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Fresh Air, golf and kid-friendly facilities – welcome to the River Club!

RiverClub

While we’re sure you’re ready for this year’s WordCamp, we know there are always those niggly little questions about logistics. Aside from a smorgasbord of awesome presentations and workshop sessions, opportunities to learn, network and make new contacts, there are those awkward conference things to consider.

Like where to park – and how much will it cost? What to do with the kids for the day? And how about some fun and fresh air, too?

Relax – we’ve got you covered.

WordCamp 2017 returns to our favourite venue, the River Club. We love the relaxed-yet-luxurious feel of the conference facilities. Previous attendees agree: It’s like being in the country – although only minutes away from, well, everywhere in Cape Town!

Situated just outside the CBD traffic congestion zone, there’s plenty of free, secure parking for all.

Spacious, with lawns stretching towards Table Mountain, there’s a suite of fully stocked bars, restaurants and outdoor seating for private, small group discussions or one-on-ones with fellow WordPressers and speakers.

River Rascals Kids Club

Worried about the kids? Bring them along! They’ll have fun at the River Rascals Kids Club – a secure, supervised play area with jungle gyms, caregivers and indoor games. It’ll be a fabulous adventure for children aged one to 12 years (remember, kids under three should be accompanied by a caregiver).

Need to do something healthy and fun during breaks? Then the driving range is the place for you – no previous experience needed. There will be plenty of balls and clubs at hand for you to bring out your inner Tiger. Remember the hat and sunscreen, or play under the floodlights at night.

Rock on at the after party on Friday night – we’ll be bringing you news about this and much, much more, (if you haven’t already) so be sure to subscribe to our blog for updates.

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Convince your boss to let you attend WordCamp Cape Town

With WordCamp Cape Town being run over two days, there can be some consternation from members of upper-management that their employees will be spending two full working days at a conference. If you’re in this position then we’ve got your back – simply present this letter to your manager and they will be utterly convinced that allowing you to attend WordCamp is the best decision that they will ever make. Guaranteed.

To [MANAGER’S NAME],

RE: Attending WordCamp Cape Town 2017

In the interest of employee education, networking and increasing my skill set, I would like to attend WordCamp Cape Town on 26 & 27 October 2017.

WordCamps are conferences that focus on everything WordPress – there are over 150 held all over the world throughout the year, and they are informal, community-organised events that are put together by average WordPress users. Everyone from casual users to core WordPress developers participate in them to share ideas and get to know each other.

Cape Town’s WordCamp has been an annual event on the local community’s calendar for the past seven years, making this the eighth in a string of incredibly successful events that offer immeasurable benefits to those who attend.

The conference itself will run over two days, with the first day being a series of practical workshops that will teach essential skills such as working with SASS, generating SEO-friendly content, designing websites to be more inclusive, and creating effective marketing strategies across social media.

And that’s just day one…

The second day will include sessions covering broader, industry-focussed matters such as transitioning from consulting to products, understanding how to leverage new WordPress technologies more effectively, turning users into customers, and a host of other fascinating and inspiring topics.

During all of this I will have the chance to get to know a huge amount of individuals from both the local and international WordPress communities. With an expected attendance of around 300 people there will be plenty of opportunity to connect with influential people with whom we can collaborate and leverage our skill sets to mutually benefit each other.

The incredible thing is that all of this costs a mere R500 for both days! At that price I can guarantee you that the things I learn and the connections I make at WordCamp will more than pay for themselves as our business continues to expand.

If we send 5 or more of our staff, then we can get a R100 discount on each ticket – you just need to contact the conference organisers on capetown@wordcamp.org to get the coupon code.

You can read more about the conference at capetown.wordcamp.org and I’d be happy to answer any further questions you may have.

Looking forward to your response.

Regards,
[YOUR NAME]

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Introducing this year’s Session Speakers

You’ve already met our workshop instructors, so now we’d like to introduce you to the speakers from our Day 2 sessions. While the workshops are very practical and focussed on specific skill sets, the other sessions are designed to inspire you to do more and get more out of your WordPress experience. So, without further ado, here are the speakers who will be inspiring you on Day 2 of WordCamp Cape Town 2017!

