Sessions

10 Widgets To Rock Your WordPress

Out of the box, WordPress is so easy to install and setup even a caveman can do it. And now that you have your shiny new toy, lets pimp it out. We all know WordPress gives you the ability to create custom themes, custom post types, and custom widgets. There are literally thousands of third party apps and themes to pick from, but you may not know which ones will truly Rock Your WordPress. We’ll talk about 10 Widgets (and maybe even sneak some theme goodies in) that you can add today, giving your site instant appeal, help with maintenance, and keep visitors coming back. You won’t want to miss this session.

Getting Started with WordPress

Setting up a WordPress site is easy! Or is it? This is a beginner-targeted talk where you will learn all the basics to setting up a WordPress site from choosing a domain and host to installation options, changing basic settings, and writing your first post. We’ll also cover some of the neatest publishing tricks WordPress has to offer as well as knowing where to get help if you run into trouble.

WordPress CMS ASAP: A How-to Guide

If you didn’t know it, WordPress runs great as a full-fledged content management system. However, getting it all set up as a CMS can be a little daunting. This session will take away all that daunt by showing you how to configure your site as a CMS and giving you plugins and techniques you can use to get a business-class website up and running quickly on WordPress. We’ll also introduce some best practices for running a CMS in a corporate environment, and show how Custom Post Types and Taxonomies can handle some of the most demanding needs.

The Evolution of Publishing

From an entrepreneur’s perspective how social media and open source code changed my company from a traditional publishing company to an online publishing company and the difference that WordPress has made along the way.

A/B Testing For The Win!

No one likes having to defend their design decisions to a client (or boss). My advice: stop guessing and start testing. Truth is, testing isn’t hard. We’ll cover everything you need to get started. Specifically, we’ll look at how to start running A/B tests within WordPress. We’ll also look at which tools to use, how to interpret the data you get back, and a number of pitfalls to avoid along the way. Find out how adding testing to your repertoire can bring a new revenue stream to your freelance efforts (and make you measurably more valuable to your boss).

WordPress and You: Results of the 2011 WordPress Survey

Over 18,000 people took part in this year’s WordPress survey, for the first time giving a loud voice to developers, consultants and users. What are the best things about WordPress? The most frustrating? What’s the average number of sites that consultants build? And how much do they charge?

WordPress for eCommerce? The sky’s the limit!

In this session, we will learn how to use many of the popular WordPress ecommerce plugins in combination with core WordPress functionality (search, custom post types, etc.) and theming techniques to produce unique, feature-rich online shops. The scope of the techniques used in this session will be progressive, beginning with creating your own product gridview or carousel, creating custom search result pages and even hijacking the WordPress comment system to allow your users to leave in-depth reviews on each of your products.

Demystifying CSS & WordPress

Have you ever wanted to modify your theme, but didn’t dare touch the CSS because you had no idea what it all did? This presentation will be on clearing up the common problems people have while using CSS. We’ll cover common things people like to change, how to do it using CSS, and where you can find more information. Don’t let your fear of CSS stop you from making your WordPress blog look it’s best.

WordPress SEO: A Comprehensive Pre-Launch Checklist

You don’t need to be a SEO Expert to take control of your sites traffic from search engines. Website Marketing Developer Mike Payne covers how to get a head start on your onsite optimization before you even launch to the public. From basics like title tags, to some ranking factors that you may not realize are important.

WordPress Theme Development 101: Theme-ing for Everyone

Creating or customizing a WordPress theme doesn’t need to be left to the developers. In this session we will be jumping into theme development by talking about child themes and exploring their possibilities and potential.

Site Performance, From Pinto to Ferrari

Few things are more annoying than having to wait a long time for a page to finish loading. When it comes to browsing the web, faster is better. But how do you tell what the performance looks like for your site? In this session I’ll go over different techniques for measuring the performance of your site, along with how to spot slowdowns. From there we’ll look at specific things that you can do for both PHP and WordPress that will reduce the time it takes for your site to load.

Can you go commercial?

Many successful businesses began in the WordPress plugin or theme repositories. If you’re like most developers, you’ve wondered if your development could make enough money to support yourself and possibly a small business. In this session Garth Koyle from Event Espresso will teach you how to evaluate whether there is a market for your code and if it’s worth the effort. Garth will also demonstrate several of the tools, strategies and methodologies he pioneered to win $40,000 in a business plan competition.

You will learn how to answer these important business questions:

Who is my target customer and what do they really need?
How big is my target market?
How do I determine what price I should charge?
How profitable will I be or how much money can I make?