Topic: Advanced Custom Fields: Beyond the Basics
When not working as an International Spy for the ACME Donut Corporation, Dave lives his secret identity as a mild-mannered web developer for the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library. In additional running numerous WordPress web sites for the library system, he custom codes plugins and child themes for the library and his side-hustle as a freelance web developer. When not blending in with the general public, you will often find him out flying his camera drone or taking pictures with his extensive camera collection… usually of his teenagers, who hate having their picture taken, of course.
How did you get involved in WordPress?
I was using a blogging platform called “Movable Type” and when they went to a paid model, I went looking for free platform. My friend, Leo Laporte from TechTV, recommended WordPress. I installed it and have not looked back. I have been an evangelist ever since, not just speaking at WordCamps, but promoting WordPress at business conferences and in my local business community.
What do you do with WordPress?
My “day job” is as a web developer for a large library in the capital city of Kansas. I write plugins and child-themes to run our internal systems and public web sites. I also run a small agency as a developer supporting designers to help them add advanced functionality to their clients web sites. I love writing code and I can honestly say that since graduating college, I haven’t worked a day in my life.
What has your experience with the WordPress community been like?
It’s been amazing, pretty much from the start. Matt Mullenweg and Automattic have worked very hard to build a friendly community with stellar peer support and that has been largely successful. As a developer, I am particularly thrilled and grateful for all of the other developers in the community who have answered my questions and helped guide me to better solutions. The Facebook groups and LinkedIn groups in particular have been outstanding resources for both my development work and my personal usage of WordPress for my own blogs and sites.
Why did you want to speak at WordCamp DFW?
I am a huge Dallas Cowboys fan and I lived in Dallas for a few years as a child. So I love to visit the city whenever an opportunity presents itself. I speak at a lot of WordCamps all over the country and it’s a great opportunity to meet others in the community and build long-standing relationships.
Why did you decide to speak on Advanced Custom Fields?
Most of the Advanced Custom Fields sessions I have attended at other WordCamps have been geared towards the beginner and they all pretty much show the same basic stuff. It’s time to move beyond the basics and show how powerful ACF really is for something a little more advanced.
What do you hope the audience gets from your talk?
I hope it piques their curiosity and fills them with a desire to go beyond the simple and create entirely new features for themselves and their clients. Advanced Custom Fields works for beginners to advanced developers and the possibilities are nearly endless.
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!