Find out the low-down from WordCamp London 2019, speaker highlights and community experiences. Plus, what are WordCamps and what value can they bring to you?
To confirm again "what is a WordCamp and what does it have to do with WordPress?"
Here's the definition:
"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."
This was my third time attending WordCamp London, excited to hear the latest insight from across the web and WordPress from a range of international speakers.
Providing WordPress training across Newcastle and the North East I want to bring to you the most up-to-date techniques, processes, digital marketing insight and creative WordPress concepts.
Here are my highlights and take-aways from WordCamp London 2019
Speakers topics covered:
- 5 steps to a faster website and higher Google rankings (Sabrian Zeidan)
- UX for everyone (Picca Neri)
- Sales Funnels (Yvette Sonneveld)
- 5 eCommerce trends to implement now (Topher DeRosia)
- Syndicating content with WordPress (Mark Wilkinson)
- How to scale your WordPress business (Alison Rothwell)
- Effective copywriting for UX (Andrea Zoellner)
- Develop locally deploy globally (Calin Don)
- The challenges of finding and scaling a remote team (Tomaz Zaman)
There is too much to cover in one article. So here are my top 6 highlights from the whole WordCamp London 2019 weekend. A quick fly-by of my favourite talks and an overview of the topics covered. This was the first year that the talks were 'live streamed' so I have included YouTube links where relevant (and available).
#1 5 Steps to a Faster Website and Higher Google Ranking
A great talk to start the event. Sabrina Zeidan presented 5 steps to follow for a faster WordPress website. She covered various tools to measure your site speed. However her focus was not on just data metrics, she highlighted the need for a fast User Experience. So very much forgetting about scores and considering users and the content they need rather than any over embellishment. CDN and Caching were covered. You can view Sabrina's presentation here.
More info: https://2019.london.wordcamp.org/session/5-steps-to-a-faster-website-and-higher-google-rankings/
#2 UX for Everyone
From my friend and a great speaker, Piccia Neri presented one of the most liked talks of the weekend. An insightful presentation around User Experience (UX) Including empathy – following the journey of your website visitor, how to feel empathy for the visitor to your website and to provide them with what they really need at each stage of their visit to your WordPress website. She also presented a process for asking questions of your visitors, perhaps a quiz or questionnaire to make sure your website has the smoothest journey.
More info: https://2019.london.wordcamp.org/speaker/piccia-neri/
#3 Sales Funnels
From Yvette Sonneveld a look at Sales Funnels with WordPress. Visitors are building awareness, prospects are considering your services and clients are making a decision to buy. Over this time you are building trust and helping them get to know you and your offering. Building circles of trust was a key part of Yvette's presentation putting your client at the centre of the circle.
More info: https://2019.london.wordcamp.org/speaker/yvette-sonneveld/
#4 5 eCommerce Trends to Implement Now
Presentation from Topher Derosia who covered the latest thoughts behind eCommerce trends. Some interesting statistics, 37% of people visited branded eCommerce websites. Building a brand is one of the most critical marketing strategies for eCommerce WordPress websites. Topher also covered 'headless' eCommerce from Big Commerce, helping to bring a full eCommerce experience with the benefits of a WordPress website.
More info: https://2019.london.wordcamp.org/speaker/topher-derosia/
#5 How to Sell 5 Figure Marketing Funnels with WordPress
Presentation by a great friend of mine, Mike Killen with a powerful message to aim for 5 figure marketing funnels. Mikes approach is to aim high with positioning and helping you to provide a full marketing funnel service for your clients that brings them business growth
More info: https://2019.london.wordcamp.org/speaker/mike-killen/
#6 Effective Copywriting for Better UX
From Andrea Zoellner an in-depth presentation covering Copywriting and taking the time to enhance your 'micro' copy. The areas on your website where you want people to take action or a subheading or error message. Making sure every small aspect of your copy is on-brand and reflects the right tone-of-voice for that particular experience.
More info: https://2019.london.wordcamp.org/speaker/andrea-zoellner/
Overall the WordCamp London 2019 weekend was packed with insight and new ideas for web design in 2019. I caught up with many friends from the WordPress community and had the chance to meet WordPress online friends in person.
Swag from WordCamp London 2019
Always a great measure for an event is the swag available. This is my final haul from WordCamp London 2019, impressive give-aways from all of the sponsors.
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