In this blog post, we’ll cover the latest WordCamps we’ve attended and those we’re going to, as well as a new site launch, a podcast featuring our CEO, and articles highlighting our work. Keep reading because there’s a lot of thrilling news to share.

JewelStaite.net Launch

We are very proud to announce the launch of the WordPress website for actor and foodie Jewel Staite! JewelStaite.net was built with the WordPress Block Editor, using Block Patterns and our very own block theme—WDS BT.

Jewel announced the launch on her social media and released a sizzle reel to highlight her new branding, website redesign, and all of the lovely elements that make her website unique, bespoke, warm, and inviting. Watch the reel below, and go to JewelStaite.net to see the website for yourself.

Full Site Editing in the Real World

Is no one truly using Full Site Editing and block themes? Fränk Klein, engineer and the person behind WP Development Courses, answered this question by presenting seven websites built using block themes. One of the examples included was Felicia.day, which WebDevStudios (WDS) built for the actor, activist, and streamer.

See all seven websites Fränk presented in his article and better understand the importance of learning block theme development. Read “Full-Site Editing in The Real World: 7 Websites Built Using Block Themes” now.

The Inside Track

Another podcast episode of “Scaling Enterprise, WordPress and Open Source Software” has dropped. Hosted by WDS CEO Brad Williams and Human Made CEO Tom Willmot, this latest installment is part of “The Inside Track,” which explores the world of enterprise WordPress and how the platform scales to meet the needs of large organizations.

In this episode, Brad and Tom teamed up to interview Mario Peshev, CEO of DevriX. The group shared their extensive experiences running their own agencies and the importance of contributing to open-source technology. Listen to the entire podcast episode at Do the Woo.

WP Weekly Inclusion

Thanks to WP Weekly for highlighting one of our recent blog posts, “Making the Switch from Webflow to WordPress,” in its weekly newsletter. A project by Davinder Singh Kainth, a creative professional who loves creating online spaces powered by WordPress, the WP Weekly brings the best bits from the WordPress ecosystem in a short and concise newsletter that should not take more than 10 minutes of reading time. Learn more about WP Weekly at thewpweekly.com.

WordCamps

The WordCamp fun continues! We recently attended one in Minnesota and have another coming up this weekend in the Philippines. Plus, we can’t forget about WordCamp US happening next month. Keep reading for all the details.

WordCamp Minneapolis / St. Paul

WordCamp Minneapolis / St. Paul (WCMSP) was a blast! Two WDS teammates—Engineering Manager John Heimkes and Marketing Manager Laura Coronado—got to meet for the first time ever while also connecting with former staff members, including WCMSP speaker Gary Kovar, who presented a talk on how NASA’s website was built on WordPress.

WordCamp Cebu

WordCamp Cebu, happening this weekend (August 24th) in Cebu City, Philippines, offers opportunities to learn, connect, and grow. Engineering Manager JC Palmes is speaking at this WordPress event.

JC’s talk is titled “Embrace the Blocks: Why Block Themes Are a Developer’s Friend.” It will cover the world of Block Themes, explore the tools and concepts, and demonstrate why Block Themes are not just user-friendly but a powerful new addition to a developer’s toolkit.

Next Month: WordCamp US

WordCamp US is the premiere WordCamp event in North America. It will take place in Portland, Oregon, from September 17-20. The event features a Contributor Day and a Showcase Day.

Five members of the WDS team will be in attendance: CEO Brad Williams, Director of Accounts Jen Miller, Account Manager Laura Byrne, Senior Frontend Engineer Marty O’Connor, and Senior Frontend Engineer Alfredo Navas.

Interested in meeting with our team in person at WordCamp US to discuss your next big WordPress project? Use this link to book an appointment. Our team would love to chat about your website needs.

The post Company News – August appeared first on WebDevStudios.

And for several years in a row, I had total FOMO from seeing photos and reading about the sessions. Of course, Covid interrupted everyone’s hopes for a few more years. My plan this year was to get to WordCamp US (WCUS) no matter what, so I was elated to see the chosen location was National Harbor, Maryland. With just a six-hour drive, I had very few excuses.

