Sessions

Presented by Irina Blumenfeld in Using WP (215).

Nobody likes a slow site. Every year the weight of an average site keeps increasing, mainly because of image sizes. Optimizing images is the biggest win when it comes to your website speed.
In this presentation, we will focus on different image formats and steps to follow before uploading them to a website. We’ll discuss PNG, JPG, GIF, SVG and when to use each one.
We’ll set up a process to prepare images for the web, and go over tools to measure loading time. We’ll also look at some examples of before and after image optimization.

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Presented by Chris Flannagan in Building WP (211).

Extending WooCommerce in small code snippets can help solve small problems. Extending WooCommerce like a pro requires planning your approach, a deeper understanding of the WooCommerce structure and implementing with well architected code. This session will provide developers with methods and a base knowledge for building their own, complex WooCommerce extensions and add-ons.

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Presented by Elizabeth Pampalone in Growing with WP (213).

Whether you have just started, or if you have been around a while, pricing, contracts and proposals can be a pain in your … brain? Thing is, they are WAY less complicated than in the past. Elizabeth will take you into her pricing evolution over the past decade and share some of her stories of staying self employed through the most recent economic down self-employed. She shares her contract and proposal and the tools she uses to get it to the client within 30 min of a consult.

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Presented by Richard Ruth in Growing with WP (213).

This presentation blends the running a business topic with the themes / plug-in topic, to present some of my experiences as both a WordPress end user and a WordPress developer, as they relate to achieving small business goals with WordPress driving your business content and customer online experience. As an e-commerce entrepreneur, switching to WordPress and Woo Commerce (from Pinnacle cart) opened up a massive amount of opportunities for my business. As an end user, while the learning curve was a bit long, the result was well worth it in terms of the growth that was achieved over prior systems. However, achieving the best results came from understanding how plug-ins and structure can be a tremendous help in taking advantage of opportunities.

Now on the WordPress developer side, helping small businesses and non-profits incorporate WordPress into their digital marketing and customer experience efforts, organizing the “building blocks” of WordPress, via content, site structure and utilization of plug-ins, can make a huge difference when running a small business successfully. In other words, understanding your own business opportunities and challenges when using WordPress, and understanding your client’s business opportunities and challenges if you are developer, is key to utilizing WordPress to the fullest as a valuable digital marketing tool towards achieving business marketing and revenue goals.

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Presented by Alex Sanfilippo in Using WP (215).

Creating a professional blog post is more important than it’s ever been. Why? There are a handful of reasons, but one major one is due to the amount of competition. In 2017 WordPress.com reported 2000+ blog posts every minute. You read that right. Every minute!

Today I want to share my top 5 findings with you. I trust that if you read and apply these, you will create content that will truly stand out.

#1 Content (Draft)
#2 Craft a Title
#3 Select a Featured Image
#4 Content (Edit)
#5 Content (Format)

Creating a professional blog post that will stand out is no simple task. However, after years of practice and hard work, I’ve come up with these 5 points above. Ever since I implemented these points, my traffic has skyrocketed. I firmly believe that the same thing will happen to you when you implement these points.

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Presented by Nathan Ingram in Building WP (211), Growing with WP (213), Using WP (215).

With the coming addition of the Gutenberg editor, 2018 will be a landmark year of change for WordPress and everyone who uses it. In this talk, Nathan Ingram will dig into the subject of change and the similarity of the 15th century Gutenberg revolution to the Gutenberg revolution of today.

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Presented by April Wier in Growing with WP (213).

If the fear of public speaking is greater than the fear of dying, the fear of asking for the sale cannot be far behind. Many business owners languish in low volume when, with a little bit of knowledge and practice, they can be kicking their sales into overdrive. We will cover classic sales techniques and update them for the digital age. We will also dig into the psychology that not only keeps some of us under-pricing but keeps us from closing the deal, at all. You don’t have to be cheesy, sleazy, or greasy to be a great salesperson. You will learn to sell with style and walk away with increased confidence to go out and make more money.

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Presented by Jonathan Brown in Building WP (211).

