workshop preparation | WordCamp Johannesburg 2017

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