Workshop Prep

The workshops are WordCamp are a great way to get hands-on experience with a range of topics. The make the most of your time with your facilitator, here’s a couple of things you can prepare at home so that you don’t get caught up on the day.

If you want to double-check the schedule, you can go here: https://2019.johannesburg.wordcamp.org/schedule/

General

In most cases, it helps to have a local install of WordPress running. Some suggestions:

Some workshops will require an IDE so if they do you can use:

Extreme Makeover – The Homepage Edition

Simply install the Stylus browser extension (if you don’t have one of these 3 browsers, you’ll need to install it).

The 5 steps to setting up your online store

Have WordPress and WooCommerce set up (either locally or on a server) and have the initial WooCommerce setup wizard complete.

WordPress as a Backend

You can find the details to get going here: https://codeswag.co.uk/wordpress-as-a-backend/

Build a static site with WordPress

You will need the following:

  • NPM – Available with Node. Please run node --version to verify that it works.
  • Gatsby CLI – Run npm install -g gatsby-cli to install. Please run gatsby-cli info to verify that it works.
  • A WordPress site – Get a free headless one at QueryWP (use the beta signup and we will add you). For the site to work, make sure http://replacewithyoururl.com/wp/wp-json/v2/ shows you something.
  • If you need dummy content, you can get that here.
  • IDE – VS Code, Sublime Text 2 or whatever you prefer.
  • A free Netlify account.
  • A free Github account.

Optimising Pinterest and your WordPress website for traffic

All you need is a Pinterest account.

Final call for Speaker submissions!

Final call for Speaker submissions!

It’s your final week to apply to be a WordCamp Speaker. The call will close on Monday 5 August at midnight. We are still looking for a diverse range of topics. We’re also encouraging speakers of underrepresented groups in technology to apply. Our speakers should be representative of our community & our country.

To encourage more applicants we’ve brainstormed (and borrowed from other WordCamps) the most popular questions you as a potential Speaker might have.

If we’ve missed anything, do not hesitate to contact us or leave a comment below.

Q: Can you submit more than one talk?

Yes! This will significantly increase your chances of being accepted and give us a wider variety of talks to select from.

We will, however, most likely only select one of your submitted talks.

Q: Are all types of talks welcome?

YES! The stage is set for a wonderful variety of speakers. We are open to the full spectrum of session formats and encourage you to submit anything from standard slide presentations to panels, demonstrations, and more.

Whatever your idea, we’d love to hear it.

Q: How long do sessions have to be?

We encourage a variety of session formats, which include, but are not limited to;

  • Lightning talks: (maximum of 10 mins with a group Q&A)
  • Long form talks: (maximum of 40 mins inclusive of Q&A)
  • Workshop: (maximum of 90 mins but can be shorter)

Don’t hesitate to get creative and submit a session format you think might be interesting!

Q: Is there a speaker’s package?

All speakers will receive a complimentary ticket to the entire event, including the After Party and the VIP Dinner

Q: Who will be in charge of wrangling speakers?

We are thrilled to have our organisers, Anchen le Roux and Seagyn Davis, taking care of our speakers. Any questions should be directed to the Speakers team by email.

Q: Does it matter if you haven’t spoken at a conference before?

No not at all! If you have a topic that is interesting, then we would love to hear from you.

We are committed to helping you share your experience, idea or knowledge; we hope that everything we’ve put in place will serve to support our speakers in contributing to an incredible WordCamp.

Q: What should people talk about?

Anything you like! The WordPress ecosystem and community do such a variety of different things with WordPress – whether that’s designing, writing content, building businesses or adding features and functionality – we want to hear it all!

Tell us your stories of success and growth, but don’t be afraid to also tell us of your worst experiences and how you turned them around. We can all learn from each other!

That said all the talks we’ve picked in the past – and will be picking this year – are all about helping the WordPress community be the best they can be. As a diverse community, we share a range of interests, skills, knowledge and experiences.

Similarly, if your talk has some connection to WordPress, or is directly about WordPress itself, we would love to hear from you!

Q: How do I submit my application?

You can submit your application by going to this page, logging into your WordPress.org account and submitting the form.

Hope to see you on stage!