Have you seen tutorials online with out of date information on how to start building a headless WordPress app using Angular JS (Angular 1.x)? This talk will cover how to connect to the WordPress REST API using Angular JS. We’ll cover the WordPress setup using Advanced Custom Fields and Custom Post Types, as well as setting up the Angular routes to connect to the REST API to get and display the data.

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Presented by Kathy Drewien in Growing with WP (213).

Your clients (prospective and active) are not telling you the truth. Maybe it’s about a project that’s gone off track or a website ideal they envision. Or maybe they’re not sharing their thoughts on ways their business could grow its sales or improve operations.

By demonstrating your ability to be truly authentic at each step in the process, you can aim toward creating projects that are more collaborative and ultimately more successful.

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Presented by Josh Pollock in Building WP (211).

It’s time for WordPress developers to start thinking in blocks. Sounds great, but…

How do you create a block?
How deeply do you need to know JavaScript to create a block?
What hooks will you use?
What are the types of blocks you can build?
Where can we save our blocks data?

Get answers to these questions, with example codes and lots of links to learn more. This is a talk aimed at intermediate to advanced developers, who already know JavaScript somewhat deeply.

If you’re wondering what it means to build a custom block or extend a core block, this talk is for you. Learn what the new WordPress way of extending the post editor is and what cool things you can build with it.

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Presented by John Rehg in Using WP (215).

How to Choose the top 10 Plugins you will need based on your website purpose. With over 50,000 plugins on the WordPress repository, it can be a daunting task finding the right ones for your website. Many websites are built generically, without any thought to real design, which limits their effectiveness. This talk will examine the purposes of websites (the top 4 categories) and explain what types of plugins are needed, and how to go about finding and evaluating the ones you will need.
With multiple plugins available in each area, how does one choose the right ones? This talk will benefit new users and business owners alike, and is focused on those who are relatively new to the WordPress community.

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Presented by Mike Herchel in Building WP (211).

The pace of modern front-end development doesn’t let up. New standards, APIs, techniques, and best practices are being introduced on a monthly basis.

This presentation will walk a front-end developer through vital new standards that we will be seeing more frequently.

This includes

– Deep dive into CSS Grid
– CSS Custom Properties (aka CSS Variables)
– Positioning
– CSS Filters and Blend Modes
– And more

The topics will be presented to focus on the basic terminology, usage, concepts, and techniques of these new standards

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Presented by Ian Svoboda in Building WP (211).

Have you ever wanted to make your own WordPress theme instead of using a theme someone else wrote? This talk will discuss the basics of creating a dynamic custom WordPress theme using a modern workflow and Advanced Custom fields. This talk is suited for designers and developers who would like to get started with making custom themes, or who would like a refresher on best practices.

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Presented in Building WP (211), Growing with WP (213), Using WP (215).

Americans love their carbs for breakfast, which makes it hard if you don’t eat gluten. Along with the usual bagels and donuts, expect to find 💙 fresh fruit and some ✨ hard-boiled eggs.

Presented by Stephanie Colca in Using WP (215).

Today it is essential to know, anticipate and manage a customer’s expectations before they even decide to engage with your brand. Having your brand present in the moment when they are looking for a solution to a problem with the right content to help them is challenging. Without a marketing strategy and plan, your company maybe missing out on these key moments and choosing your competitors instead. With a solid strategy and plan you can connect your brand’s message with target audiences and ultimately convert them to customers and build advocates of the brand hopefully leading to referrals for more potential business.

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Presented by Catherine Mayokun Egwali in Growing with WP (213).

The workshop is on how business owners can build successful stores using WordPress. I will be speaking on how to use WooCommerce, abandoned cart recovery system, upsell and cross-sells, and other tools/resources e.g. Facebook ads to boost sales on a WordPress store.

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Presented in Building WP (211).

Ready to build your first Gutenberg Block? Bring your problems, your ideas, and your laptops. We’ll work together to put the pieces together and maybe even finish up with some working code.

Presented in Building WP (211).

What have you been working on? Have anything novel or interesting to share with the community? Get ready for your five minutes of fame, because we want to hear about it. Let’s use this opportunity to make connections, find inspiration, and build a more open community. Look for a signup sheet in the Happiness Bar on Saturday.

Presented in Building WP (211), Growing with WP (213), Using WP (215).