Not only was this my first WCUS, but it was also my first WordCamp event! It was everything I hoped for, but just telling you that doesn’t make for a very interesting post. So, I’ll give you a few more details about the extended weekend. I met people who I only knew virtually, I sat in on awesome sessions, and I met interesting new people who I can’t wait to see again in the future.

First, I grouped up with four other engineers and we split an Airbnb in the Old Town district of Alexandria, VA. Staying in Old Town was a great recommendation from my colleague and WebDevStudios Employee Experience Coordinator Julie Sarnik.

For our group of five, it was all WordPress all the time. When we weren’t at the conference talking WordPress, we were at the house talking WordPress. When we weren’t at the house talking WordPress, we were at a party talking WordPress.

Every day, we’d catch a Lyft across the Potomac River and arrive at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, the home of WordCamp US 2023. If you haven’t seen the Gaylord before, it’s an incredible experience. Hundreds of hotel rooms overlook a gorgeous (and gigantic) glass atrium. I spent a considerable amount of time just daydreaming in the sunlight next to an indoor waterfall as I took it all in. There was a buzz in the air as people got together and hatched business plans and, of course, talked WordPress.

Contributor Day

Running on just a few hours of sleep, my crew and I arrived bright and early for Contributor Day. Almost immediately, I saw two former coworkers whom I had worked with for several years. Until then, I only knew them virtually.

By the end of the day, I was feeling incredible from having met at least ten other people in person for the first time. There were none of the classic awkward Zoom moments, such as, “No, no, you go first,” or, “You’re on mute.”

It was just human-to-human interaction, and after all these years, it was incredible! I spotted new facets of everyone’s personality that I had never seen on the internet. That experience alone was worth the price of admission, which was an unbelievable $50. Participating in a world-class community like this and downloading knowledge directly from so many industry leaders is a dream come true. The accessible cost is an aspect of WordCamp that I hope remains for years to come.

Friday Morning Sessions

Everyone was excited to see the first talk by Abby Bowman and J.J. Toothman called For All Userkind: NASA Web Modernization and WordPress. In it, they discussed the process for redesigning NASA’s official website and the process they went through to land (gently) on WordPress as their CMS of choice.

The aim was to create a cohesive website across the organization, and their success at that shows the power and flexibility of the platform we all love so much. There were so many great sessions, but a favorite of mine was Modern WordPress Development with Gary McPherson. I loved having an opportunity to delve into another expert’s development process and the detailed explanation that came along with that. All said and done, I came away from WordCamp more knowledgeable and inspired than when I arrived.

Finally, the social interactions at WordCamp are worth mentioning. Sitting down for lunch every day offered an opportunity to meet new people and discuss the inside baseball of WordPress. I also attended a few parties, including the Pride Party and the WCUS Social event, which left me energized and upbeat. Seeing so many people who can come together around the same topic gives me hope that we’re all moving in the right direction together.

If you have the chance to attend any of the WordCamp events, whether local or beyond, I’d say do it. I’m sure you’ll have an experience that is as positive as mine.

If you’re a WordCamp first-timer like I was, keep some things in mind:

• Remember to save space in your suitcase for swag, especially if you’re flying. Vendor swag is abundant, and it’s really good stuff, too.
• Give yourself some time to decompress. Remember that you can participate in sessions when you want to and step away when you need to.
• If you’re excited about a session, get there early in order to grab a good seat. It can really improve the experience when you’re closer to the presenter.
• Don’t be shy. I feel like most people (especially while exploring the vendor area) are open to an introduction and some discussion. On the other hand, know when it’s time to let someone go about their day.
• Many of the talks are recorded and published online, so you can always go back and review the details later. Bring your laptop if you plan to use it for a workshop, but perhaps consider leaving it behind if you don’t want to be weighed down.
• Remember to have fun!

The post A Dispatch from My First WordCamp appeared first on WebDevStudios.

