So this last weekend, I headed to Dallas to get my nerd on and learn about more about WordPress at the DFW WordCamp. This was my first WordCamp and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I scanned the topics and found a specific few that I wanted to attend. I learned some very interesting things. There were also a lot of things that were just good reminders and refreshers as a business owner and designer. Here are some highlights of a few:
Freelance Survival School, presented by James Dalman: I think this was a great way to start WordCamp. As a business owner, it can be tough. He really shared some things that we all know but needed to hear again. His presentation was wrapped around the analogy of a survivalist. Some key things he mentioned:
It was a good presentation and I think started the day off on a positive note.
Leveling up with Documentation, presented by Pat Ramsey: Man we are all guilty of this – not properly documenting. This seemed to focus more toward developers but was good information for project managers or anyone doing strategy with clients. He broke down the documentation like this:
During the question and answer session, I presented the question to the room about scope creep. I was interested in seeing what everyone’s experience was with it. I was more addressing the early documentation stage, the requirements and how you handle it if something was missed. The overall response was that if it’s out of scope you really have no easy way to have that discussion. It just has to be addressed with the client and an honest assessment has to be done.
The CIA Mindset – Planning security for your WordPress website, presented by David Brumbaugh: Well we all know security is a big issue with ANY website you build. WordPress is actually one of the most secure CMS tools out there which also makes it a target. David highlighted
70% of WordPress sites are vulnerable for one bad policy decision – they fail to stay current on the most recent install.
That is such a TRUE statement. So many clients, rely on you to build and design the site but when it’s all over with, they don’t realize the importance of the post-launch maintenance. It is SUPER important to keep your core install of WordPress up-to-date as well as the plug-ins that might be used on the site. Here are some other key points from his presentation:
Conclusion: This was a great little event. WordCamp is hosted in cities all around the world. You can find one in your area by going to the WordCamp website. It’s inexpensive and can be really helpful for anyone using WordPress or considering using WordPress as their CMS. And each one is different. So if you go to one in Dallas, the one in Austin is going to be completely different so it’s a cool concept. Lastly, it’s super inexpensive, around $20 for the day.
So consider WordCamp the next time you are looking for some good overall information.
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