Call for Speakers

[Speaker applications are now closed]

We are excited to open the Call for Speakers.  It’s time to share your WordPress related knowledge with us. It’s our mission to have WordCamp Johannesburg represent the passion, skill, and diversity of our community, and we want you to be a part of it!

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Don’t submit a talk on what you think we want to hear; offer to speak on something that you are passionate about. Everybody has a unique WordPress story to tell, and we want to hear yours.

  • What are you uniquely qualified to speak about?
  • Have you used WordPress in an interesting or innovative way?
  • Was WordPress the foundation for creating something meaningful in your community?
  • How has WordPress helped you grow your business?
  • What was your experience updating your code for the latest WordPress release?

TOPIC IDEAS

These topics are not meant to be prescriptive — they’re rather there as a guide to help you think of something you want to talk about.

  • Workshops for beginners
  • Workshops for designers (or for developers wanting to learn more about design principles)
  • Plugin/theme development
  • Setting up an online store (particularly with WooCommerce)
  • Gutenberg (for developers and content writers)
  • Workshops for running a WordPress business (remote work, managing an agency, scaling your business etc)
  • Lessons from the Open Source Communities
  • Marketing
  • WordPress Integrations with Social Media or other third party tools.
  • Creating automations with Zapier or other tools.
  • Security
  • Building with the WordPress REST API
  • Coding and Development Best Practices
  • And any other WordPress topic you’re passionate about

TALK FORMATS

We will again invite different formats of talks to be submitted. Please indicate in the Talk Format text box what format your topic is ideally suited for.  Some examples:

  • Workshops are more practical and can be between 60-90 min in length.
  • Talks are between 30-45 minutes usually with slides and a Q&A afterwards.
  • Lightning Talks can be between 10-15 minutes. With or without slides.
  • Panel (Group of speakers)
  • Interview (Ask me anything)
  • Multi Session Workshop
  • Group discussion

If you’d like to propose multiple topics, please submit the form multiple times, once for each topic.

Call for Sponsors

WordCamp JHB 2019 is happening on the 3rd and 4th of October and we need your help!

Sponsors played a vital role in making the conference available to so many people at an affordable rate and the event wouldn’t be possible without their support.

We’ve put some great sponsorship packages together that provide some great value. You can view our sponsorship document in ZAR here and in USD here

We want to make sponsorship as attainable as possible for those who support the WordPress community.

If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor, please complete the form below and we’ll assist in getting you onboard.

You’re also welcome to contact us for sponsors for the following specific areas of WordCamp:

  • Conference Social / Afterparty
  • Venue
  • Swag (shirts, etc.)
  • Attendee badges
  • Volunteer dinner (private event for speakers, sponsors, volunteers)

Ready to sponsor? Great! Fill out the application form below

Early Bird Tickets are live!

Early-bird tickets give you the exact same benefits as full conference tickets but are specially priced to reward you for your enthusiasm. As a #WCJHB ticket holder, you get access to two-days of WordCamp Johannesburg where you will meet amazing people. Day one is filled with practical workshops and day two follows a more traditional conference style approach with specific talks aimed at anyone who uses WordPress. You will be treated to some amazing food (morning and afternoon snacks, lunch), complimentary coffee and tea and fruit juice. You will be able to network with fellow WordPress users, designers and developers.

Hurry to get one of the last Early Bird tickets for WordCamp Johannesburg 2019 before they are all sold out!

Book Early Bird

Embracing The New Block Editor

Since WordPress 5.0+ you are able to use the Block Editor (a.k.a Gutenberg).

Here at WordCamp Johannesburg we believe in moving technology and WordPress forward. So we decided to build this entire website using the new Block Editor only (with some custom CSS) and will provide feedback to WordPress community with our likes and dislikes of the new editor.

Continue reading “Embracing The New Block Editor”

WordCamp Johannesburg is happening 3-4 October 2019

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

#WCJHB will be 3 and 4 October at The Focus Rooms in Sandton, Johannesburg.

WordCamps are locally organised conferences about all things WordPress. Anyone who uses WordPress (or is interested in learning more about WordPress) is welcome to attend. WordCamp Johannesburg is a two-day event with day one being filled with practical workshops aimed at both WordPress users like bloggers and media managers. Day two is filled with great talks. Both days are filled with people and fun and people sharing their knowledge and insight about WordPress.

If you haven’t already, please use the subscribe form at the bottom of this post 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!