You can find the full schedule for the event here.

 

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Introducing this year’s Workshop Instructors

We’re very excited to announce that we have confirmed all of our speakers for WordCamp Cape Town 2017! Here you can find out more about the workshop instructors and who they are – just like last year, workshops will taking place on day 1 of the event.

You can find the full schedule for the event here.

 

Job Thomas

Job is the only Belgian in the WooCommerce team at Automattic. He leads one of the WooCommerce support teams. He’s been working with WordPress for about 10 years, and mostly enjoys just breaking things in order to learn. Since 2013, he’s been living in Cape Town, but misses Westvleteren 12 and Belgian mayo a lot.

Daine Mawer

A designer, dynamic trainer and developer, Daine is a mover and shaker in the world of Education and Web Development. Having achieved his B.A at Vega: School of Brand Leadership in 2009, Daine went on to take the web development industry by storm having worked for a number of Cape Towns most prized media and advertising agencies and companies. Daine is passionate and dedicated to the world of web development, having already made a considerable contribution in South Africa.

Janet Hancock

I have been in the design industry since 2005 and I love what I do because it allows me to mix my love for art with my career. I started as a graphic designer with a very successful small firm and worked my way up to Studio Head before starting Rubio Communications and then Brand Candy. I now manage the digital marketing side of our business – looking after our clients’ marketing from strategy through to implementation and measurement. I also run two courses: a “Social Media Marketing for Business” course and “Content Marketing for Irresistible Communication” advanced course.

As a business woman, time, freedom and financial security have always been as critical as success, and although ambition works its way into every decision, I know that a well rounded person is more fun to be around than an über-successful one!

Thierry Muller

I am a Swiss Digital Wrangler writing code and architecting softwares for close to a decade. I am truly passionate about code quality, open source, community driven projects and building enterprise solutions. I spent a great part of my career building products and web solutions for WordPress as well as driving open source projects.

I am fortunate to serve XWP as a WordPress Architect and Senior Engineer, working alongside some of the brightest WordPress experts in the world.

Roy Scheeren

Roy is a developer from The Netherlands where he worked as a freelancer building websites mostly powered by WordPress. Holding on to a long lasting dream to move down to South Africa it was WordPress that brought him there. Nona Creative needed some extra WordPress power and decided they could work with a Dutch import. Closing in on 2 years in the the Cape Roy has branched out from the WordPress environment to a more full stack environment using technologies like Vue, Node and experimenting with the JAMStack using Hugo.

Nicola du Toit

Nicola du Toit is UX designer by day and a musician by night. She has a Masters degree in IT (specialising in Human-Computer Interaction) but is also left-handed, which means that usability (or a lack thereof) has always been a significant part of her life. She firmly believes that user-centred design can make the world a better place.

Seagyn Davis

Seagyn is the Head Maker of Things at Flicker Leap, a digital solutions agency. He has been working with WordPress since 1.5 and has never looked back. He loves stretching the limitations of what has been done with WordPress. He’s currently exploring the uses of the WordPress API. In his spare time, Seagyn playing online games and spends time with his beautiful wife.

Ed O’Reilly

Developer and Founder at Nona Creative.

 

Trust Nhokovedzo

Trust Nhokovedzo is a digital marketing consultant and trainer. He is a senior consultant at Calmlock Web Design. Trust has been active in the digital space for nine years in different roles including web designing, web development, being a WordPress, online marketing, SEO and AdWords Consultant.

He founded AfroDigital Skills Training (http://afrodigital.org) where he became the Lead Trainer for the Google Digital Skills Training Program in Zimbabwe. He has done presentations at various tech conferences including WordCamp Harare, Digital Future and Women in Tech.

Trust holds a degree in computer science and various certifications from Google, Hubspot and Marketing Motive. His passion is to see businesses and people in Africa embracing digital technologies, especially SEO.

