On Saturday, April 30, 2016, the Western New York WordPress community gathered at the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts on UB's North Campus for WordCamp Buffalo 2016. Our founder, Brian Messenlehner, was there as an attendee, and so was Brad Williams, his fellow AppPresser co-founder, who was on the speaker lineup.
Three tracks for every kind of WordPress user
The organizers built the day around three tracks that attendees could move between freely: a User track for beginners and business owners who run their own sites, a Flex track in the middle, and a Design and Development track for people who build with WordPress. Sessions covered accessibility, SEO, custom themes, performance, Advanced Custom Fields and a panel on WordPress workflows, and the day wrapped up with an after party down the road from campus.
Scoping a WordPress project
In the late afternoon Brad presented Help Me Help You: Scoping Your WordPress Project. It is a topic we care about at AlphaWeb, because most WordPress projects that go sideways were in trouble before the first line of code. The scope was vague, the content was not ready, or nobody agreed on what done looked like.
The way we scope projects today reflects that lesson:
- Start with goals, not features. What should the site do for the business in its first year?
- Inventory the content. Pages, posts, media, forms and integrations all need a home and an owner.
- Name the integrations early. CRMs, payment gateways, LMS plugins and single sign on change estimates more than design does.
- Write down what is out of scope, so nobody is surprised later.
- Plan for life after launch, including hosting, updates and support.
Why regional WordCamps matter
WordCamps like Buffalo are run by local volunteers and kept affordable so almost anyone can attend. They put beginners in the same room as people who build plugins and run agencies, and that mix is a big part of why the WordPress community keeps growing. Brian has spent years at events like this, as a speaker and as an attendee, and the conversations in the hallway are often as useful as the sessions.
Bring us your project
If you have a WordPress project that needs a clear plan before it needs code, our WordPress development team starts by putting the scope in writing. If a mobile app is part of the plan, we build those with AppPresser. You can also request a quote to get the conversation started.
At a glance
- Event: WordCamp Buffalo 2016
- Date: Saturday, April 30, 2016
- Venue: Center for the Arts, University at Buffalo North Campus, Buffalo, New York
- Format: three tracks (User, Flex, and Design and Development)
- Related session: Help Me Help You: Scoping Your WordPress Project, presented by Brad Williams
- Brian's role: attendee
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.
