress.

He is a Co-Organizer for the Sunshine Coast & Brisbane WordPress Meetup Groups, as well as the Brisbane Web Design Meetup group, and was one of the amazing team who put together the Sunshine Coast WordCamp in 2016 and WordCamp Brisbane in 2017.

Presenting: Using Page Builders For Fun And Profit

Page Builders can sometimes get a bad rap, from being bloated and slowing sites down, to breaking sites and causing problems, or just not cool enough for real coders to use.

In this presentation I will show you how Page Builders are becoming more accepted, from novices to seasoned professionals, and use cases that demonstrate ways page builders can speed up development and make you more efficient.

Travis Balinas

I’m a Senior Product Marketing Manager at BigCommerce, leading the Commerce-as-a-Service initiative for our platform, focused on delivering headless commerce to WordPress.

Content and commerce are inextricably linked and I believe that the future of both will blend the best of open source + SaaS. I have nearly a decade of experience working at SaaS startups, serving small business, mid-market, and enterprise audiences across a multitude of industries.

Presenting: 5 Ecommerce Trends to Implement Now

Ecommerce is evolving and brands can do a lot to move the needle for their businesses if they know the right strategies to use.

Learn about the most relevant trends in ecommerce right now and how you can put them into practice immediately.

Evan Mullins

Evan Mullins uses WordPress daily at the office as well as for his own projects. He is currently Senior Front End Engineer at 10up.

He blogs at circlecube.com and has even been known to dream in WordPress.

With a background in digital media art, he now embraces the dark side and has found a strong creative outlet programming websites. Evan loves the problem solving aspect of web development and shines at harnessing WordPress as a true CMS & making interactive designs – interactive.

He strives to make the web a prettier, more pleasant and all-around better place for you & your grandma. Outside of work, Evan is a dedicated husband, father of four and soccer coach who loves rock music, audiobooks, chocolate and good pizza. He’s also a digital nomad family on a world tour!

Presenting: Adding a Child Theme to your WordPress Family

Learn how to modify WordPress themes the right way and even how to get a head start on your theme building.

We’ll go over the why and how concerning child themes and explore some topics on creating and working with child themes: inheritance and posterity, rebellious phases and discipline, style and security, responsibility and neglect, individuality and respect.

Wean yourself from bad practices and learn to child theme and try not to roll your eyes at the endless child theme puns and metaphors.

Phil Hall

I’m a school teacher who took to blogging because my wife kept insisting that I write a book about my experiences in motorcycling. I started riding a bike in 1974 and, over the years, have had many experiences related to riding and the people I have met while riding.

Right now I am celebrating 10 years of running my blog. The story of how my blog started is interesting in itself, however, what is more fascinating is what unfolded after the day I was helicoptered out of Macquarie Pass to St George Hospital. A head on collision with a semi trailer while riding my motorcycle turned my world upside down.

Presenting: Can writing a blog change your life?

How my blog became an important part of my recovery from a life-changing event.

In this talk you’ll hear how my blog became an important part of my recovery, rehabilitation and return to life on two wheels and how it has widened my community of friends globally.

You’ll also hear about the critical importance of original content, of how a variety of articles can keep your blog fresh and interesting, the importance of my blog now that I have retired and why my blog is so important to me.

Robey Lawrence

I worked in IT for 5 years, straight of High School. Then decided to pivot to web design when I discovered WordPress in 2013. I moved to the Gold Coast in 2014 where I started attending WP Meetups. That’s where my networking and learning exploded and I’ve been hooked (no pun intended) ever since.

The community around the WordPress platform has been such an encouragement for me over the last few years, I have grown and learnt so much from the generosity and time of others.

It is because of this that I am passionate about giving back, through organising the WordPress Port Macquarie Meetup and also co-creating and hosting the WP Bosses video hangout / podcast, where we interview Aussie WordPress Designers, Developers, Builders, Users, Hackers, Preachers etc.

Presenting: Working by yourself…together.

Working for yourself is great and all, but sometimes it can get lonely.

I figured this out pretty quickly when I began working for (by) myself. I’d love to share some tips and ideas I’ve picked up over the last few years regarding your working environment, finding others to work together with (on your own stuff), co-working spaces etc.

