January 21, 2020 — Why Progressive Web App for WordPress? – Imran Sayed

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December 30, 2019 — Being a lead developer not only means being responsible for clean and optimized code, it also means mentoring and teaching junior developers. This is applicable for all technology fields. Having been a karate sensei for over 9 years, come learn how I took cues from my time at the dojo, and applied it to helping junior team members. From learning styles to patience, and to self-confidence, much can be learned from the martial arts.

June 19, 2019 — It used to be that WordPress required a very different toolset than other types of modern PHP apps. Now, however, PHP developers can use many of the same tools to work with WordPress that they would use with Laravel or any other PHP framework.

In this talk, we’ll look at how to modernize development of WordPress sites by using Bedrock to give us a modern stack, WP-CLI to interface with WordPress through the command line or even create scripts to run operations, how to use composer and plugins specifically designed for developers, and ways to deploy WordPress that are easier and more stable than FTP. In addition, we’ll talk about new considerations that Javascript is bringing to the WordPress ecosystem.

Come take a look at how the WordPress ecosystem is maturing in 2019 and beyond!

June 2, 2019 — WordPress is probably the easiest CMS you can develop for. Its simplest plugins consist of a single function and some header data, and anyone with determination and a grasp of programming basics can create their own.

But there’s a gap between mastering technical essentials and acquiring a degree of wisdom about what makes for a successful plugin or theme. This talk offers advice to developers about pitfalls to avoid and ways they can create better plugins or themes.

May 15, 2019 — It’s not strange to know the fact that many people suffer from stage fright and mass fear or anxiety when it comes to public speaking. This implies with IT personnel, developers or designers as well. Public speaking skills can be a booster to your IT career and it may take you a long way

April 12, 2019 — As the world becomes more interconnected, there are multple opportunities for freelance developers. You may be thinking that striking out on your own is easy. The truth is that there are a number of factors to be aware of, and the modern freelance developer needs to be prepared in order to succeed.

Starting 2016 I left the world of employment to become a full time freelancer. I was fortunate in I had another source of income, but as a husband and father of two, with all the usual bills to pay, I was not prepared for the effect working for myself would have on my mental state, my health or my family.

Towards the end of 2016 I joined Codeable, a freelancing platform for WordPress. Where Codeable was different from all other platforms was that it held quality and customer service/communication as the most important factors of freelance development. Since joining Codeable I was able to turn my work situation around such that I now earn 3x as much as I did when I left employment and I am in the favourable position of being able to turn work away.

While Codeable had a big part in bringing me leads to quality work, it was the lessons I’ve learned since joining Codeable about being a successfull freelancer that are the focus of this topic. Being a part of the Codeable community means I have learned so much from other experienced freelancers about things like work/life balance, how to communicate with clients pre hire, how to prevent scope creep and how to manage time and projects on my own.

My talk will be split into two parts, The first will be around the 1st year of my time as a freelancer, scrounging for whatever work came my way because I wasnt in a position to say no, essentially all the things I was doing wrong. The second will be around my second year, when I learned from Codeable, and other Codeable developers, and how these lessons lead me to where I am today.

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March 27, 2019 — Have you ever launched a website only to return to find some annoying SEO has come after you and destroyed it? Has some obnoxious marketer bugged you for lots of little changes- outside the client’s scope and budget? I’m sorry. That might have been my fault. Let’s work together to help our clients. I’ll share my secrets on setting up a WordPress site for SEO success. While this won’t guarantee SEO results, but it will set up your clients for optimal Google love.

March 27, 2019 — Do you design and develop websites or apps? Are you really proud that you have mastered two distinct disciplines? Or do you feel a bit insecure that neither your design or development skills match those of a ‘specialist’?

If you’re anything like me, you sometimes feel a bit of both and wonder how to pitch yourself for potential work or where your skills fit as part of a wider team.

I’m going to argue that we should not undervalue our skills, I’ll share some ideas about ways of working and make a plea to the wider web world to take us more seriously.

January 11, 2019 — Have you ever launched a website only to return to find some annoying SEO has come after you and destroyed it? Has some obnoxious marketer bugged you for lots of little changes- outside the client’s scope and budget?

I’m sorry. That might have been my fault.

Let’s work together to help our clients. I’ll share my secrets on setting up a WordPress site for SEO success. While this won’t guarantee SEO results, but it will set up your clients for optimal Google love.

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January 6, 2019 — In the WordPress Community, we talk about community frequently. We know how to build community with WordPress, but what about with our own clients? Retaining clients and parting ways with clients requires grace. This type of relationship maintenance is an important thing to learn for introverts and applies to new businesses to veterans. It’s an art and a science — soft skills for the win! In this talk, I’ll discuss how I went from an employee to a business owner — with half of the clients I need in the first four months — because of soft skills. We’ll talk about relationship building tips for organic and sustainable growth — online and off.