Much of a company’s digital resources are spent on optimization and tools that increase traffic. But what happens after the click?

At the heart of design are words, images, color, and layout. During this Panel we will investigate how deliberate use of design can increase the value of our marketing strategy.

Presented in Building WP (211), Growing with WP (213), Using WP (215).

What is a WordCamp After Party like?

Every WordCamp After Party has a different flavor, but they all have one thing in common. The After Party is the place to kickback and relax while getting to know new friends and reconnecting with old ones.

Where is this After Party?

This year’s After Party will be at Wicked Barley Brewing Company. We’ll be in the Beer Garden with a Buffet Lunch! Attendees only please. The After Party will conclude at 3pm, but you can move into the main area if you aren’t ready to leave.

Wicked Barley Brewing Company
4100 Baymeadows Rd.
Jacksonville, FL 32217
(904) 379-7077

It is our goal to provide a safe and fun event for all. Let this be our friendly reminder to use caution and good common sense at all this weekend’s events. If you are traveling in an unfamiliar area, consider traveling with a buddy.

Can I Travel with Uber or Lyft?

Yes, both of them work in Jax! Sunday afternoons tend to be rather quiet, so our destination might appear very popular.

What will be served?

We will be having a buffet lunch at Wicked Barley, and there will be options for everyone. The information below is accurate, to the best of our knowledge. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Wicked Barley directly.

• Carolina Style Pulled Pork Sandwiches
  • Slow roasted pulled pork / Tangy Carolina Sauce
  • Served with a brioche bun
  • ✨ Gluten-free when served without bun
• 💙 Home Made Pesto and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
  • Cavatappi Pasta / Fresh Basil Pesto / Chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes
  • 💙 Vegan
• 💙 Seasonal Grilled Vegetable Succotash
  • Seasonal Vegetables Grilled to Perfection
  • 💙 Vegan
• Hummus Platter
  • Housemade Hummus / Tzatziki / Lavash / Grilled Flat Bread
  • Seasonal Veggie Assortment
  • ✨ Gluten-free when eaten without Grilled Flat Bread
  • ✨ Vegan when eaten without Tzatziki
• Garlic Ginger Fries
  • House Fries / Fresh Ginger / Fried Garlic / Cilantro
  • Served with Lemon Aioli
  • 🚨 Fried in same oil as meat and items with gluten

Presented by Sheila Oliver in Using WP (215).

The Theme Customizer allows users to make changes to the site and instantly see changes while working, before publishing them.

In this workshop we’ll demonstrate how to control the most common settings, including:
General/Site Settings, Background & Header Images, Colors, Menus, Widgets, and Additional CSS.

We’ll also demonstrate the Device Preview Buttons (shows how your site looks in mobile, tablet, and desktop contexts before making changes to its appearance).

Presented by Georgina Lewis in Using WP (215).

In this session we will explore the differences between subscription products and subscriptions. Setting up simple and variable products, recurring payments, prorating subscriptions to a set day, sales tax tips, initial membership fees with a free trial period. Upgrades and downgrades between subscriptions and pitfalls to avoid.

Presented by Michael Brown Jr in Growing with WP (213).

Don’t let your efforts go unnoticed. Sometimes putting yourself out there holds you accountable for your marketing efforts. This can be a bad thing but it can also earn you the reputation as a very successful marketing professional. Learn the art of reporting and data analysis buy leveraging a very powerful tool called Data Studio.

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Presented by Scott Mann in Growing with WP (213).

There is an art to firing and being fired. In this talk we’ll explore some examples of bad firings, good ones and how to set the stage to make comebacks and create wins from endings.

This topic is geared towards agency owners, service-based vendors, and entrepreneurs. None of this has anything to do with legal advice, just people advice.

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Presented by Rian Kinney in Using WP (215).

We will discuss topics such as:

Limiting your legal liability with Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Opting in for greater enforceability. Designating an Agent for DMCA protections.

Trademark/Copyright – notice, protections afforded, filing fees, strategy

Can you charge additional fees for clients that pay by credit card. How much can you charge for a late fee.

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Presented by Mike Demo in Building WP (211).

WordPress is better!
Drupal is better!
Joomla! is better!