These are all things that can benefit your productivity, your professional growth, and even your mental health.

Simon Foxe

Simon Foxe has worked in both infrastructure and development sides of the tech industry since the early 90’s.

He is the director of Codeflow, a WordPress specialised development business servicing clients in Australia, United States and Switzerland.

He has been running Codeflow from the road for the last 4 years, and recently completed the Remote Year program, living and working in a different country each month with 65 other digital nomads.

Presenting: Digital Nomad Development

An exploration of ideas, lessons, hacks and opportunities to make you a more productive WP developer… and take your business on the road.

Topic points:

Lessons learned whilst traveling the world as a remote WP developer.
Hard realities of what it’s like to be a digital nomad, and what you need to do to make it profitable
Australian specific tax implications and opportunites
Acknowledge maintenance is required, and turn it into a product you sell to your clients (eg: ManageWP, InfiniteWP)
Develop using ‘reusable function’ methodologies in your business (eg: starter themes, child themes, frameworks). Look at baking your own framework, but always use others.
Look for opportunities to streamline your development (eg: CSS compilers, FTP sync, placing WP in a subdirectory).
Become a hosting reseller to increase your passive income and be a one point call for your clients. This will save you time dealing with site builds.
Identify opportunities to buy developer licenses and sell access to these as part of your maintenance.
The benefits of stepping out of your comfort zone, and learning from other developers – especially non WP focused ones.

Matt Knighton

Matt is an avid developer and business analyst with his own agency, http://www.mrkwebsites.com and a site he sells WordPress plugins on https://www.DiviFramework.com

Matt is a WordPress advocate and user.

In his spare time he .. whats spare time. Make the most of every moment folks, you can’t get it back.

Presenting: Here come the machines

Machine Learning and AI is ready to take over the world.

Are you ready for Machine Learning to take over your WordPress website?

In this talk I cover what Machine Learning can do, where it can go and some practical examples of how to use the world of Artificial Intelligence to improve your WordPress website.

Will it replace your job? Maybe, but we also cover how you can face these challenges and ensure your highly employable into the future.

WCSyd Badges

Posted on June 29, 2018 by DeveloperWil

If you’re attending, speaking, volunteering or sponsoring WordCamp Sydney then let the world know!

Grab a badge for your website, take a screenshot and hashtag it to #WCSyd.

Get Badges

Speaker Announcements: Batch 2

Posted on June 26, 2018 July 18, 2018 by DeveloperWil

We are psyched to announce another batch of speakers for WordCamp Sydney 2018.

Andrew Duncan

Andrew Duncan is the CEO/Owner of Databuzz, a FileMaker Business Alliance partner based in Sydney, Australia. He has been developing FileMaker solutions since 1992 and has been working with APIs for over 15 years.

Andrew is the developer of fmEcommerce Link (WooCommerce Edition), a popular solution for integrating WooCommerce with the FileMaker platform (FileMaker is an Apple subsidiary that provides a unified platform to create and deploy custom apps for mobile, cloud, and on-premise environments.)

Andrew speaks regularly at the Sydney FileMaker Developers group which he convenes, with a particular focus on FileMaker integration. He has developed a number of award winning FileMaker integration solutions, including fmSMS, fmAccounting Link and fmEcommerce Link.

Andrew writes regularly on his Databuzz blog and is an active member of the FileMaker Community.

Presenting: WooCommerce REST API integration

WooCommerce is the most popular eCommerce platform on the web and is the eCommerce platform for WordPress. Many businesses use WordPress and WooCommerce to manage their online presence and other applications inside their business with no integration between the offline and online applications.

In this session I’ll demonstrate how you can use the WordPress and WooCommerce REST APIs to seamlessly integrate your business applications with your webstore and remove any duplication and double data entry by:

downloading WooCommerce Orders into your internal CRM
uploading Products and Images from your internal CRM to WordPress and WooCommerce
use Webhooks to receive instant notifications of new WooCommerce orders

If you haven’t used the WooCommerce REST API or not sure why you might use it this session will show you the benefits of integrating with the WooCommerce API.

