Author Archives: Pamela Coyle

WordPress Users, Experts Gather in Nashville May 16

WordCamp conference targets all levels, plus site and business owners

About 300 people who use WordPress – ranging from true beginners to advanced developers – will gather May 16 for WordCamp Nashville 2015.

The daylong learning and networking event, the fourth annual conference here, celebrates WordPress itself and the large global support community around it. A team of volunteer community organizers curates sessions, and this year’s event has more local speakers and local sponsors than ever.

“The big increase in local WordPress presenters as well as business sponsors is great for the community,” says Randy Hicks, one of the conference organizers. “It’s more evidence of the growth and popularity of WordPress.”

WordPress is free and open-source publishing software admired by fans for its ease of use, flexibility and ability to customize. The platform drives websites of major companies such as Best Buy mobile, TechCrunch and BBC America; to celebrity sites, including Katie Perry and LL Cool J; to single-author blogs; and everything in between.

Chelsie Goodwin

WordCamp Nashville 2014 Photo by Chelsie Goodwin

WordCamp Nashville is part of a much bigger picture. WordPress powers more than 1 of every 5 websites worldwide, including 100s of those for Nashville businesses. Each year, volunteers in cities across the globe organize WordCamps to share best practices and their expertise.

The Music City event, at Nashville School of Law, features 18 sessions in three tracks based on skill level, though attendees are not locked into any track. A daylong Help Desk includes other volunteers offering one-on-one assistance.

Get Tickets

Expect a crowd that loves tech, problem solving, entrepreneurship and business. The event is entirely volunteer-run and speakers are not paid. WordCamps are run under the auspices of the WordPress Foundation, a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization.

Tickets are $20 and include lunch, a t-shirt and admission to a party at the Flying Saucer in downtown Nashville following the event. Lyft, the ride-sharing service, has agreed to provide a ride worth up to $20 to WordCamp participants who are not already clients. Attendees, including speakers and sponsors, will get the ride code at the event.

Faces of WordPress: Stanley Straughter

Stanley Straughter

Stanley Straughter

How were you first introduced to WordPress?
My wife has been a blogger for a few years and she used WordPress. She introduced me to WordPress when she first started, but I began paying attention last year.

What do you like about it?
I like the plugins and the community. I also like that it’s not difficult to get assistance if you have a particular issue.

What do you do with WP now?
I exclusively use WordPress to build all my websites. I also provide WordPress Site Maintenance and Security.

How as the WP community helped you?
Being friendly and anwering “NewBie” as well as “Difficult” questions.

Did learning WP lead to any significant changes in your life?
Learning WP allowed me to create more complex and dynamic web-sites at a fraction of the cost it used to, because I no longer have to hire programmers. I simply find a 5 Star Plugin that does what I need and put it to work.

What would you tell a new user? A new developer?
It may be difficult at first, but stick with it, there are plenty of people willing to assist you like myself to be successful with the software.

There are so many training classes and tutorials on YouTube and elsewhere to really get you going if you’re willing to invest the time.

Anything else we should know?
I love Music and the Internet, I mean, what else is there?

BECOME A FACE OF WORDPRESS

Faces of WordPress: Kristina Parish (2015 Speaker)

Kristina Parish

Kristina Parish

How were you first introduced to WordPress?
I started creating websites for friends and bands in the mid 2000’s. WordPress became my preferred platform after a friend introduced me to it.

What do you like about it?
Wordpress allows me to create something fully customized, from design through development, that also empowers/enables my clients to control and manage their content effectively. WordPress is a flexible tool, meaning you can make it as loose or as buttoned up as you desire. The more I continue to work with WordPress, the more I am able to abstract it and make it work for my purposes in a lean and intuitive way. It seems to grow with you, which is great.

What do you do with WP now?
Nearly every project I design and/or build is run on WordPress. My essential tool for fully customizing the experience (both from a front-end and admin perspective) is Advanced Custom Fields. At this point, this plugin goes hand-in-hand with every install.

