WordCamp US 2024: A Recap

Just wrapped up my time at the 2024 WordCamp US conference in Portland, Oregon! Hard to believe this was my first “post-COVID-19” event, but I couldn’t have chosen a better one to dive back into in-person networking.

WordCamp US is the premier gathering for WordPress designers, developers, enthusiasts, and end-users in the Americas. If you’ve never attended a WordCamp, or are looking for a good reason to check out the next one, I hope this post convinces you—it’s an experience you won’t regret!

Sessions that Caught My Eye

Historically, I’ve leaned more toward the networking aspect of conferences, but this time, several sessions caught my attention. I packed my schedule and dove into them. Here’s what stood out:

Mrs. Sporty’s 250 Synchronized Franchise Websites

Jessica Lyschik from Greyd shared how Mrs. Sporty, a health and fitness club franchise in Europe, uses WordPress Multisite to maintain consistent branding across 250 locations while allowing each franchise the flexibility to customize things like hours, location, and promotions.

This session really demonstrated the power of WordPress Multisite for franchises or businesses with multiple locations. It sparked ideas for how NameHero could leverage similar strategies for our clients. Keep an eye out for a potential new product offering in the works!

Highlights from Automattic’s Special Projects Team

Christy Nyiri and the Automattic Special Projects team shared some incredible examples of custom WordPress functionality they’ve built for clients (some of their custom plugins can be downloaded for free on their Github). The scope and potential of what can be achieved with WordPress were truly inspiring. Their work reminded me of just how flexible the platform is for unique use cases.

wp-admin as Mission Control

Hearing how NASA.gov relaunched using WordPress in late 2023 was a real treat. Gary Kovar, a Principal Software Engineer, discussed the custom wp-admin overhaul they implemented for NASA, turning the dashboard into a seamless, one-stop content management hub. An overhaul of wp-admin is coming to core soon—a much-needed upgrade, and one I’m especially excited about for our customers at NameHero.

Building a Customer Success Team

Michelle Frechette from StellarWP shared invaluable insights into how she built a customer success team and reduced churn. As someone who has built a customer-centric culture at NameHero, I found her tips incredibly useful. Her examples reinforced that going the extra mile for customers always pays off.

Decoding the Woo and WordPress Strategies of Industry Giants

This session, led by Travis and Bryce Adams of Metorik, was the most inspiring for me. They spotlighted the power of WooCommerce and WordPress, emphasizing that you don’t need coding skills to build a global brand. One business they highlighted processes over 1.5 million subscription orders annually, starting from nothing! I’m excited to dive deeper into WooCommerce strategies and share more on the NameHero blog soon.

From Bottlenecks to Breakthroughs: The New York Post’s Scalability Journey

Linnea Huxford’s session on how the New York Post mastered WordPress scalability was another highlight. As a performance nerd, I loved hearing about the advanced techniques they used to scale their platform. I’m already implementing some of her insights into our systems at NameHero.

Sponsor Expo Hall: Building Connections

The expo hall was a key part of the event for me, providing a great opportunity to connect with both vendors and potential new customers for NameHero. It was amusing to visit other web hosts’ booths while sporting my NameHero shirt!

A2Hosting had a custom-built Lego car that caught my eye—and of course, I now have a building project on my hands after sending the picture to my 7- and 5-year-olds. Great creativity, A2!

Beyond the hosting companies, there were some strong showings from WordPress essentials like WooCommerce and WordFence. It was also fantastic to catch up with a few of our existing vendors.

What stood out the most to me was the collaborative atmosphere. As one of my friends at a competing host once said, “There’s enough business to go around for all of us.” That sentiment really resonated at WordCamp. The future of WordPress, and web hosting in general, continues to look bright.

In Summary

WordCamp US 2024 was a fantastic experience, easily one of the best conferences I’ve attended—even pre-COVID. The sessions, the networking, and the overall energy of the event exceeded my expectations.

A huge thank you to everyone who worked hard to make the conference a success. I’m already looking forward to the next one and can’t wait to showcase NameHero at future events!