Alex Bishop

Alex Bishop is a Senior Web developer at Frame Creative and has been involved with WordPress and open source for the past 6 years. He enjoys sharing what he knows and is happiest overlooking some vineyards.

Presenting: Debugging WordPress with xDebug

You wouldn’t try and work out what’s wrong with your car engine by looking at the front bonnet.. so why debug your application from the outside when you can “pop the hood”?

The xDebug extension for PHP offers some amazing tools for developers to both understand and debug problems in their applications, but is frequently passed over as its benefits, setup, and configuration are poorly understood.

This talk aims to bring xDebug to the masses, discussing the setup of xDebug for a couple of local environments ( currently Local by FlyWheel, Laravel’s Homestead and Laravel’s Valet, though open to including more ‘WordPress’ environments like chassis ) and the configuration of your IDE ( VS Code / PHPStorm). Along with some demonstrations of how this method of working can help everyone take their development to the next level.

Stephanie Campanella

I live and breathe digital marketing – Starting Summit Web Design in 2011, rebranding it recently to Summit Digital. I also built Tradies Get Online, a niche marketing company focused on marketing for Tradies. I also have my love project which is Stefania’s Cucina – Being of Italian heritage – I just love food and getting people together.

Presenting: Hire Before you Drown

I am an absolute ace at hiring overseas staff.

I know the pitfalls of a WordPresser and how they can overcome it.

I have built a successful WordPress agency even though I have no idea how to unpack a WordPress site. 🙂

I’m well known in the WPElevation crew.

I want to empower freelancers to grow their business by at least 1 person so they can go out and get more work – and grow their business.

Jane Tweedy

Jane Tweedy is founder and lead trainer of new business FAQ Business Training, with a mission to educate and empower small business owners to DIY or outsource with confidence through accurate, topical training. Jane is also a part-time Business Connect and BEC Australia Approved Business Advisor for Western Sydney Business Centre.

The NSW Government funded program has allowed Jane to meet over 750 small business owners for personalised meetings about an array of business topics. Jane has a passion for helping small business owners succeed with a background encompassing corporate, volunteering and small business experience.

Jane’s corporate background covered investment analytics, people leadership, training, business management, sales and client service. Volunteering includes Max Potential Community Coaching and being a Board Director of a local Bendigo Community Bank® company.

This vast experience is supported by an accumulation of theoretical knowledge with a Master of Applied Finance, Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, Certificate IV’s in Small Business Management and Training and Assessment, and Jane is a recent Graduate of Kate Toon’s Recipe for SEO Success. With Jane’s diverse background, she is capable of providing training and advice across many areas, and gains great satisfaction from helping small business owners succeed.

Presenting: Developing a Website Brief With Small Businesses

Small businesses make up around 97.5% of all the registered businesses in Australia.

As such, they’re a market that shouldn’t be completely ignored. They do often need more help to get a website that works for them, and that’s where this session comes into play.

Jane developed her own website brief after finding many business owners were not given or talked through a proper brief by their website designers/developers.

They were left with sites that don’t work- they don’t attract leads, and don’t convert to sales once there.

There are also common frustrations around the handover of the site (or complete lack of), and where web developers can stay involved without taking over.

In this session, Jane wants to step you through how to develop a website brief with a small business client, how to correctly manage their expectations, deliver a website so they get a great result, and both parties walk away happy.

Lessen frustration and miscommunication and earn five star reviews! Key takeaways – Key questions to ask your client to help the website connect with their clients – Clients you should probably avoid – How to reduce frustration, miscommunication and rework – Getting great reviews – Handing over the site – Retaining the client.

Nadia Kerr

Full stack LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) Website Developer with 20 years in the technology industry. I have broad experience in all aspects of web development, various CMS platforms including WordPress, WordPress theme development, responsive web design, server management, global project management, database management, online marketing, search engine optimisation, extensive use of Adobe Creative Cloud tools such as Photoshop & Dreamweaver; and web programming. Proven experience in delivery and maintaining of SEO (search engine optimization) to organically improve website performance in search engines.