Stephen Tredrea

Stephen is an octopus with WordPress coloured ink and tentacles across the full stack. As a enthusiastic and slightly opinionated rule breaker, his current mission is to make WordPress easy again. In between building websites for clients he can be found compulsively obsessing over his pet project, amibe.net, or posing as a coffee hipster.

Gareth Allison

Gareth Alison is a designer at Automattic. He still has no idea what he’s doing with his life. In his spare time, he eats.

Jarryd Long

Im a developer at CODECABIN_ with almost 4 years of experience. I also lead our USA timezone’s support team.

I’ve developed parts of WP Google Maps and WP Live Chat. Along with other team members, I also support these plugins on a daily basis.

Steve Barnett

 

Steve Barnett works as Front-end developer and User Experience consultant. He loves the One Web and applying User-Centered Design principles to Front-end Development. He’s a bit addicted to meetups and community things: you can find him helping out with RailsBridge Cape Town), Cape Town Front-End Developers, running a Device Lab session, or at conference giving a (strongly opinionated) talk or facilitating a workshop. If he’s not there, he’s probably crouched in an awkward position in front of something funny-looking, taking pictures of it.

You can find him on Twitter as @maxbarners, on GitHub as SteveBarnett, and on his own site Naga (which really, really, needs a redesign) as, erm, himself.

Anchen le Roux

Anchen le Roux is the CEO and lead developer of Simply Digital Design.

She has a passion for everything WordPress and loves being part and contributing to the WP community.

Anchen is the author of The Content Creation Strategy Guide, advocate for green, simple and nomad living and occasionally find time to play the bass guitar.

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Not just for developers: Why businesses owners and employees should attend WordCamp

It seems like most people who’ve heard of WordCamp automatically assume that it’s a conference only for WordPress developers. In reality, it’s a conference that focuses on EVERYTHING WordPress. It appeals to a wide audience from casual users to freelancers, project managers to designers, and even business owners. It’s a great environment to learn, share ideas, network, and get to know the movers and shakers in our amazing WordPress community.

As a business owner I am constantly looking at new ways to produce the best possible product or deliver the best possible service, for the least amount of effort, and the most amount of profit. That’s why we started experimenting with WordPress back in 2014 – from a business perspective, it just made sense.

However, we had a problem. We didn’t know all that much about WordPress, or how we could use it to grow our business. It’s for these exact reasons I attended my first WordCamp in Cape Town back in 2014, and I’ve attended, spoken at, volunteered or co-organized every WordCamp since.

What kept me coming back? The benefits to me, my business, and my staff are endless.

It covers so many diverse topics.

Yes, there are developer-focused Workshops and Talks, but there are also amazing Workshops and Talks about Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Design, Remote Working, Managing Clients and Projects, and so much more. Whether you’re a freelancer, an employee or the boss, I can almost guarantee that there will be a topic from which you can learn from and/or discuss with other likeminded people dealing with the same issues you are.

It’s the best event to networking with likeminded people and grow your business.

Whether you’re looking to have a product developed, for new developers to hire, for partners to outsource to, or if you’re just looking to meet some of the most influential people and companies in the WordPress community – both locally and abroad – then WordCamp is the conference for you!

It’s cheap! The rewards far outweigh the costs.

At only R500 per ticket, WordCamp is by far one of the least expensive conferences out there. Nowhere else will you find so many amazing Workshops, Talks, Individuals and Companies coming together for two full days for such a low price. Not only is the conference inexpensive, there’s a driving range and food and drinks are included.

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5 Reasons why freelancers should attend WordCamp

If you’ve never attended a WordCamp before, but you’ve heard about it, you’re probably wondering what all the fuss is about. I did too when I first learned about WordCamp. It was 2014 and I saw something about it online somewhere. The concept looked interesting but I really didn’t think that there would be any benefit for me to attend.  If I look back over the last 2 years of my WordCamp attendance I can truthfully say that WordCamp has become the ‘work’ related highlight of my year.

