Archives

Basic Principles of Software Architecture

Do you constantly feel like you are hacking code together? Do you find it difficult to maintain, adapt or even read code you’ve written previously? Chances are, you are not taking into consideration some of the basic principles of software architecture. Come learn how some simple habits and changes in perspective can transform you from a 1x developer to a 10x developer!

Takeaways:

  • How to keep your code simple and straightforward
  • How to reduce bugs in your code
  • How to become a more productive developer

Stop Designing and Start Listening

The number one complaint we hear about web designers and agencies is poor customer service. Poor communication, ambiguous expectations, and missed deadlines frustrate clients and often deliver a disappointing finished product. Service is what sets you apart as an agency. You can have incredible design work and create innovative functionality, but if your clients don’t like you, they’ll leave. And it’s about much more than getting your clients to like you: it’s about listening to your clients so that you offer a solution that actually solves their problems; it’s about knowing when to push back and when to concede; and it’s about being honest and transparent even in the face of failure. When you provide service that meets these criteria, you produce clients that advocate for your business and stay around for the long haul.

Takeaways:

  •  Web designers and agencies have a reputation for providing poor customer service. If you don’t recognize this problem and try to address it through the services you provide, you’re going to lose business and drive customers away.
  • Practical strategies and tips for providing great customer service during every stage of the project, from the initial sales meeting to the website launch and even beyond. These can apply to freelancers, full agencies, and anything inbetween.
  • How providing great customer service can help you retain current clients and gain new ones.

Developing & deploying high quality code, using TDD + CI/CD

In this presentation I’ll take a deep dive into my preferred development and deployment workflow. I’ll cover how to work with code quality tools such as PHPMD, PHP_CodeSniffer and JSLint, as well as how to implement Test Driven Development into a custom plugin. I’ll wrap the whole thing up by demonstrating how to connect everything to a continuous integration / delivery pipelines to test the code and deploy automatically.

Takeaways:

  • Code Quality
  • TDD
  • CI/CD

Transformational Transactions

This talk is specifically designed to explain how to use WordPress in order to create transformational relationships between your product and service with your customer. This talk will specifically focus on tools within WordPress that make it easier for WordPress users to send their customers on a journey where the customers use their products or services in order to transform their lives.

Takeaways:

  • What is a transformational transaction?
  • How does this type of transaction inform and engage your audience?
  • Why is this vital to online conversions?

How to Stop Scope Creep Once and For All

This session will provide actionable steps for implementing some proven (and easy) project management techniques to stop the dreaded “scope creep” that so many WordPress practitioners struggle with when providing services for others.

Takeaways:

  • The 6 Principles of Productivity Management You Knew and Then Forgot
  • What to Put in the Contract so You Get Paid for Change
  • How to Effectively Manage Change

CSS Grid IRL

The murmuring about CSS Grid in the world of frontend development has gotten quite loud indeed. If you’ve been a developer awhile, you remember when CSS finally became powerful enough to overtake the almighty table. You probably also really love the incredible tool that is Flexbox, even if you, like I do, still need to reference the same darn CSS Tricks article every time you use it. So what’s Grid’s deal? What makes it so great anyway, and when can you start using it IRL? What if you don’t want to duplicate development, building complex fallbacks for legacy browsers? How do you decide if a project is a good fit for CSS Grid, and then how do you even get started? We’ll discuss these questions, review some tools and tricks, and look at a few examples of CSS Grid in action.

Takeaways:

  • Using CSS Grid
  • Recognizing when CSS Grid is a good fit
  • Fallbacks /Supporting old browsers

Taking Code on the Road: Running a 6-figure WordPress business from an RV

I have been a freelance php/wordpress programmer for many years. The freelance world can be an exciting life of waking up unemployed every morning, having a different view every week, and finding interesting clients.

I currently run a 6-figure WordPress business with 20 team members from my RV while traveling the US. I am in a different location almost every week.

I will talk about the ups and downs of life on the road, finding clients, mixing fun, travel and code, how we get paid, and much more.

Takeaways:

  • How to take your business on the road,
  • How to work with remote contractors
  • How to survive as a freelance WordPress developer.