I get a truly great feeling of satisfaction once I’ve cleanly and precisely coded up a technically challenging website. I also love helping others in learning all things web, internet and WordPress having spent time in recent years training small business owners and colleagues on how to use WordPress better.

Presenting: Basics of Search Engine Optimisation

Basics of SEO – Search Engine Optimisation for WordPress

Understand search results (organic vs paid)
SEO versus SEM
Understanding search intent
Keyword research
Ways to improve search engine ranking
Using SEO plugin in WordPress

Kate Toon

Kate Toon is an award-winning SEO copywriter and SEO consultant with almost two decades of experience in all things advertising, digital and writing. Originally from the UK but now based just outside Sydney.

She has worked with big brands such as eHarmony, Curash and Kmart. And she’s helped countless small businesses produce great content and improve their copywriting and SEO.

Kate is also the founder of The Clever Copywriting School and The Recipe for SEO Success eCourse, the co-host on the Hot Copy Podcast and the host of The Recipe for SEO Success podcast.

Kate recently published her popular business book, The Confessions of a Misfit Entrepreneur – which also has it’s own podcast.

She presents the Write for Business show for the Dale Beaumont’s Brin.ai app and is the founder of The Copywriting Conference – Australia’s first dedicated Copywriting Conference.

Presenting: Building profitable Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are a great way to build your brand and build connections but can you really make money from them?

In this presentation I’m going to explain how to create your own groups to support your customers, build trust and authority and upsell your products and services.

With two large groups (6k and 3k) I’ve learned the hard way how to deal with the trolls, share the right content, create connection and sell without selling.

I’ll cover:

Why you should consider a Facebook group
How to set primary goals for your group
How to build and maintain engagement
Managing time and resource investment in your group
What kinds of content to share
How to sell without selling
Dealing with trouble makers and keeping things positive

James Rose

James Rose is a co-founder of Content Snare. He has a passion for helping web designers and digital agencies do less work, get better clients and reduce their stress levels. This developed after several years of stressing too much in his agency.

James’ favourite topics to write & speak about are systems, processes and automation. He believes these are the best ways to set a business up to grow and to work less at the same time.

Presenting: Getting content from clients on time

Waiting on content is one of the biggest bottlenecks in digital agencies. In this talk I cover

Why clients take to long to send content
3 ways to help your clients provide content faster
Some great tools to help the process along
How to request content in a way that makes it easy for clients

Scott Commins

SCott Commins Scott has been working with WordPress and PHP since 2013 when he joined The Code Company.

In that time he has worked on individual and group bespoke projects for a board range of clients and application sizes. He often works directly with the client and is primarily a back end developer.

Presenting: 5 Years of WordPress Application Development

For the past 5 years, I have worked for The Code Company developing bespoke web applications using WordPress as a CMS/application framework.

I wanted to share some lessons and insights gained from working on niche start ups to enterprise-level applications as well as talk about general problems in software development.

The intent is to share my personal experience as a client-facing back end developer. Anyone with interest/experience in project work with WordPress is invited to come along.

Chris Mundy

I’m a Digital Business Consultant and Trainer.

I have a long story in Technology that has taken me to many corners of the globe, and the Internet has allowed me to help others with their Technology story.

WordPress is my premier tool of choice and I have been using it since 2006 helping people get ahead online.

Presenting: Building to last a long time – Leveraging WordPress for you and your customers

‘When we build, let us think that we build forever.’

Overview – WordPress is a well-architected web platform for any sized organisation.

Do we run the risk of underselling WordPress to ourselves and our customers?

Is WordPress more than a web platform?
Is WordPress architected?
Do we understand the value of an architected system?
How can we take architectural values, apply them to our WordPress delivery, in creating enduring solutions?

This talk aims to provide WordPress Developers, Users and Business people see the greater value that WordPress brings to the table in delivering enduring solutions.

Brian Logan

Brian Logan Brian M Logan has been a constant in the web industry in one form or another since 1999/2000 when he produced and launched IndieFilmWeb.com, Australia’s first-ever streaming film and music website (launched 5 years before YouTube even existed).