At WDS, we are always looking for opportunities to get involved with the WordPress community, and August presented quite a few. Read below to see for yourself. We hope you will continue to follow our journey and be a part of our success.

15 of the Best WordPress Plugins

We’re pretty used to our WordPress plugin, Custom Post Type UI, getting lots of attention. After all, it has over 1 million active installations. However, now the spotlight is on the premium version, Custom Post Type UI Extended.

Early this month, WPShout added Custom Post Type UI Extended to the list of “15 of the Best WordPress Plugins for Users, Developers, Everyone.” Other noteworthy plugins that made the list include Advanced Custom Fields, Debug This, and WP-Staging.

Breakdown Podcast

WDS CEO Brad Williams made a guest appearance on the “Breakdown,” a podcast from Gravity Forms hosted by Matt Medeiros. In this episode, Brad Brad discusses how WordPress has evolved from a simple blogging platform to a powerful CMS and addresses how the Block Editor (aka Gutenberg) has transformed the editing experience we have today. Listen to Brad’s interview at Breakdown.Transister.fm.

WordCamp US

One of the most-anticipated WordCamps of the year happened in Maryland August 24-26. WordCamp US (WCUS) is the flagship WordPress event in the Western Hemisphere. The conference is always chockful of meaningful talks, opportunities to network, and a presentation from Matt Mullenweg.

At this year’s WCUS, Matt discussed the technical improvements of Gutenberg. WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy presented a talk that preceded Matt’s and addressed the future of WordPress.

The hottest talk of WCUS was Friday’s keynote, presented by Abby Bowman and J.J. Toothman. “For All Userkind: NASA Web Modernization and WordPress” touched on the revamping of NASA’s flagship and science websites as well as the challenges faced by NASA’s web modernization efforts.

Of course, the teammates from WebDevStudios enjoyed spending time together. As a 100% distributed website agency, it’s always a big deal when we get to see each other in person.

Featured below in the photo on the left are Senior Frontend Engineer Marty O’Connor and Principal Engineer Sal Ferrarello. On the right are Senior Frontend Engineer Alfredo Navas, Account Manager Pia Miranda, Account Manager Laura Byrne, Director of Operations April Williams, and CEO Brad Williams.

New Career Opportunity

We have an exciting new career opportunity to tell you about! As the WebDevStudios Director of Accounts, you will lead our account management team to meet and exceed sales goals. If you’re driven by client success, have the ability to nurture enduring strategic partnerships, and have a background in managing client relationships, this position is for you. Please learn more about the Director of Accounts position and submit your online application today.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

While we’re very happy to have you read about WebDevStudios company news on our blog, did you know that we also share the latest and greatest things happening at our website agency in a monthly email newsletter? It’s true. Everyone is welcome to subscribe, including you.

The post Company News – August appeared first on WebDevStudios.

For us, September was all about WordCamp US. Seriously, we’re still jazzed about it.

There were other things that happened, too, and more upcoming activities worth mentioning. So, let’s get to it. Here’s the latest WebDevStudios company news.

WordCamp US 2022

We cannot stop talking about WordCamp US 2022 in San Diego. Can you blame us?

This was the first in-person WordCamp US event since 2019. It was a chance for WebDevStudios (WDS) teammates to come together. Plus, we got to connect with other WordPress pros in person. WordCamp US (WCUS) was a really big deal.

“WCUS was a great experience,” says Autry Reeves, WDS Delivery Manager. “I enjoyed reconnecting with the WordPress community, seeing some old friends, and making some new ones! My favorite part was meeting some fellow WDS team members in person.”

The event lasted three days, with the final day designated as Contributor Day. WCUS featured a Q&A chat with Matt Mullenweg, which can be viewed on YouTube.

It was announced that next year’s WCUS will be held at National Harbor, Maryland. We’ll see you then!

Torque Magazine

WebDevStudios Engineering Manager, Justin Foell, shared his WordCamp experience with “Torque Magazine” while onsite at the event. He also talked about what kind of client projects we’re working on at our website agency. Watch the video interview below.

