Author: Jacob Martella

Topic: Beyond the basics of WordPress SEO

Sean Jackson is a founding partner of Rainmaker Digital (formerly Copyblogger) – creators of Copyblogger.com, StudioPress/Genesis, Rainmaker Platform and other online products/services. Often referred to as the “Geek that Speaks,” Sean has a true passion for technology and how it is applied to the needs of marketing. Sean is an active member of the Dallas business community in leadership roles with DFW Search Marketing Association and is a Past President of the Dallas Ad League.

How did you get involved in WordPress?

My WordPress journey started in 2010 when I joined Brian Clark from Copyblogger.com and Brian Gardner from StudioPress in the formation of Copyblogger Media.

What do you do with WordPress?

My initial work in the WordPress ecosystem started with the creation of a commercial plugin that linked our SEO Content Optimization API to the WordPress content creation process; allowing content creators to optimize their content for search engines. This initial product, called Scribe, became a core part of our SEO offerings for all of our WordPress customers.

Eventually, my role expanded to other products within Copyblogger, including Synthesis, our managed WordPress hosting solution launch in 2013. My role included the overall strategic direction of the hosting services we provide to our professional WordPress customers – including companies like AirBnB and Yoast to name a few.

Recently, I have been active in expanding StudioPress through the launch of StudioPress Sites in Feb 2017.

Why did you want to speak at WordCamp DFW?

I have a unique view of the WordPress landscape – from both an SEO perspective and how large scale WordPress sites are deployed and used by some of the world’s most noted brands. The Genesis Framework, created by StudioPress, is the second most used theme framework in WordPress, after WooCommerce. Also I have served in leadership roles in the DFW Search Marketing Association and is a frequent speaker on SEO topics at international events like Pubcon.

Why did you decide to speak on SEO?

The reason I am speaking at WordCamp is two fold; to support the local DFW WordPress community and to share my perspective on ways to maximize the results from SEO work in WordPress. I hold an international patent in the SEO space and brings not only the technical aspects of SEO to my presentation, but also the underlying best-practice-framework that he has seen used by tens of thousands of customers in WordPress.

What do you hope the audience gets from your talk?

My presentation will focus on how anyone can maximize the results of their SEO efforts, beyond the simple configuration of the SEO features in WordPress or the numerous plugins available for it. In the end, attendees will get an actionable framework they can deploy immediately based on a new way to consider SEO as an inherent part of the management of a WordPress site.

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s WordCamp DFW held on Nov. 11-12. There are also plenty of opportunities to sponsor the event or help run it. We hope to see you there!

Topic: Bringing a WordPress Product into the Market

Chris Lema has been building online web applications since 1995. He started working with WordPress in 2005, and today he’s the VP of Products & Innovation at Liquid Web, a 100M hosting company. He’s known in the WordPress community as a blogger, public speaker, and the creator of CaboPress, the best business conference for WordPress in Cabo.

How did you get involved in WordPress?

I was tired of making changes every time a customer wanted to tweak their website. So I initially started using DotNetNuke (DNN) but eventually found WordPress (in 2005). I then spent the next couple years creating a hundred WordPress websites that never used posts, just pages. I didn't really go further than using WordPress until I visited two WordCamps in 2010, and I was hooked.

What do you do with WordPress?

Today I'm the VP of Products at Liquid Web where I'm focused on our Managed WordPress offering and getting a new product rolled out, Managed WooCommerce. I lead the teams that have built these products. I also blog and occasionally help friends run online businesses using membership plugins or eCommerce ones, like WooCommerce.

What has your experience with the WordPress community been like?

I love the community and have invested in them for years. It's now been 6.5 years where I've actively participated in meetups, WordCamps, spoken at events and even created my own event for the community, called CaboPress.

Why did you want to speak at WordCamp DFW?

I love the DFW crowd. Also, I am on dad duty that weekend and decided it would be fun to bring my son (10) to a WordCamp for his first time.

Why did you decide to speak on bringing a WordPress product into the market?

I have coached tons of product companies that have launched products in the WordPress ecosystem. And now, with our new Managed WooCommerce, I'm doing it too. So I thought it would be a good topic.

What do you hope the audience gets from your talk?

I hope people are inspired, challenged, and encouraged to try building their own products for the WordPress world.

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s WordCamp DFW held on Nov. 11-12. There are also plenty of opportunities to sponsor the event or help run it. We hope to see you there!

Topic: The Way to Theme Enlightenment

Amanda Giles is WordPress Evangelist and Enthusiast who loves converting people to WordPress. She’s been developing websites since 1994 and has been building WordPress themes since 2009. She hails from New Hampshire where she founded the Seacoast NH WordPress meetup in 2011. She works as an independent consultant and also as part of Spark Development, a small agency focusing on WordPress web development. You can often locate Amanda by her loud sneezes and it’s likely because of these sneezes that she leads such a blessed life.

How did you get involved in WordPress?

I’ve been a programmer for years and started developing websites around 2000. These were sporadic projects and often simple and small. I started working with WordPress in 2009 when my brother-in-law handed off a small WordPress site to me which he was too busy to work on. This was a fantastic start as he was still there to advise me, but I got to get my hands dirty and build a site on my own.

What do you do with WordPress?

I develop sites in WordPress for individual clients and agencies. These websites often have complex data needs or interaction. I’m usually receiving a design from a designer and I’m both building the front end of the site as well as architecting and building out the back end. Most often I’m creating a custom theme, but sometimes it’s a plugin (or a theme and a plugin) instead.

What has your experience with the WordPress community been like?

The WordPress community is amazing. I love going to WordCamps because it feels like going to a family reunion and I learn so much. The people I meet are always so friendly and I love that the ethos of the community seems to reflect the open source philosophy. I love it so much I started the Seacoast NH WordPress meetup in 2011.

Why did you want to speak at WordCamp DFW?

I love visiting new WordCamps and I have a good friend who moved to Dallas a few years ago (from NH where I live). That combined with a JetBlue sale made it an easy decision!

Why did you decide to speak on themes?

My session is an attempt to teach all the things I wish I had known when I first started writing themes. I’ve been creating themes for a while now and I want to pass on what I can and demystify some aspects of theme development.

What do you hope the audience gets from your talk?

I hope that folks already developing themes will up their game. I want them to learn some new techniques, better understand other things, and be unafraid to try some new things.

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s WordCamp DFW held on Nov. 11-12. There are also plenty of opportunities to sponsor the event or help run it. We hope to see you there!