WCFay 2018 Wrap-Up

It’s hard to believe WordCamp Fayetteville has already come and gone.

We would like to give a big thank you to all of our Attendees, Volunteers, Speakers, and of course our wonderful Sponsors and Mico-Sponsors. WCFay wouldn’t even be possible without our community’s support. We can’t thank them enough.

Below we have put together some good resources for you to get the most out of WCFay 2018 and keep learning all year long.

Slides
You can find all the slides we have collected on the sessions page under the description. If you don’t see the link there, no worries, we are still collecting some. Be sure to check back soon if you don’t see the slides you want available yet.

Meetup
If you’re in the local NWA area be sure to check out our Fayetteville Meetup Group. We meet at 1 E Center from 6p-8p every second Tuesday of the month where we have knowledgeable speakers come speak about all things WordPress. We include time to collaborate at every Meetup so feel to bring any issues or questions you might have.

Livestream Videos
Our wonderful Media Sponsor WP Top Hat, for the first time ever, livestreamed the WCFay event. Everything from sessions, to interviews with our speakers and sponsors, and input from our attendees. If you missed any of the action check out their video recap.

Mailing List
Be the first to hear about WCFay news by joining our mailing list. Sign up and we’ll send you important announcements regarding WCFay. Things you can look forward to are video releases, volunteer opportunities, date announcements, and much more!

What did you think about WordCamp Fayetteville 2018? Take this short survey and let us know your thoughts so we can keep making WCFay better every year.

Sponsor highlight: DreamHost

DreamHost returns as a global silver sponsor for WordCamp Fayetteville.

Since 1997, DreamHost has helped individuals, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and developers worldwide bring their dreams to life on the Internet.

A leader in Managed WordPress hosting, over 400,000 customers trust DreamHost to be their online home. Supporting the open source community with dedicated resources and a passionate team, DreamHost believes in the power of the Open Web and the people that make it happen. Learn more at DreamHost.com.

The folks at DreamHost believe in a world where people have the freedom to choose how their digital content is shared, and they foster their success by providing an open web platform of choice.

Sponsor Highlight: La Huerta in Fayetteville

We appreciate La Huerta providing us with a delicious taco bar for our Saturday Night After Party! They are a bronze-level sponsor this year.

Since 1994, La Huerta’s restaurants have been bringing delicious, authentic Mexican food to Northwest Arkansas. Now with four locations (2 in Fayetteville, 1 in Siloam Springs, and 1 in Gentry), La Huerta can be found in both Benton and Washington counties.

Follow them on Facebook and check out their huge menu!

 

Sponsor Highlight: Green Geeks

GreenGeeks Web Hosting is new to WordCamp Fayetteville this year and we are pleased to have them as a bronze-level sponsor this year.

GreenGeeks was founded in California but they have a global reach and approach. They offer a web hosting platform that is specially engineered to perform while being environmentally friendly.

The GreenGeeks management team has more than 40 years of experience in providing high quality, affordable website hosting, according to the company’s website. GreenGeeks client accounts will have a positive energy footprint on the environment as they replace, with wind power credits, three times the amount of energy most websites will use.

Thanks to GreenGeeks Web Hosting!

Sponsor highlight: Sharp Hue

Beautiful Websites That Work ® is what Sharp Hue is about. Their form and function approach to websites is the reason they trademarked the phrase!

They are a silver level sponsor at WordCamp Fayetteville and various members of their staff have been involved with WordCamp Fayetteville throughout the years we’ve been around!

Founded in 2006, Sharp Hue designs, builds, maintains, and hosts: websites, web applications, and custom software.  They are a boutique software development firm with significant expertise in design and usability. Along with supporting clients and their businesses, they are entrepreneurs at heart and use their expertise to build their own products such as Agent SITERegWiz, and SecureMyWebsite.

They’ve helped more than 400 businesses and small business owners save time and money on their web presence and marketing. Your mission is to help you Get Work Done and Go Home Happy!

Here’s how it works: They assess your pain points and implement technology solutions that will automate processes, reduce inefficiencies, and increase productivity. They also teach you how to be in the driver seat.

Adopting technology is fundamental to growing your business. Let them help you move your technology infrastructure into the cloud to enable the next level of communication and collaboration for your business.

Thank You, Hampton Inn!

The Hampton Inn in Siloam Springs is bringing the essentials of civilized coffee drinking to WordCamp Fayetteville 2018.

WordCamps run on coffee. In fact, the only actual requirements for food and drink at WordCamps are water and coffee. If you don’t have coffee, you are officially not a WordCamp.