Women in WP

WDS Marketing Strategist, Laura Coronado, was also interviewed at WCUS. Talking with the podcast, “Women in WordPress,” Laura shared her story of how she got into this ecosystem.

Other women working in WordPress recounted their tales, too. Listen to all of their inspiring stories below.

WordPress Friday Is BACK!

Here’s another piece of interesting company news. The Twitter Spaces event, WordPress Friday (aka #WPFriday), has returned at a new time. You can still catch it on Fridays, but now it’s at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

After a short summer hiatus (hey, even CEOs need some vacation time), Brad Williams and co-host, Victor Ramirez, have brought their popular Twitter Spaces event back to life. Join them to discuss WordPress, tech, and other related topics.

Follow Brad on Twitter to access the event link.

WooSesh, October 11-13 2022

The next big WordPress-related event is WooSesh. This virtual conference focuses on WooCommerce store builders.

Backend Engineer, Lax Mariappan, is a featured speaker. His talk is centered around improving the user experience for WooCommerce product variations.

Speakers have been announced, but a schedule of sessions has not been released. There’s still time to register, and it’s free!

Plugin Updates

The following WebDevStudios plugins were updated this month.

Custom Post Type UI Extended 1.11.0

• Complete migration of all layouts to blocks
• Twenty Twenty-Two compatibility

Custom Post Type UI versions 1.13.0 and 1.13.1

• Code restructuring
• Fixes to the Post Type description field around HTML handling and JSON data

BuddyPages 1.2.3

• Fix around loading of translations for internationalized websites

InstaG0 1.1.2

• Bug fix that addresses an update process and PHP/JavaScript errors

An updated website is a healthy one. Be sure to update your plugins. Visit our plugin shop, Pluginize, to learn more about WebDevStudios WordPress plugins.

The post Company News – September appeared first on WebDevStudios.

Still, WebDevStudios (WDS) continues to make time for any activities that allow us to get involved with the tech and WordPress communities, especially if that means attending events or being on podcasts. We love those!

So, take a look at the latest news coming from our website agency. And, if you happen to run into us at any event, don’t hesitate to say hi. We’ll even take a selfie with you.

Upcoming Events

Now that in-person events are happening again, WDS is happy to sign up to speak, volunteer, organize, and attend them. Here are the upcoming events where you will find one or two of our teammates.

WordCamp Kathmandu, September 3-4, 2022

You read that right. WordPress Katmandu is happening this weekend!

WDS Backend Developer, Lax Mariappan, is a speaker. His talk, “Accelerate Your Migration Process with WP CLI,” covers the migration process and how WP CLI plays a helpful role.

Follow WordPress Nepal and the hashtag #WCKTM2022 on Twitter to keep up with all the action.

WordCamp US, September 9-11, 2022

A week after WordCamp Kathmandu, WordCamp US (WCUS) happens in San Diego, CA. This is the first in-person WCUS since 2019. As such, tickets sold out quickly. While the quick sellout may be partially due to the limited quantity, as a cautious response to the ongoing pandemic, it remains one hot ticket.

No one from WDS is speaking at this WordCamp, be we do have two folks volunteering (Laura Byrne, Account Manager and Autry Reeves, Delivery Manager) and three attending (Brad Williams, CEO; Justin Foell, Engineering Manager; and Laura Coronado, Marketing Strategist).

Follow WordCamp US and the hashtag #WCUS on Twitter. As we said earlier, if you run into us at an event, such as WCUS, please stop to say hello.

Totally Unoriginal Random Show

There’s this totally random podcast where two internet entrepreneurs meet at totally random moments throughout the year. One of them is named Matt Medeiros. The other is Brad. Together, in this episode, they talk about a whole lot of WordPress. Click the play button to listen.

WP Owls Mention

One of our favorite WordPress newsletters is WP Owls. That’s because it’s always chockful of the latest information and WordPress-related articles. Also, and we’re being biased here, they consistently feature blog posts from WDS.

WP Owls did exactly that last week when they included Lax’s blog post “How to Migrate Subsite Content to a Multisite Network” in the 99th edition of their newsletter. Thanks, WP Owls!