How as the WP community helped you?
The internet community is obviously essential — I can’t even begin to imagine how many times a thread or forum on wordpress.org has helped me solve a problem. Furthermore, the local Nashville WP meetup group proved to be the launchpad into my current role with Athletics. Had I not attended the meetup last September. I would not have met these fine folks who happened to be speaking that day. Now I work with all of the tools they presented during that meetup and it’s great.

Did learning WP lead to any significant changes in your life?
Yes — it’s made me 100% self-sufficient through various stages of my career, either working as a freelancer or as a member of a team in an agency environment. It allows me to build what I design in a clean way, and it’s fun to collaborate with others who are also passionate about WordPress.

What would you tell a new user? A new developer?
Dip your toes in and don’t be afraid to break things…many things. It will get better with practice and experience, just like everything else in life.

Anything else we should know?
I once broke my leg in two places when I was 4 because I believed I was Wonder Woman.

BECOME A FACE OF WORDPRESS

Faces of WordPress: Corey Maass (2015 Speaker)

Corey Maass

Corey Maass

  • Corey Maass
  • Full-time WordPress developer, part-time entrepreneur
  • gelform
  • @gelform

How were you first introduced to WordPress?
I maintained dozens of websites for friends who were starving artists and musicians, so like all good developers I built my own CMS. When none of my starving artist and musician friends wanted to pay for it, I switched them all to WordPress so they could maintain their sites themselves.

What do you like about it?
It’s so prevalent. It’s becoming a web standard, so it’s easier to suggest, develop for and contribute to.

What do you do with WP now?
Full-time development.

How as the WP community helped you?
There’s so much discussed and written about WordPress online now, I rarely have a question that hasn’t been answered.

Did learning WP lead to any significant changes in your life?
Yes! I was a full-time PHP developer, and got my first full-time WordPress job about 4 years ago. Suddenly I was dropped into the deep end, and had to *really* learn the patterns and best practices. Which lead me to an awesome community, a lot more work, and a new revenue stream.

What would you tell a new user? A new developer?
For users – have a clear intent for your site, and hire someone to set it up for you.

For developers – setup a site you don’t care about, and break things. Most people start because they need a website that matters, so they’re afraid of it.

Anything else we should know?
I also build non-WordPress web apps like WhatWeDid.Today, cronForWP.com and TimerDoro.com.

BECOME A FACE OF WORDPRESS

Faces of WordPress: Cindy Cullen (2015 Speaker)

Cindy Cullen

Cindy Cullen

How were you first introduced to WordPress?
I had a blog when WordPress came out in 2003. I thought it was cool, but continued using HTML (and a little bit of Frontpage occasionally since I’m not a designer). I paid attention to WordPress through the years and watched it ‘grow up.’ More and more clients started asking me to help them with their WP sites and more and more designers hired me to fix or modify plugins and/or themes since I’m a programmer first and foremost. Once I saw how awesome WordPress can be for the whole site (sometime around 2012), I began using it exclusively to build new websites.

What do you like about it?
I like that it can be customized to do anything we can dream up. I love that it’s open source. I love the community surrounding WordPress. I love that it’s easy enough for my kids to use and yet sophisticated enough for most any website or web application. I love that there are practically a billion themes out there that are easily accessible and available so that my clients, regardless of budget, can get a website.

What do you do with WP now?
I mostly build web applications with WP or customize plugins and themes for my clients. In addition, I host and protect WP sites for my clients who don’t want to worry about their sites getting hacked. Unfortunately, I also fix a lot of WP sites who didn’t have any protection and therefore, have been broken into. It definitely pays to have protection.

How as the WP community helped you?
The WP community has helped me to learn about new plugins, themes, services and tools available to the WP community that I might not otherwise know about. I meet with other developers and discuss how we have solved certain problems using WP. I’ve also called upon other WP developers, and been called upon, to help out with business logic, tools or solutions.