1. You get to meet some amazing people.

The thing about WordPress people is that they are generally the friendliest and most helpful individuals you’ll ever meet. I can recall endless conversations with people at WordCamp, over a variety of topics. As a freelancer you are often stuck inside your own sphere of influence and the ability to get out, meet other like minded individuals and share stories and ideas is such a great way to recharge and renew for the year ahead.

2. You will learn something new

I’ve only been to three WordCamps, but every time I go I learn something new. There are so many great speakers from different walks of life who use WordPress in so many different ways, that it can sometimes be difficult to determine which talk to go to. I usually spend the week before the event planning out my schedule so I am sure to be in the right track to hear the talks I am most interested in.

3. Stuff we all get

Who doesn’t like free stuff? Over the past two years my SWAG collection comprises a few coffee mugs, T-shirts, moleskin notebooks, a cap, a bag, some stickers, plenty of USB’s and quite a few pens. I still use the notebook I got from WordCamp Cape Town 2015 when I meet clients or need to write something down.

4. Eat, drink and be merry

WordCamp aims to be the most cost-effective event in the tech calendar. For only R500 you get to enjoy two days of talks and workshops, a great breakfast and lunch spread each day as well as coffee and tea breaks. There’s even an after party where you can round off the event with some style.

5. Connect

I’ve made quite a few connections at each WordCamp. More often than not this has also leads to client work, as those people I meet remember that I am a freelance WordPress developer. So when they or someone they know is looking for a WordPress professional, its usual for them to reach out to someone they’ve already met.

Honestly, if you use WordPress, are thinking of using WordPress or just want to know what all the fuss is about WordPress, I highly recommend attending WordCamp Cape Town this year.

Click here to buy tickets for WordCamp Cape Town 2017

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WordCamp Sessions

Speaker selection

Every year WordCamp Cape Town hosts some of the most interesting and informative workshops and talks from WordPress users both locally and internationally. We do this by inviting speakers from around the world to join us in celebrating WordPress.

The process of taking all the session submissions and filtering them into the final list for the event has always been handled purely by the organising team. However this is quite a subjective process and so this year, in the overall spirit of open sourcing WordCamp, we want to put more power into the hands of our users, those of you who will be attending WordCamp.

So, if you follow the link to the list of proposed sessions, you will see a list of all session submissions as well as a poll to vote for your favourites.  We would love to get your feedback in choosing the sessions you want featured at WordCamp.

While we will do everything in our power to include the sessions you have voted for, please be aware that the final selection is the responsibility of the WordCamp Organising Team.

So head on over to the proposed session list and make your choices.

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WordPress Women: let’s hear your voices at #wcct2017

Jenny Wong speaking at WordCamp Cape Town 2015

WordCamp Cape Town loves women! And we want your voices heard at our #wcct2017 event.

We’re inviting engaging, innovative and tech-savvy WordPress women to join our impressive list of speakers. Share your innovations, insights and challenges with your WordPress community.

Help us build a show-stopping, gender-balanced line-up for our two days of workshops and talks, set to take place on 26 and 27 October 2017 at the River Club.

We invite you to submit your Speaker application today – entries close on 20 August 2017. To apply as a speaker simply follow this link to the submission form. We’re open to any topic that you have expertise in and are looking for workshops as well as regular 35-minute talks.

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Call for Sponsors

Without the support of our generous sponsors, WordCamp Cape Town would not be affordable to the vast majority of the local community who attend. WordCamp attendees have two full days to gain insight from our speakers, network with other WordPress users and developers, and learn more about WordPress and open source. By donating to WordCamp Cape Town, our sponsors make this event a reality. Thank you!

Interested in coming on board as one of our awesome sponsors? Have a look at our WordCamp Cape Town 2017 Sponsorship Packages and let us know at what level you would like to sponsor so we can make it happen!

We also have a ‘Donations’ category. If you would like to donate towards WordCamp Cape Town 2017 with any amount that does not fit into the packages listed above, then we will gladly accept your donation. In exchange we will list your name (linked to your website) on the event website.

To become a WordCamp Cape Town 2017 sponsor, please fill in the form below.









WordCamp Cape Town is over. Check out the next edition!