Sound familiar? The open source community has the habit only to look inside ourselves and never look what else might be going on in the other communities or projects. As someone who currently serves on leadership for Joomla and also the evangelist of BoldGrid has seen the best of multiple open source communities. I have seen patterns emerge across our communities.

This talk will explore my experience being married to open source. I will also explore the ways the communities support each other through initiatives such as CMS Garden (An initiative to promote all major open source CMS projects). I will also share the top things I learned about myself and the combined future of an open source web.

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Presented by Wesley Lewis in Growing with WP (213).

A “lessons learned” talk from the perspective of trying to get a full-time WordPress based business going. In this session, Wesley will be going over the highs and lows of starting a WordPress based business and the freedom that it can bring. Wesley will share some of the hurdles he faced and how he successfully overcame them to be on the way to establishing full-time income through WordPress. This talk will cover topics like market focus, team building, pricing strategies, time management, reoccurring revenue, and more.

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Presented by Chris Edwards in Growing with WP (213).

In this talk, we will dive into what you need to know to start tracking your website with Google Analytics. We will cover the basic installation on a WordPress website and then dive into the features of Google Analytics. In this talk, we will cover audience reports, acquisition reports, behavior reports, filters & segments, event tracking, setting up goals, UTMs and save some time for your questions.

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Presented by Ian Smith in Using WP (215).

How do you deal with queries from people who clearly know nothing about your website, yet email you incessantly with offers to write for you? I will explore why you may want to consider having guest posts on your blog, identifying guest authors (good ones), the kinds of spammy material you’re likely to encounter, and share my own experiences from managing guest posts and authors from running my website of over 15 years.

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Presented by April Mechler in Growing with WP (213).

Getting on Google’s radar isn’t as easy as having an SEO plugin and clicking publish. Find out how to research, plan, implement, and boost website and blog content to compete for the top results on search engines. This easy strategy will help drive traffic to your business or blog.

Tools we’ll be using: Google Keyword Tool, Yoast SEO, your preferred planner or calendar, a WordPress website for demonstration, Downloadable PDF cheat sheet and slides for this talk (No Prior SEO knowledge needed)

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Presented in Building WP (211).

Whether you’re completely new to building custom themes or you’re working to polish your code, this open lab time is your opportunity to ask questions and share tips.

Presented by Drew Barton in Using WP (215).

Thousands of sites are launched every day, but the quality varies. As leaders of the world’s most widely used content management system, we need to ensure that every site we launch meets certain quality standards.

Drew Barton, founder of Southern Web, a WordPress-centric digital marketing agency in Atlanta, shares his firm’s quality assurance checklist.

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Presented by Scott Anderson in Using WP (215).

Let’s be honest when someone drops the word “E-Commerce” in a website discussion they are talking about $$$$ and in the world of WordPress nobody does this better than WooCommerce. Throughout my years of assisting business owners, I’ve experienced the exciting and not so exciting parts of this landscape and I’m coming here to tell you at the end of the day… it’s not so scary. In this session, we will look at the common considerations one needs to take into account when implementing there first E-Store such as product types, memberships, subscriptions, and evaluating payment processors (ACH, PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.Net, and more). Once we know the basics we will then set up a digital E-Store from scratch to show you how easy it is to start making money.

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Presented in Building WP (211), Growing with WP (213), Using WP (215).

For omnivores, we have Sonny’s BBQ catering our lunch again. On the menu is pulled pork and chicken breast, coleslaw, BBQ beans, macaroni & cheese, and dinner rolls. ✨For those of you that need a gluten-free option, the pulled pork is for you. If you have any concerns regarding allergies, we encourage you to review the Sonny’s BBQ allergen information. Along with the coleslaw, we will also have a few side salads for those that need gluten-free sides.

✨ For those of you that reserved the gluten-free vegan 💙 option, you’re in for a treat. Chef Ashley Amin from the Fusion food truck (and who has previously cooked for the Dalai Lama) will be making vegan, gluten-free Panang Curry.

Presented by Jean Felisme in Building WP (211).

I will talk about the importance of automating your WordPress development regardless if you are building themes, plugins or full websites. Also, I will provide resources on how you can set it up based on your current workflow.

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