Resources and slides from WCJHB17#

#WCJHB17 is taking place at the South African Museum of Military History which is at 22 Erlswold Way, Saxonwold, Johannesburg. The GPS coordinates are: 26°09′ 47″ S 28°02′ 30″ E

If you are coming from O R Tambo international airport you can take the Gautrain to Rosebank station. (You will need to swap trains at Sandton onto the Park line). Once you are at the Rosebank station take an uber (or taxify or similar) to the Museum of Military History.

If you are coming by car you can park at the venue. There is parking on the tarmac in front of the museum or behind the museum where there is a lot of shade. You can ask for directions at the main boom.

We are looking forward to seeing you on Thursday and Friday. Don’t forget to prepare for the workshops!

3 reasons why you should be attending WordCamp

Posted on November 7, 2017 by seagyn

I remember the first WordCamp that I went to after wanting to go for many years. I didn’t really know what to expect but I was pretty sure that there would be some really cool people there. What I ended up getting out of that first WordCamp is still felt today and I’m sure I will continue reap the benefits for many years to come. So what exactly did I get out of it? Let me share some of that with you.

Knowledge

I’ve heard that there are a couple of ways to get knowledge (and wisdom). You can learn it the hard way by learning something yourself; you can learn by reading which could take ages; or you could have someone else show you from their experiences and understanding which will accelerate what you know and how to apply it.

This is where WordCamp excels.

There are workshops and talks at almost every WordCamp which has something for everyone. The gems are the ones that you really didn’t expect to learn from but end up being the ones you enjoyed the most.

Tip: Have a look at the WordCamp Jo’burg 2017 schedule to what’s on the cards this year.

Food

Maybe it’s just my experience with WordCamps but there has always been food and a lot of it. It’s also a time where everyone is together and can chat about how good the food is or about the workshop or talk they just attended.

It’s also a good time to meet and network with people from all over the country.

Tip: Lunch is included on both days with every ticket you buy including access to the after party.

Community

What really makes WordPress great is the community that surrounds it. There are people extending it with plugins and themes, there are people helping people in the support forums, there are people making it better and there are even people translating it. This is even more apparent at WordCamps which brings out the best of the community.

Tip: We’re having a contributor session this year so everyone will be apart of making WordPress better.

So if you haven’t signed up to WordCamp Jo’burg 2017, what are you waiting for? Tickets are only R250 and that’s nothing considering what you will get out of it.

Buy Tickets

How to be prepared for the Workshops at WordCamp Joburg 2017

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Anchen le Roux

To make the most of the Workshops at WordCamp it is always good to come prepared. Being prepared for the workshops, save valuable time and resources. You can just jump onto the training without worrying too much about what’s needed. It’s also much more fun knowing what you’re getting into.

Internet is also never guaranteed, so having everything downloaded and ready is the safer option. Do not bargain to work on an online environment unless you have your own 3G access.

Here is a list of what’s need for most and specific workshops.

Needed for most workshops

Pen and paper, or a note taking app
Laptop
Local installation of WordPress – Here are some options, please choose one in line with your technical level. You will only need one of the simple ones for the User Track
- Varying Vagrant Vagrants – an open source Vagrant configuration focused on WordPress development. It has everything you need to run WordPress locally (and submit patches to WordPress core if you like), but does require some technical know-how to use effectively.
- DesktopServer – simple desktop app for running local WordPress sites. Easy enough to use. Only available on Windows and Mac.
- Chassis – GUI for running a local WordPress install. Easy to use, but would also benefit from some technical knowledge.
- Local by Flywheel – simple and good-looking GUI for running WordPress locally. Integrates with FlyWheel’s managed WordPress hosting service, so it’s useful if you end up hosting with them. Available on Windows & Mac.
- XAMPP – classic PHP development environment, which needs no introduction I’m sure.
- MAMP – similar XAMPP, but not available on Linux. The free version is somewhat limited compared to MAMP PRO.There are other options available, but this should be enough to cover everyone. Any environment that has PHP and MySQL will work, so if you already have something like that running, then you can just download and install WordPress directly.

Needed for specific workshops

User Track

The formula for getting new clients, onboarding them and delivering an awesome website project to them

Local environment as described above

Download all files from this Dropbox folder
Follow the instructions in the .docx file

How to set up and grow a Paid Membership Site

Fresh WordPress Installation on Local environment above (We’ll be using the standard Twenty Seventeen theme that comes with the latest WP installation, also included in the folder.)
Download all files from this Dropbox folder
Do not install any of the other plugins yet, we’ll do this together in the demo.

Developer Track

Using Composer in your WordPress Theme or Plugin

WordPress Installation on Local environment as above
A code editor/IDE (Sublime, Atom, VS Code or PHPSTORM)
A GitHub account
A command line tool (Unix based such as Ubuntu, Bash or Terminal)
Install Composer globally

Bending WordPress to your Will – Building your first WordPress Plugin

WordPress Installation on Local environment as above
We will be working through a WordPress plugin together that you can download from this GitHub repo.

Accessibility for Developers: Let’s Get Intimate with WCAG

A code editor/IDE (Sublime, Atom, VS Code or PHPSTORM)
A GitHub account

We hope that you find this helpful and can’t wait to see you on Thursday!

What is WordCamp?

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Anchen le Roux

WordCamps are conferences centered on the WordPress publishing platform. They are informal, community-organised events that are put together by WordPress users like you. Everything is planned, paid for and attended by the local WordPress communities

Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other in over 150 WordCamps held all over the world throughout the year.

WordCamp is not limited to anybody in specific and should be attended by everyone who uses WordPress, and everyone who should use WordPress. This category includes bloggers, designers, developers, authors, marketers, SEOs, Businesses, Non-profits, photographers, realtors, consultants, entrepreneurs, etc.

We are planning our second WordCamp in Johannesburg and are really excited to make this year even bigger and better than last year.

Sessions are different every year and a diverse range of speakers and topics are on the agenda. Every WordCamp is unique but this year at WordCamp Johburg we’re planning a more practical workshop track or two on day 1 and day 2 will include sessions covering broader, industry-focused matters.

There are also a range of ways to get involved in this year’s WordCamp. Besides being a Speaker, you can also help cover costs and get more exposure by becoming one of our Sponsors or help with some of the more general tasks by Volunteering. Everyone is welcome to apply.

We highly encourage you to attend this year’s WordCamp Johburg and learn more about this awesome community. To find out more about WordCamps in general check out the official WordCamp website.

Welcome to WordCamp Jo’burg

Posted on March 2, 2017 by seagyn

We’re happy to announce that WordCamp Jo’burg is officially on the calendar!

WordCamp Jo’burg will be on 9 – 10 November 2017 at the Museum of Military History in Saxonwold, Johannesburg.

Subscribe using the form in the sidebar to stay up to date on the most recent news. We’ll be keeping you posted on all the details over the coming months, including speaker submissions, ticket sales and more!

In the mean time, if you’d like to volunteer, submit your details here.