Did learning WP lead to any significant changes in your life?
WordPress has increased my bottom line substantially through my security and protection services. It’s also made development much faster. I’ve met many Designers, whom I wouldn’t have met otherwise, because they’ve needed help customizing or extending WordPress. WordPress is a wonderful tool that anyone can use to build a website and seems to be very popular with designers because it doesn’t require them to learn much about coding and development. But, when they do need help, they often call me.

What would you tell a new user? A new developer?
I would tell a brand new user to make sure they have good hosting, good backups, good security, and update, update, update! WordPress is open source, meaning that everyone, including those who aren’t so friendly, can find the security holes in themes, plugins and the core code. When those security holes are patched, they are announced to the world, which gives hackers the specifics they need to break into WP sites more easily unless the sites are updated almost immediately. Update and backup everything often.

I would tell new developers, you made the right choice! Get involved with the community and never stop learning!

Anything else we should know?
I love teaching and training and often have about 5 to 10 interns and/or junior programmers working with me in my business. It helps them get the experience they need to get a job (unless I keep them 😉 ) and helps my clients get more affordable help with their sites. I think it works well for all of us.

Faces of WordPress: John Housholder

john housholder

John Housholder

How were you first introduced to WordPress?
Seven years ago, I needed a website built fast and my sister-in-law, who lived in Birmingham, invited me to a WordCamp. I learned a lot fast and next thing you know, I started making a living using WordPress.

What do you like about it?
I like that there is a small barrier to entry to use the platform. If you don’t know a lot or any code, you can still use it. This creates a large worldwide user base.

What do you do with WP now?
I run Ah So Designs, a local WordPress development company. I no longer develop websites for our company. I focus on business development within WordPress and UI/UX design.

How as the WP community helped you?
Five or so years ago, I saw Randy (Hicks) at a local coffee shop and we started WP Nashville. The community has been great! I’ve learned a lot through others and have made most of my employee hires from people I’ve met within the community.

Did learning WP lead to any significant changes in your life?
I quit my corporate job, married a beautiful woman, got a dog named Dunn, and now help run a WordPress company. None, well besides the dog, would have been possible without WordPress. I’d like to say my wife married my because I am incredibly good looking, but let’s be realistic, she really likes to watch me make websites because she likes dorks 🙂

What would you tell a new user? A new developer?
Play with WordPress and have fun! When it stops being fun, hire a professional who is fun.

Anything else we should know?
I’ve got friends in low places…

BECOME A FACE OF WORDPRESS

Faces of WordPress: Randy Hicks

Randy Hicks Nashville

Randy Hicks

How were you first introduced to WordPress?
A friend in 2007 mentioned WordPress and that I could build websites with it. I jumped on board and haven’t looked back since.

What do you like about it?
I like that it has a vibrant community that continues to stay on top of web standards. I also like that it’s an open source project. WordPress has helped more people publish to the web than probably any software out there.

What do you do with WP now?
I develop custom sites and applications.

How as the WP community helped you?
The local community has pulled me out of the home office! I now have a over a dozen developer friends I could contact at any point to ask questions. I’m convinced that I could move to any city that has a WordPress meetup and run a successful business. The WordPress community is such an all inclusive group that I feel included everywhere!

Did learning WP lead to any significant changes in your life?
Learning to code php changed my day job, but using WP as the engine behind my php boosted me out of manual labor.

What would you tell a new user? A new developer?
Take the plunge! Start simple, join the meetup group and come out to all the meetings. Building a site whether it’s a blog or a professional product is very rewarding and WordPress makes it easy and forward compatible!

BECOME A FACE OF WORDPRESS

Help Desk MeetUp 4/20 Offers Taste of #WCN

Join us Monday, April 20, at the WP Nashville Meetup, where we’ll have a “Help Desk” set up much like you will see at Nashville WordCamp.

It’s a great chance for WordPress users of all levels – beginners to developers – to meet one-on-one, ask questions and get guidance from some folks with lots of experience. We won’t code for you but we will help get you and your site or blog how you want it to be. Depending on turnout, we also may have a general Q&A session running so more people can ask questions.

