EDITS.WS

Author: bobwptrainer

  • WordCamp US 2023, Another Fantastic WP Memory

    Well, it was inevitable that I should post a recap of WordPress US. I am writing this after returning to my home and office in Porto on Monday morning, this being Thursday of the same week. And I’ll tell you, I am just starting to get over my exhaustion.

    The Trip to WCUS

    Flying back to the states, I loved the way over. No overnight experiences for me, and leaving at 7:30 am Porto time, arriving in National Harbor 7:30 pm EDT. Of course, during the flight I started with breakfast, then a drink and lunch and segued into dinner at some point which ended with a snack. Lot’s of food and can’t honestly remember when I ate what.

    I did meet a few friends when I landed, but by then I was pretty much half asleep. It was nice seeing my good friend Mark Westguard right off the bat.

    The first day in National Harbor

    Unlike my other WordPressers who were already there, the next day I was not part of the Community Summit nor did I have the desire to be a tourist in Washington DC. The latter did not tempt me with the heat or the sights.

    So I spent the day hanging around the hotel/convention center to make life easy. Now the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center is enormous. And I mean freakin’ huge. It kind of reminded me of those large cruise ships, although I have never been on one. It’s set up quite well. You never really need to leave and everything is overpriced. But hey, that’s America, right?

    The morning I spent wandering around the grounds, inside and out.

    The other part of the day Mark and myself just did this and that. Lunchtime we went and had some drinks and nachos. After that we just roamed around the hotel and Mark was obviously delighted to find his logo with all the sponsors on the entryway to the conference center.

    Then we had Casey join us, Mark’s better half, and dinner time where at even more food.

    So after a day of local exploring, drinks and food, we did what any normal WordCamper would do. We went to a party, WP-Includes Summer Fest.

    Contributor Day

    The next day was Contributor Day. And guess what? It was amazing. So much so that I didn’t take one photo as I was busy listening and interjecting every once in awhile. But I did snag the group photo from that day just to share the all the groovy WordPressers who were part of that day. By the way, photo credit goes to Shusei Toda.

    WordCamp US, the Event

    As with most WordCamps, I find myself so busy connecting with old and new friends, and just being a happy WordCamper that I never take as many photos as planned. But, I do the best I can do.

    Of course, I cannot go without thanking my sponsors, A2 Hosting, Avalara, Hostinger, GoDaddy, Jetpack and Weglot. Oh, and yes, WooCommerce!

    Do the Woo, a Pseudo Sponsor

    And then this happened. My friends over at Multicolab were not able to use their sponsor booth. Anil Gupta was able to attend, but he had problems with getting his team over to the US. So his table sat unattended and barren.

    I had a chat with Anil as he is a good friend of mine, and also a past sponsor of Do the Woo. Long story short, I took over the booth and used it for the DTW hq at WordCamp US. So I had the opportunity to be able to do some podcasting as well as meet many of our listeners.

    Here is Anil sharing some thoughts on WordCamp.

    Here is my makeshift booth.

    And some of our podcast guests.

    And a very special podcast. Three WordPressers from the Spain WordPress community did a show, and they did it all in Spanish. What fun!

    As it so happened during contributor day, also at the event I didn’t get as many photos as I would have wanted. Was just too busy enjoying IRL conversations. But here are just a few more friends that I caught.

    What’s a Flagship WordCamp without Nathan’s head

    Now for those of you who know Nathan, you get it. For those that don’t, well I will add a mysterious moment to your life. A good friend and fellow podcaster of mine, Nathan’s head often shows up in the weirdest spots, or simply frightening people here and there. And the second day started out with just that.

    The After Social

    As with tradition of WordCamp US, the social at the end of the second day was at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Quite the impressive museum. Now I am not a huge fan of museums. I could also say that it was mostly bones, stuffed or recreated animals, rocks and overpriced jewelry, but nonetheless it was quite breathtaking.

    A lot of people had a great time and it was also filled with conversation, laughter and yummy desserts with old and new friends.

    And what is a museum visit without posing as a museum exhibit.

    Of course my friend Miriam had to catch as I ventured into the fossil display where I discovered an old acquaintance, Joe the Tyrannosaurus. As I gently touch the bones of his neck on display, I pondered our prehistoric life together.

    It’s Why I Do What I Do

    In a nutshell, I do WordPress because of the community. And events like WordCampUS is like a moment of pure oxygen. So much laughter, conversation, hugs, food and drinks with old and new friends. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

    And I leave you with one last photo. As I was flying home, something outside my window reminded me of that museum. Can you guess what that is?

    Hope to see you at WordCamp Asia in 2024.

    The post WordCamp US 2023, Another Fantastic WP Memory appeared first on BobWP.

  • I Once Updated a Site with 100 Plugins Activated – A Bit of History

    I had this post over on Do the Woo and felt it needed to come back home to BobWP.

    So without further ado….