So we are very thankful to Hampton Inn for providing coffee carafes, cups, and the like to make our coffee drinking a pleasant experience. 

Hampton Inn Siloam Springs is just half an hour from the WordCamp Fayetteville venue by car, so if you’re still hotel shopping, check it out

Thank You, Sticker Giant!

Sticker Giant, a Global Sponsor for WordCamps, is providing stickers for our happy campers again this year.

Sticker Giant is one of the largest custom sticker makers in the nation, but they haven’t let that go to their heads. They run their outfit on renewable energy, use Open Book Management, and focus on keeping their team and their customers happy.

This year’s stickers have a very collectible assortment of images capturing the fun of WordCamp Fayetteville 2018’s carnival theme. You know you want these!

Make sure you get your tickets so you don’t miss out.

 

 

Thank you, BoldGrid!

BoldGrid is a website builder designed to work with WordPress. Its goal is to make WordPress easier for beginners to use — but also more efficient and effective for power users.

With more than 200 themes and a full ecosystem of integrated plugins, BoldGrid gives you drag and drop functionality without compatibility worries.

BoldGrid is a Global Sponsor for WordCamp, and WordCamp Fayetteville appreciates their support!

Thank you, GoDaddy Pro!

GoDaddy Pro is a Global Silver Sponsor for WordCamp, and we at WordCamp Fayetteville appreciate their support.

We especially appreciate their funding WordPress Core Security Team Lead
Aaron Campbell to speak at WordCamp Fayetteville again this year.

GoDaddy is one of the largest web hosting companies in the world, and in recent years they have focused on WordPress, improving the hosting experience for WordPressers worldwide. GoDaddy Pro is a free program for designers and agencies that makes management of multiple sites easy.

With the acquisition of ManageWP, GoDaddy has added powerful site management tools to its services. If you haven’t checked GoDaddy out recently, you’ll be impressed by GoDaddy Pro.

10 Tips to Prepare for WordCamp

WordCamp Fayetteville is this weekend! As you’re preparing for your first WordCamp or even your 15th you may have some questions. Here are 10 ways to prepare for WordCamp Fayetteville 2018 to get the most out of your WordCamp experience.

  1. Bring a reusable water bottle. Yes, we will be providing an assortment of beverages including coffee, tea, lemonade, and water but being able to refill a bigger bottle to stay hydrated can always be useful. The Don W. Reynolds Center also provides multiple places to refill your water bottle with ease.
  2. Bring a jacket. I know it’s the end of June and Summer has hit NWA like a whirlwind, but indoor temperatures can be unpredictable. It’s always nice to be able to cover up if you need to.
  3. Pack some Business Cards. WCFay is a great place to network and meet new like-minded people. It’s always good to stay in touch even after WordCamp is over so bring some business cards to pass out to the people you meet.
  4. Bring your phone and a charger. You’ll want to capture all the excitement of the day whether that be tweeting, taking pictures, or exchanging info. You also can’t do that with a dead battery so bring your charger. We will be providing many charging stations to keep you recharged.
  5. Avoid the perfume and cologne. We all want to smell nice, but some people can have very adverse reactions to strong smells such as perfume, cologne, or even lotion. We want everyone to be as comfortable as possible.
  6. Wear Comfy Clothes. At WordCamp Fayetteville, we’re all pretty relaxed here so wear clothes that you feel comfortable in. There will be a lot of sitting involved during the sessions so think about that when picking out your outfit.
  7. Bring a laptop, if you want. Laptops are very welcome at WCFay and we have lots of power and wi-fi to keep you charged up and cruising the internet. That being said Laptops are not a WordCamp must have, if you don’t want to lug it around all day or feel like it might be more of a distraction feel free to leave it at home and bring some paper instead.
  8. Prepare to take notes. WCFay is full of so much valuable information it’s easy to miss stuff. Bring a notepad, tablet, laptop, whatever you find it easiest to take notes on, so you can jot down all of the most valuable information.
  9. Bring an appetite. We will be having a light breakfast, a boxed lunch, and tons of snacks and treats to keep you energized throughout the day so come ready to enjoy.
  10. Have a fun-loving attitude. This year our moto is More Fun. More WordPress. so you can expect just that. Come with an open mind and be ready to learn and have fun.

We look forward to seeing you this weekend June 22nd – 24th . If you have any questions at the event you can always ask one of our volunteers, they will be wearing the green WordCamp shirts. If any questions arise before the event feel free to email our lead organizer, Scarlett Isbell, at [email protected].

2018 WordCamp Fayetteville is over. Check out the next edition!