Wordcamp Bengaluru 2023, a local event for the WordPress community was held for the first time in CMR University lakeside campus, Bangalore on the 29th of July 2023. The event consisted of three parallel tracks with panel discussions, workshops and lectures. In addition, there was an exhibition of several hosting, plugin, and other vendors. Yoast offered its SEO plugin at a discount and free online training coupons for its courses.
I setup my WordPress blog site with the Twenty Twenty-Three theme few months back and faced few issues in making the changes as per my requirement. After Barcamp in May 2023, I was looking for an event which will help me in making new contacts and getting help. When I noticed an online advertisement for the event and signed up immediately. In this post, I present my key takeaways from some of the sessions that are useful for any WordPress site creator/maintainer. I also include live video recording session links at the correct timestamp for people interested to view the recording.
WordPress Theme creation/ customization
Arun Shenoy spoke about “Crafting Attractive Block Themes Using the Block Editor Alone (caution : low volume sound)” . With the release of “Full Site Editing” feature in WordPress 5.8, it is possible to edit entire site visually without the knowledge of HTML/CSS/Javascript. We can create/customize in the Guntenberg editor with collection of Templates, Template parts, Reusable blocks and global styles. The column, row, group, stack and spacer blocks collection called Guntentor, aids in the creation of desired layout. Finally, the software makes the site secure, accessible on mobiles/desktops without any need for additional coding.
Using LocalWP, WordPress 6.2, and “Create block theme” plugin, he demonstrated by recreating the Wordcamp Bengaluru website. I very much liked the flexibility provided by the Guntentor. Now that, I know how to change, I can update my layout as per my requirements.
WordPress Plugins and widgets
Ashana L spoke about “The Significance of Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses“. She presented a list of plugins and widgets for purposes such as signups, testimonials, and countdown timers. She shared information about themes like Divi, Astra, and Ocean WP that offer versatile and dynamic visual foundations for small business websites.
WordPress site quality assurance
Riyaz presented his session titled “Website Handing Over Process,”. He focused on steps required for ensuring WordPress site quality assurance prior to handing over. In addition he stressed the need to document the host credentials and WordPress account details. The checklist can be grouped under content, images, links, operational issues and performance. Firstly, We should check for spelling, grammar, and plagiarism checks for text content. Secondly, Images need checking for copyright verification and alt-text tags. Thirdly, Checking for filler content ( “Lorem ipsum”) and verification of all links are required. Fourthly, from an operational and branding perspective, we need to verify the installation of SSL and the favicon. Finally, from a performance point of view, we need to remove unused plugins, and ensure fast loading speeds.
Other insights
Here I list some of the other learnings from the sessions or video recordings.
- Tastewp.com provides an exploration platform to experience themes and customisation capabilities of WordPress.
- Google’s SEO evolution over 2011-2021 from penalising thin content to emphasis on page experience is interesting.
- Conducting periodic free webinars and offering a free course helps build trust and leads to business opportunities.
- Dynamic websites can be turned into mobile apps easily.
Conclusion
I learned a lot about WordPress and made new friends. The WordPress ethos of sharing information could be sensed throughout. I thank Yogesh Londhe and all the volunteers for making the event a grand success. The memento of brass coffee tumbler set will make us remember Wordcamp Bengaluru 2023 for a long time.
If you have attended, please add to my experience by commenting.