Brian M is the founder of a successful Sydney SEO agency (SEO North Sydney Pty Ltd) and is a seasoned SEO corporate trainer and SEO keynote speaker able to converse in all manner of digital topics.

He’s also someone able to ‘walk the talk’ as well as ‘talk the talk’, so by all means type ‘SEO keynote speaker Sydney’ or ‘SEO Sydney’ into Google to see his digital kung fu in action…

Presenting: Back to The Future (of Search)

For far too long SEO companies, affiliate marketers, webmasters and business owners alike have tried to ‘game the system’ in order to rank their websites.

To ‘cheat’ their way to the first page of Google. But in 2018, with AI casting an Orwellian shadow over Search Engine Optimisation like never before, and the landscape of search (both organic and paid) shifting like sand beneath our collective feet, it’s time to re-evaluate our approach to what makes a website ‘great’ in Google’s eyes.

Google has over 200 ranking signals and over 10,000 sub-rankings signals, all tasked with working out who goes where in Google search.

In this talk, we cut through the digital skullduggery and online obfuscation to reveal the ‘Top 10 things every website needs to do to own their business vertical in 2018’.

Brendan Woods

Brendan Woods Brendan works as a Team Lead with XWP, managing large scale WordPress solutions, though Brendan has also had substantial experience in the Product Owner role.

With a keen interest in data analysis (currently completing a Masters of Data Analytics), Brendan has quickly become one of XWP’s resident GDPR experts, working with companies to assess the impact the incoming legislation will have for how technology companies operate in the EU.

Outside of work, Brendan is (sadly) a Lakers fan and loves playing streetball at his local.

Presenting: GDPR, WordPress and You.

The General Data Protection Regulation presents the greatest overhaul of data laws to Europe in 20 years, however its effect goes beyond the borders of the European Union.

Not only is the landscape of data law changing, but with data breaches from Equifax and Facebook, it’s now more important than ever that businesses remain careful and trustworthy data stewards.

This talk will provide an overview of the major changes brought in by the GDPR, what WordPress is changing to allow compliance, and why data privacy is becoming an even greater issue in the minds of consumers.

Announcing Our First Speakers

Posted on June 19, 2018 June 26, 2018 by DeveloperWil

We are excited to announce our first two WordCamp Sydney 2018 speakers!

Speaker applications are due to close on Fri 22nd June so if you are thinking about sending a speaker request in then get it done quickly.

Our first two speakers are WordPress community champions Dee Teal and Luke Carbis.

Both Dee and Luke have been immersed in WordPress and their respective local communities for a good number of years and the experience and knowledge they both bring to the conference will be amazing. We can’t wait for them to get up on stage.

Dee Teal

Dee Teal Dee has been using WordPress as a blogger since 2008, as a web developer since 2009 and has transitioned to being a Project Manager for large scale WordPress projects as a ‘Human’ with Human Made where she also leads their team of PMs.

Dee is a huge fan of the WordPress community, organises WordPress events in Australia, and speaks at them where she gets the opportunity, both at home and around the world.

Dee is carries both NZ and Australian passports, drives an (adorable) English Classic Car, owns a Burmese cat with a huge personality, drinks black coffee and after nearly 20 years in Australia still can’t shake her mostly Kiwi accent.

Presenting: Your Client is not your Enemy

Regardless of its size, the most critical pillar of maintaining and growing your business is going to be servicing clients. For some of us, this is one of the most invigorating parts of what we do, for others, it can be one of the hardest.

Dee will be sharing her years of knowledge on working with clients.

Connect with Dee: @thewebprincess, https://thewebprincess.com

Luke Carbis

Luke Carbis Luke is a trained teacher who decided to trade moody teenagers for programming. Today, he works to foster diversity, community, and possibility at XWP.

Presenting: The Future of Web Content (an introduction to the new WordPress editor)

The new WordPress editor is coming, and it’s quite a departure from the classic “text in a box” mode that we’re used to.

In his talk Luke will discuss hidden features and workflow tips to help optimise your writing flow. He’ll also discuss editing and layout trends enabled by the new editor (AKA Gutenberg).

Connect with Luke: https://carb.is/