WDS Is Hiring!

We love to mention it—WebDevStudios is hiring. Currently, we have open positions for engineers and a UX designer. Please visit our Careers page to learn more and apply online.

The post Company News – August appeared first on WebDevStudios.

Maintainn Is Now SiteCare.

Yes. The rumors are true. The company that was once our WordPress maintenance and support division has now joined the SiteCare family. You can read the official announcement on SiteCare’s website.

Last week on July 20th, Maintainn customers were informed of this acquisition and transition. Yesterday, the announcement went public.

The WP Minute broke the news with an exclusive interview featuring WebDevStudios CEO, Brad Williams, and SiteCare COO, Ryan Sullivan. WPTavern picked up the story later in the day, too.

WordPress acquisitions are happening all around. While the departure of Maintainn from our group of companies is bittersweet, the change allows for WebDevStudios to focus on large-scale website development.

We know we’re leaving Maintainn customers in good, solid hands.

Recap of WordCamp Montclair

We reported last month about Account Manager Laura Byrne’s involvement with WordCamp Montclair, as a co-organizer. However, later, both Laura and Mike Auteri, also a WordCamp Montclair co-organizer, were featured on Torque’s Social Hour to give a full recap of the first in-person WordCamp in the US in the past two years.

You can watch the full interview below.

The Next WordPress Event…

Find WebDevStudios at WordCamp US in San Diego, September 9-11. Of course, Brad will be there, but so will Laura, who is volunteering at the event, Justin Foell, Engineering Manager, and Laura Coronado, Marketing Strategist.

WebDevStudios Is Hiring!

That rumor is true, too. As WebDevStudios focuses on complex development projects that range from multisite networks for large media companies to headless setups for eCommerce corporations, we need some talented technologists to help us meet our client’s requirements. Take a look at our Careers page and submit your application online today.

The post Company News – July appeared first on WebDevStudios.

WordCamp US

In light of the pandemic, WordCamp US (WCUS) remained virtual this year. Taking place on October 1st, WCUS featured two tracks, fresh content, and is reported to have had the most diverse group of new speakers.

WDS Backend Engineer, Lax Mariappan, is among the new speakers showcased at WCUS. Lax’s talk, “eCommerce Best Practices: Wooing Your Customers Is Easier Than You Think,” covered tips that any WooCommerce store owner can implement. If you missed out, Lax plans to write for the WDS blog on the same topic. Stay tuned!

WordCamp Nicaragua

Another WordCamp? Yup. This time, it was Frontend Engineer, Alfredo Navas, who dropped knowledge at WordCamp Nicaragua, October 8th.

Alfredo’s talk, “Full Site Editing and Block-Based Themes,” which was presented in Spanish, explained what WordPress full site editing is and how the new editor works. If you missed his talk and want to sharpen your Spanish-speaking skills, you can watch it below.

WordPress Social Learning Meetup

Website Specialist, Christina Workman, joined a panel of WordPress experts on October 14th. As a part of the WordPress Social Learning Meetup, which took place online, Christina and the other panelists discussed contributing to the WordPress Open Source project.

Remember, everyone is invited to contribute to WordPress, even those who are new to it. You can view the discussion below to learn more about how you can get involved as a contributor.

Headless WordPress Webinar

Announced just a couple of weeks ago, “Post Status Live: The Legend of the Headless Website” takes place this Thursday at noon Central Time. This free webinar will define Headless WordPress and help attendees ascertain as to whether or not the solution is right for their next website project.

Below are thee WDS Headless WordPress experts who will be featured at this exclusive Post Status-WebDevStudios collaborative webinar. Register with this link: wds.af/Headless-Webinar.

The post Company News – October appeared first on WebDevStudios.

