PressNomics bills itself as the economics of WordPress conference, and that is exactly what it is. The sixth edition, PressNomics 6, took place September 11 to 13, 2019, at the Hacienda Del Sol resort in Tucson, Arizona. Our founder, Brian Messenlehner, was there with the agency owners, product founders and hosting leaders who make up the business side of the WordPress ecosystem.
A conference about the business, not the code
Most WordPress events are about building things. PressNomics is about building companies. The sessions and hallway conversations focus on growth, pricing, acquisitions, partnerships, hiring and where the WordPress market is heading. It is a small, senior crowd, which makes it a good place to compare notes honestly.
Brian had been to PressNomics before. Earlier photos from his career show him at PressNomics 5, and by 2019 he was attending as the owner of AppPresser, the WordPress mobile app platform.
What was on our minds in 2019
The WordPress world was in the middle of big changes in 2019. The block editor had arrived in WordPress 5.0 a few months earlier, and agencies were working out how Gutenberg would change their builds. Mobile was a bigger share of every client's traffic. Hosting companies were expanding into tools and services. Each of those trends shaped conversations about where agencies and product companies should invest.
Lessons that made their way into AlphaWeb
Events like PressNomics are a big reason AlphaWeb is structured the way it is:
- We build with the block editor and modern block themes, because that is where WordPress is going and it gives clients easier editing.
- We offer hosting and care plans alongside development, so clients have one accountable partner for the whole life of their site.
- We extend WordPress into mobile with AppPresser, because apps are a natural next step for content, membership and commerce sites.
- We price projects around outcomes and long term ownership, not just hours.
Why the business side matters to clients
Clients rarely see the business decisions behind an agency, but they feel them. An agency that understands the economics of WordPress makes better recommendations about build versus buy, which plugins to trust, how to plan for maintenance and how to avoid lock in.
If you want a WordPress partner that thinks about your platform as a long term business asset, AlphaWeb is ready to help.
At a glance
- Event: PressNomics 6
- Dates: September 11 to 13, 2019
- Venue: Hacienda Del Sol, Tucson, Arizona
- Focus: the economics and business of WordPress
Related: PressNomics 4: The Business of WordPress in Tempe, Arizona, PrestigeConf 2016: Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket and WordPress Multisite: When It Makes Sense and How to Run It Well.
Have a question about this event or a project like the ones mentioned here? Reach out to AlphaWeb and Brian will be glad to talk it through. We are always happy to compare notes on WordPress, mobile apps and migrations.