    Back when WordPress 4.0 came out I did an experiment. I installed and activated 100 plugins on two test sites, including WooCommerce. I did this primarily so see if I could get away with a one-click update without getting the white screen of death.

    It was an old post, and had since been deleted. Maybe because I didn’t want to encourage anyone to actually do this. But whatever the case, in fall of last year two of my good friends on Twitter asked me about this deleted post.

    Matt from GiveWP pinged me…

    Well, Jeff found this…

    But of course Matt was disappointed….

    At that time I searched on my backup drive and lo and behold, yes, I did save all those videos. I posted here, on my older BobWP.com and everyone, at least the two of them, were happy. Since then I had updated and deleted all those olds posts. And like a bad penny, it’s back.

    One note I should make. I did not go through in the end and see if all 100 were completely functional. My test was simply to see if the look of the site would change much or if I would get the dreaded white screen of death.

    It’s short.. so take a step back in time and see if the entire universe exploded or not.

    The post I Once Updated a Site with 100 Plugins Activated – A Bit of History appeared first on BobWP.

  • Advice for Starting Your WooCommerce Business Journey

    Make sure you know it (the WooCommerce business ecosystem). You can’t just come in and start a WooCommerce product company. You need to be in there whether it’s just doing a hobby site for yourself, doing websites for friends and families, previous freelance work but you need to really immerse yourself in it and discover the problems and gaps for yourself. Find out what you’re interested in and you might be particularly interested in I don’t know WooCommerce. events, websites or something, so start setting them up.

    And that’s when you will find the opportunities because there are still gaps, even though there’s loads of people building products for commerce, there’s plenty of gaps and opportunities to fill them with products, but you will only find them if you’re truly immersed in it. And also, when you find those gaps, think about what is a realistic product for you. If you’re going to get venture capital funding or something, then you can aim. high and go for something complex, whereas if you’re bootstrapped and doing it as a side project alongside other work or job, then maybe go small and think what can you realistically do that there’ll be some demand for.

    This came from an episode of Do the Woo with Katie Keith from Barn2 Plugins.

    The post Advice for Starting Your WooCommerce Business Journey appeared first on BobWP.

  • WordPress 6.3. My Heroes, the Release Squad and Contributors

    The last time I wrote a post on a WordPress major release on this blog was sometime ago, where I was doing more tutorials and education pieces here. A previous focus of the life of this blog, now archived into oblivion.

    But hey, can you imagine how many posts have been published and will still be published about 6.3? I cannot fathom that number.

    The release, the people

    I don’t have to tell you about the features. Nor do I really need to tell you about what makes this happen, and the incredible people who contribute their time and expertise to each release.

    Well, I lied. On the latter, I do have to tell you. Because every time that a major release comes out, and I head over to WordPress.org to see the post. It’s always fun to read about the jazz artist that it was named after, revisit the features, but I always stroll to the bottom to see my heroes first.

    The release squad and the contributors. And for each and every one of you, my sincere gratitude and appreciation for making this community what it is. Also, a big virtual hug.

    The post WordPress 6.3. My Heroes, the Release Squad and Contributors appeared first on BobWP.

  • Contributing to WordPress with Your Own Unique Skillset

    Here’s a tip for all WordPress and WooCommerce builders out there, who want to contribute with their own unique skill set: Don’t underestimate the power of effective communication.

    Whether you’re participating in a chat, leaving comments, or attending in-person events like WordCamps or meetups, it’s essential to remember that your words can have a tremendous impact. Words can hurt or heal. Clear and respectful communication can foster better understanding, collaboration, and innovation within the community. It can help you network, learn, and grow, even if you’re not a coder.

    And when it comes to experiences as a woman in this field, particularly about navigating and communicating in a traditionally male-dominated environment, here’s a small takeaway: Use your unique perspective to contribute to the conversation. Don’t shy away from asking questions or sharing your insights. The WordPress community is incredibly diverse, and your voice matters.

    This tip was shared by Birgit Olzem on a Do the Woo episode titled: Builder Tips from WordCamp Europe 2023 Speakers

    The post Contributing to WordPress with Your Own Unique Skillset appeared first on BobWP.

  • Not a Typical Day at BobWP.com

    Daily writing prompt
    Was today typical?
    View all responses

    This prompt could not have hit me at any better time.

    There are many things that lead to this post. First, I was holding off as I wanted to wait for any formal announcement. Secondly, I saw the daily writing prompt which somehow, as a long-time blogger, teases me.

    So why wasn’t today typical?

    Well, let me be blunt. After 13 years, this site is now hosted on WordPress.com. It has had a history of hundreds, if not thousands of posts. Recently I cleaned it up for various reasons, which I may talk about in the next post.

    But the fact is this is the first post I have written on BobWP.com with it being hosted on WordPress.com. Let alone my first “Daily Writing Prompt” on this site.

    That is not a typical day for me. But it’s a wonderful day.

    Watch for another post coming up where I talk a bit more why I moved my site here.

    The post Not a Typical Day at BobWP.com appeared first on BobWP.