Attending WordCamps and Meetups Can Increase your WordPress Game
Long before I attended my first WordCamp, I logged into a WordPress site for the first time (in 2011). I was all at once overwhelmed and excited. What did all of these links do? What is a post vs. a page? How badly would I mess it up? And oh how intoxicating it was to click “publish” and have my words be on the web for anyone to see! Little did I know at that time, though, that one login to a website that someone else had built for a small non-profit would end up with me having a career in WordPress, attending WordCamps worldwide, and lead to me being part of the WordPress community.
If you haven’t met me, I’m Michelle, and I do a lot with WordPress through my work at StellarWP and side projects like WPSpeakers.com and UnderrepresentedInTech.com and within the community as a WordCamp and Meetup organizer, mentor, and speaker.
So you’re probably wondering how I went from a first login to where I am today…and the answer is, it started with a meetup and a WordCamp.
What are WordCamps?
WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress.
WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users like you. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other.
WordCamp Central
My first WordCamp was WordCamp Buffalo in 2014. I was so new to the concept of WordCamp that when I first posted about it on social media (Facebook), I didn’t even know what it was called.
And I had no idea who any of the speakers were. But wow – did I learn a lot!
The first one-day camp was exhilarating! I had no idea that for such a low cost of attendance I’d learn so much and meet so many people.
Thus Began a Love of WordCamps
From there it was a quick look to see when the next WordCamp would be held that was within driving distance (I was freelancing at the time). I found myself en route to Toronto less than two months later. It was even bigger than WordCamp Buffalo had been. I sat through sessions all day just sponging in all the information the speakers shared.
I knew no one at that camp going in. I left with several new friends and a huge desire to really be part of the WordPress community.
Since WordCamp Buffalo, I have attended over 50 WordCamps (both in person and online), and helped organize and spoke at many. (You can read a recap of 2023 here.)
WordPress Meetups
Back in 2014 meetups were really only in person. While Skype was a thing at the time, it was mostly used for 1:1 meetings and not as a meetup tool. And Zoom and other online meeting places either weren’t around yet or not really adopted.
So I started attending our local sporadic meetup, where the organizer would email out “we haven’t had a meeting in awhile…let’s do something next Tuesday.” And either people would join or wouldn’t be able to with less than a weeks’ notice.
When the organizer decided to step down from the meetup, I gladly stepped in. I established regular meetings and a schedule of topics and speakers. Our meetup grew a lot from there. We also continued to have semi-regular coworking days that became monthly events (up until COVID lockdown).
Getting Involved
By attending meetups and WordCamps, my knowledge and what I could offer my clients grew. And my network grew at the same time. Where before I was at the mercy of Google for help on issues I couldn’t solve on my own, now I had a network of people to seek guidance and feedback from.
I became a better site designer. I became a better resource to others. I became a community member.
And all the groundwork I did through attending (and later speaking at and organizing WordCamps) led directly to a full-time job at GiveWP, and now at StellarWP.
I am where I am today because I attended that first “WordPress Camp” in 2014.
How You Can Be Involved
- Attend WordCamps and meetups. Find local or online events where you can learn from and network with other WordPress users. (WordPress recently launched an events page where you can see ALL official WordPress events.)
- Offer to help your local meetup organizers with planning upcoming events. It’s a lot of work (however rewarding), and can be overwhelming if there aren’t enough people sharing the workload.
- Offer to speak at meetups. Use the opportunity to share on a topic so that others can learn from you. (And the questions people ask help you hone both your speaking skills and your topic skills, too.)
- Apply to organize or volunteer at a WordCamp. Whether local or a flagship event (like WordCamp US, WordCamp Europe, and WordCamp Asia), or a topic-specific camp (like WordPress Career Camp), organizers and volunteers are always welcome and needed.
- Apply to speak at a WordCamp. Everyone has a topic they are passionate about and can share with others. And every audience is there to learn and wants to see you succeed.
- Attend WordCamp After Parties. This is where everyone relaxes and networks post-event.
- Sit at a WordCamp Happiness Bar. No matter how much you know (or think you don’t know) there are always others that need your help. A Happiness Bar is a place for people to gather and help each other with WordPress questions and needs. It’s a great place to get some help and connect with others.