Do the Woo

Bob WP’s “Do the Woo” podcast is a regular resource for all things WooCommerce. This “Woo BizChat” episode features WDS COO and Co-Founder, Lisa Sabin-Wilson, as she discusses how the pandemic accelerated eCommerce growth by decades in just one year’s time, the potential of augmented reality, and what excites her about being an integral part of the website design and development industry. David Lockie from Angry Creative is also interviewed on this episode, which is hosted by Robbie Adair and Maja Loncar. Click below to listen to the full interview.

WordPress 5.8

It’s here! It’s here! Have you updated to WordPress 5.8 yet?

Clients of our WordPress maintenance and support company, Maintainn, can relax knowing their website is being updated and managed. If you’re not yet subscribed to one of Maintainn’s WordPress maintenance plans, consider doing so today.

Named “Tatum” after the great jazz musician, Art Tatum, WordPress 5.8 introduces Full Site Editing, new blocks, and many bug fixes. Support Engineer, Michael Beckwith, and Backend Engineer, Michael Joseph Panaga, are listed as Contributors for this newest release. Both WDS team members have been credited before on previous releases.

To get all the details on WordPress 5.8, we recommend reading the announcement blog post.

WordCamp US Returns!

After canceling last year’s annual event, due to the pandemic, WordCamp US makes its return virtually. “We know that armchair WordCamps aren’t ideal (we miss hugs, meals together, and swag, too!),” the event organizers posted online, “…but bear with us as we strive to bring you the best online experience this year!”

Read the announcement at the event’s official website, and be sure you are following WordCamp US on Twitter for more updates and calls for speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and organizers. WDS is a big fan of WordCamps. Don’t be surprised if you see our own teammates involved with the event in some capacity.

The post Company News – July appeared first on WebDevStudios.

WCUS’ Contributor Day was held on the third day of this national WordPress conference, which took place in St. Louis, Missouri this year. In an effort to recruit more people to participate in WordCamp Contributor Day, we worked hard on education and awareness. This included publishing blog posts about the different teams and running workshops, which took place on the first two days of WCUS. These workshops were designed to demystify Contributor Day. You can watch videos from the workshops at WordPress.tv. We even had buttons made that say, “I make WordPress. Ask me how,” which experienced contributors wore throughout the weekend.

Want to know more about Contributing to #WordPress @WordCampUS ? Ask anyone wearing this button. #WCUS pic.twitter.com/hsOeLyySBa

— WordCamp US (@WordCampUS) October 31, 2019

The 411

The best part about WordCamp Contributor Day is that anyone can participate. Yes, even you!

The WordPress project needs people of all skill levels and backgrounds to help move it forward. There are 18 official teams listed on Make.WordPress.org that you can contribute to, ranging from technical (Core, WP-CLI) to non-technical (Community, Polyglots). You can choose to contribute in an area that you are an expert in or use this opportunity as a way to learn a new skill.

Common ways to contribute include:

• feature improvements and bug fixes on core
• reviewing themes and plugins to be added to the general repositories
• answering questions in the support forums

Some less obvious ways to contribute include:

• writing or editing documentation, marketing collateral, release notes, etc.
• testing new features as a regular user
• creating and improving workshops and other materials for the user community to learn
• adding closed captioning to videos posted to WordPress.tv
• organizing a meetup in your area

Kicking off #WCUS contributor day! @aaroncampbell asks how many are first time contributors and nearly half the people in the room raise their hands… pic.twitter.com/vI6baX6wf1

— Andrea Middleton (@andmiddleton) November 3, 2019

Back to WCUS 2019 Contributor Day, we had a few hundred people participate this year and at least a third of them were first-timers. Everyone settled into the teams they wanted to help and got to work. We kept track of accomplishments throughout the day. Here are some highlights:

• onboarded  new contributors to several teams
• translated all of WordPress 5.3 for Dutch
• started the first WCUS KidsCamp
• reviewed and edited various pieces of text content (handbooks, documentation, etc.)
• ensured all support topics had a reply (except for a few that came in during the day)
• closed issues and tickets on multiple teams
• edited videos

And, of course, the list goes on. See the complete list of what we contributed on this monumental WordCamp Contributor Day here. 

Participating in WordCamp Contributor Day is like eating a potato chip.

