To make the most of the Workshops at WordCamp it is always good to come prepared. Being prepared for the workshops, save valuable time and resources. You can just jump onto the training without worrying too much about what’s needed. It’s also much more fun knowing what you’re getting into.
Internet is also never guaranteed, so having everything downloaded and ready is the safer option. Do not bargain to work on an online environment unless you have your own 3G access.
Here is a list of what’s need for most and specific workshops.
Needed for most workshops
- Pen and paper, or a note taking app
- Laptop
- Local installation of WordPress – Here are some options, please choose one in line with your technical level. You will only need one of the simple ones for the User Track
- Varying Vagrant Vagrants – an open source Vagrant configuration focused on WordPress development. It has everything you need to run WordPress locally (and submit patches to WordPress core if you like), but does require some technical know-how to use effectively.
- DesktopServer – simple desktop app for running local WordPress sites. Easy enough to use. Only available on Windows and Mac.
- Chassis – GUI for running a local WordPress install. Easy to use, but would also benefit from some technical knowledge.
- Local by Flywheel – simple and good-looking GUI for running WordPress locally. Integrates with FlyWheel’s managed WordPress hosting service, so it’s useful if you end up hosting with them. Available on Windows & Mac.
- XAMPP – classic PHP development environment, which needs no introduction I’m sure.
- MAMP – similar XAMPP, but not available on Linux. The free version is somewhat limited compared to MAMP PRO.There are other options available, but this should be enough to cover everyone. Any environment that has PHP and MySQL will work, so if you already have something like that running, then you can just download and install WordPress directly.
Needed for specific workshops
Space Pilot Track
The WordPress ABC for beginners.
Find all detail in the DropBox folder
How Facebook’s Ad Manager can save your WordPress/WooCommerce website
- WordPress installed and running on a local or online server.
- Woocommerce
- Facebook for Woocommerce (With Pixel installed if possible)
- Facebook Account (preferably business account)
Simple tips and tricks for great SEO
- [Required] A website where they would like to improve the SEO
- A Google account with:
- [Optional] a Google My Business profile for the website (https://www.google.com/intl/en_za/business/)
- [Optional] a Google Ads (Adwords) account (https://ads.google.com/intl/en_za/start/)
- [Optional] a Google Search Console account for the website (https://www.google.com/webmasters/)
- [Required] A WordPress website with either Yoast or All in One SEO plugin installed (https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/) (https://wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/)
Setting up an online store with WooCommerce
- WordPress installed and running on a local or online server.
- Download and install a Woocommerce-ready theme such as Storefront, Online eCommerce or fCommerce.
- Download Woocommerce if possible.
Space Engineer Track
WOOP: OOP-ifying WordPress
All the details you need can be found in this repo: https://github.com/mtdalton/wordcamp-jhb-woop
Building a Single-Page Application with VueJS and the WordPress Rest API
The base code and the details to get up and running can be found here: https://github.com/seagyn/wordpress-vue
Turning your WordPress plugin into a SaaS
Find the preparation post over here: https://jonathanbossenger.com/wordcamp-johannesburg-2018-workshop-prep/