How WordPress Events Have Helped Others
I have been a bit of a shy one through my childhood, but WordCamp changed that for me. Rahul and many others made sure I felt at home, nudging me out of my shell. And let me tell you, it’s been life-changing. The Aditya Sharma before WordCamp and the one now—there’s a stark contrast in personality.
Aditya R Sharma
Attending WordCamps has inspired me to up my WordPress game in so many ways. When I attended my first WordCamp in 2017, I had only recently started selling Plugins and didn’t have any industry contacts. I found it incredibly valuable to discuss the challenges that I was facing with people who I met at WordCamps. I received some expert advice which helped me take my business to the next level.
Katie Keith
When I attended my first WordCamp in 2016 Harare Zimbabwe, I felt slightly apprehensive; thinking it might be all technical about code, command lines and java scripts and I would be out of my depth being a simple blogger – but as they say, there is something for everyone. What I learnt greatly contributed to my becoming an award winning blogger the following year and in volunteering to be one of the speakers at a WordCamp on how A Website Is A Conversation and that really bumped up my profile to being a sort of blogging expert – Currently Creative Director of Afrobloggers – an organisation that connects, celebrates and promotes Africa’s emerging digital storytellers.
Beaton Mabaso
If you can get over the initial nervousness about not knowing anyone, you can make some really great friends and professional relationships as well. A nice benefit of going to more than one is that you’ll likely start to see some people you already know, making it even easier to socialize! And even outside of the friends I’ve made and the relationships I’ve developed, I’ve gotten thousands of dollars worth of client work from attending WordCamps, which allowed me to grow my last agency faster that I would have been able to otherwise.
Keanan Koppenhaver
I attended WCDC in 2017 and happened to go to a session on a11y testing. The woman presenting challenged folks to use a screen reader to test their code and I did, which opened my eyes and started me on my a11y training journey.
Nick Croft
I attended WordCamp São Paulo in 2013 and it changed my whole career. Started working with WordPress, became a WordCamp organizer too, a WordCamp Europe speaker, and learned so much in the process, from so many people, it would take me hours to list everything
Anyssa Ferreira
When I was selected for my first WordCamp Speaker session, I was very afraid, I didn’t have much self confidence and I thought always in small scale. At my very first WordCamp, I got to know many new people and talking at that WordCamp gave me a great confidence boost. I had an epiphany and that day was one of the most important day of my life. I came back a changed man. I was confident about myself. Suddenly I knew what I wanted to become, which career I wanted to pursue, and more. It was a life changing event for me, totally.
Saif Hassan
My first WordCamp was in Ottawa in 2013. Throughout the weekend, I learned many different techniques, and applied them to my job at the time.
Over the many years since, throughout attending and speaking at different WordCamps, I have been able to learn about the WordPress community (which alllowed me to get my current job), submit two plugins to the repo, and generally up my technical skills in things such as WP-CLI, ES6, and React. Without WordCamps, I would likely be languishing in a junior role with no motivation, rather than the senior lead role I am in now.
Miriam Goldman
WordCamp Asia 2023 was my very first WordCamp, I’ve been using WordPress for almost 5 years yet I had never been to a WordCamp before that. It was an unforgettable experience as I’ve been to so many events before but nothing is like a WordCamp, from networking to making new friendships and attending beneficial talks I was inspired to start a meetup for Arabic speakers and hopefully one day host a WordCamp in my region.
Nada Elsharkawy
I’ve been attending local and regional WordCamps since 2022. My first WordCamp, (Kathmandu 2022) helped me connect with Nepal’s beautiful WordPress community. It went so well that I ended up making over ten Nepali WordPress friends through various WordCamps I attended. I’m inspired to attend more WordCamps but also to contribute more to this thriving community. I now feel more confident about WordPress marketing in general and wish to make an impact in people’s lives through my contributions.
Nazir Himel
How Will You Get Involved?
Getting involved in WordPress events isn’t an “all-or-nothing” commitment. You can ebb and flow with it. Take time away when work and family are busy, and jump in when you can.
The bottom line is that the networking and knowledge exchange through attending WordPress events can be integral to success and increasing your WordPress game.
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