Whet your appetite for learning more about WordCamp Nashville, which takes place on Saturday, May 16, at Nashville School of Law.

wordcamp t-shirt

Get a taste of WordCamp Nashville at WP Nashville Help Desk on Monday, April 20

At WordCamp at WordCamp Nashville 2015, we’ll have a room set aside for a day-long Help Desk in addition to three tracks packed with WordPress sharing and learning. The setting will be informal, and you’ll be able to come and go as you please throughout the entire day (except for a brief lunch break).

Like Monday’s event, the WordCamp Help Desk isn’t just for beginners, intermediates, or developers – it’s for everyone.

Go to http://www.meetup.com/NashvilleWordpress/ – and join WP Nashville if you aren’t already a member of the Meetup group. Register for Monday and get direct access to Nashville’s WordPress community.

THE DETAILS
7 p.m., Monday, April 20
AhSo Designs
440 E Iris Drive
Nashville TN 37204

We are located in Berry Hill above the t-shirt shop. The front door should be unlocked so just come upstairs! MAP

Faces of WordPress: Robin Cornett

Robin Cornett

Robin Cornett

How were you first introduced to WordPress?
I wanted a blog to add on to my photography business’ website, and slowly discovered that WordPress could be much more than just a blog.

What do you like about it?
I like that WordPress can accommodate anything I can dream up, if I can implement it. What I love most about WordPress is the community–not only have I been able to find countless answers online because others have shared their solutions, but I’ve also been able to personally connect with developers and users worldwide.

What do you do with WP now?
I build custom websites for small businesses, nonprofits, and individuals. I also build some plugins.

How has the WP community (local and beyond) helped you?
In general, the WordPress community’s commitment to sharing knowledge online through forums, blogs, and articles has allowed me to find answers to my questions much more rapidly than I could on my own. I’ve also been able to connect with users around the world who enjoy working together, discussing, and helping each other solve problems and create new solutions.

Did learning WP lead to any significant professional, personal, creative changes in your life?
I’ve been able to build my business on WordPress, which is pretty awesome.

What would you tell a brand new user?
Don’t be afraid to experiment and try things. WordPress is surprisingly difficult to break!

Faces of WordPress: Josiah Goff

Josiah Goff

Josiah Goff

How were you first introduced to WordPress?
I stumbled across WordPress while learning front end development in 2008. I was looking for a way to go beyond static html and give my clients the ability to edit content without my needing to edit the code—WordPress was the perfect solution.

What do you like about it?
I love that the barrier to entry is low for WordPress. They’ve made it easy for people to jump in and start creating their own plugins and themes. On top of that, the community is so vast and established that there is a plugin or tutorial for pretty much anything you’d ever want to do to your WordPress site. And, because it’s open source, everyone can build on each other’s ideas and contribute back to the community.

What do you do with WP now?
I’m building an enterprise web application on top of it. We’ve created a highly customized version of the WP Dashboard using WP-API, Backbone.js, and a whole lot of CSS.

How has the WP community (local and beyond) helped you?
When I started out, the global community was my greatest resources for learning WordPress. I spent hours watching and reading tutorials, dissecting plugins and themes, and pouring through forums and StackOverflow posts. If I couldn’t figure something out by Googling, I could post my question to the community and I’d always have people willing to help. Since moving back to Nashville last fall after being away for 7 years, I decided to start getting involved in the local community. The WPNashville meetup group was super welcoming. It’s been awesome hanging out with people who love WordPress and geek out over web stuff as much as I do.

Did learning WP lead to any significant professional, personal, creative changes in your life?
If I hadn’t learned WordPress, I wouldn’t have the career I have now. Every job I’ve gotten since learning WP has been a result of having WP experience. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I owe my life to WordPress, but I may consider naming my first born Mullenweg.

What would you tell a brand new user?
Two things: 1. Don’t be afraid to jump in a break things in order to learn how they work. This is a great way to get started. 2. Become a part of the community. Attend your local meetup, or start one if there isn’t one nearby. You’ll grow so much faster as part of a group.

Anything else we should we know?
I have 7 years of show choir experience. You know that show Glee? That was basically my life in high school and college.