At the end of the day, in addition to all the defined accomplishments listed, new friends were made and new regular contributors were born. Once bitten by the contributing bug, people often want to keep going. And the great thing is, they can!

Whether it’s becoming an active weekly member of one of the teams or finding a new way to enhance the community, I encourage everyone to contribute as often as possible, all year long. Not only will you be helping to shape the future of WordPress, you’ll find there’s personal and maybe professional growth as well, just from taking that first step and showing up, like I did.

If you’d like to get started, but don’t have a WordCamp Contributor Day happening soon nearby, you can learn more about the teams and find their meeting details at Make.Wordpress.org. I also invite you to ping me on Twitter to ask me any questions about contributing. You can join WebDevStudios for our monthly Five for the Future (a WordPress initiative designed to give back) contribution days, too!

The post Get the 411 on WordCamp Contributor Day appeared first on WebDevStudios.

What is WordCamp US?

WordCamp US (WCUS) is the national WordPress conference that brings together WordPress enthusiasts to a place of community from every background and industry. The event happens annually, and changes to a new city every two years. At the event, you have an opportunity to gather knowledge from various speakers and workshops that could help you improve your WordPress skills, positively impacting your business, be a better leader, and get involved in the community. Plus, there’s the networking. This event brings together over 2,000 attendees year after year!

Organizing WordCamp US 2019

This year was pretty special for me because the event was in St. Louis, Missouri, and I am a local. As soon as I found out the event was coming to St. Louis, I signed up to help organize. Being an organizer was always something I wanted to do, but wasn’t quite sure where or how I could help. Let me assure you that there is a job for everyone.

I was the co-lead on the Volunteers team, which helped to gather, organize and plan roles and responsibilities for WCUS volunteers. Yes, if you were wondering, the event is 100% organized and run by volunteers. It’s a huge deal. During the conference, I was running around from room to room, ensuring that each of the volunteers were there, had what they needed, and making last minute changes when required. It was really fun to be a part of WordCamp US 2019 and very rewarding to see the event to success.

This year, we had roughly 50 organizers who handled the logistics, budget and sponsors, design and programming, communications, plus all the things that go into making the attendee experience impactful. Special shout out to Jennifer Swisher, Angela Jin, and Kevin Cristiano for being the overall lead organizers for the event this year.

WordCamp US 2019 Report

WCUS took place at America’s Center in downtown St. Louis. Sessions, and workshops were held November 1-2, 2019. The State of the Word was presented by Matt Mullenweg on November 2nd. Sunday, November 3rd was all about Contributor Day and KidsCamp. Contributor Day was co-organized by our very own Christina Workman, who said it was a huge success! Here are some of my favorite things about WordCamp US this year:

• WordFest, the WCUS after party, was held at the City Museum, and WOW! Not only did the WCUS organizing team pick a great place, but they also brought in local food favorites like toasted raviolis and Ted Drewes famous frozen custard. No one left hungry.
• WDS-ers gathered together and we made great memories! We work remotely, so we don’t get to see each other that often in person. A portion of our crew traveled from all over the US to attend the event. I got to officially meet Mike and Scott from our team in person.

• We had an amazing BBQ lunch at Sugarfire Smokehouse on Saturday together. What’s better than brisket, macaroni and cheese, and vanilla pudding?! We pigged out!
• We really enjoyed the local brews from Schlafly Beer. Brad now loves their Pumpkin Ale.
• State of the Word is always one of the highlights of the event for me. If you missed it, you can watch it on YouTube.
• I love networking with folks from other agencies and gathering all the fancy swag from the Sponsor Hall. My favorite item that I picked up this year was the speaker and journal from Bluehost.
• There was a life-size Wapuu!
• The most talked about session was “How I Built WPBingo: A PWA That Uses Vue.js, Tailwind CSS, and the WP REST API,” by Brian Richards (a former WDS-er).

Overall, it was an awesome year at WCUS for the attendees and the WordPress community, which has left a long-standing impression for everyone involved. I’m already excited for next year’s event!

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