Author: Jeremy Ward

What inspired or motivated you to give this talk at WordCamp?

I think now is the time that there’s a lot of people just getting started. The types and tricks I am providing are ones I wish people would have given me when I was just getting started.

Do you have any advice or words of encouragement for those who are thinking about getting involved in the WordPress community?

Soak up everything. WordCamps bring some of the best of the best together. You can learn just as much in the hallway track or walking around the sponsor booths, then you can in a session. Meet people. Try to meet at least 10 new people you can start building relationships with. Be open and honest about what you are struggling with or the challenges you face. We can experience them together!

What inspired or motivated you to give this talk at WordCamp?

Love Minneapolis

Do you have any advice or words of encouragement for those who are thinking about getting involved in the WordPress community?

It’s a wonderful diverse community that thrives on people helping each other out. One of the most healthy open source communities in the world.

If you could make one improvement to WordPress today, what would it be?

Move all core features around the customizer(& Gutenberg) to a plug-in. The complexities around trying to make the user experience more SquareSpace or Wixs like, could create serious problems for trying to keep WordPress as flexible as possible as a CMS.

What’s your favorite quote from a book or movie?

Let me explain. No, is too much… Let me sum up…

What inspired or motivated you to give this talk at WordCamp?

For the past year or so I’ve really been questioning wireframes as a design process. Often they are rushed to get out the door, and have far too many oversights. As a user experience design process, we should be thinking beyond the wireframe and how the user actually interacts with the design elements, not just blocking out a page layout. Wireframes have stifled the creative design process and I believe that designers should rethink their effectiveness.

Do you have any advice or words of encouragement for those who are thinking about getting involved in the WordPress community?

The WordPress community is a fantastic, welcoming, and fun ecosystem to be a part of. The people and connections that are possible are truly inspiring.

If you could make one improvement to WordPress today, what would it be?

Making things easier for the user to be on-boarded to WordPress. There are a lot of opportunities for WordPress to really become an ‘easier’ platform for the user. This is especially true when looking at other platforms like SquareSpace, Wix, etc. that make that first step much, much easier for the user. As a community I think we have a user experience problem to solve and fix, in order for WordPress to continue it’s growth.

Who do you most admire and why?

The individuals who stand up for what is right, just, and fair. The individuals out there fighting for others, taking a stand for morality throughout their lives. I truly believe that when we stand together there is nothing we cannot accomplish. But when we’re divided, the evils of the world will always win. I will forever be inspired by those in my life who have the courage to stay along the ultimate moral compass to push for the rights of those who are less fortunate or do not have the ability, voice, or position to do so themselves. These are the people that we all should hold up together, for the greater good.

What’s your favorite quote from a book or movie?

“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.” – J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

What inspired or motivated you to give this talk at WordCamp?

I’ve found that there is still a lot of interest from people in learning about things that I’ve worked on and refined through the course of my professional career.

Things like: where to place your code, how to use an IDE and debugger, building and utilizing a deployment system and ways to make your code much simpler and easier to understand and maintain.

I love the feeling of helping someone from sharing something I know; it’s such a powerful and intense feeling, seeing their eyes light up and their excitement at seeing a new way of doing something! All from just sharing some information – it’s so amazing.

Do you have any advice or words of encouragement for those who are thinking about getting involved in the WordPress community?

Do it! Just start – there is no prerequisite other than an earnest desire to help others.

There is no secret club, there are no secret handshakes. There is just doing good for others and meeting other people that do the same. The networking and friendships I have made by volunteering and contributing are powerful and have contributed to my personal and professional growth.

If you could make one improvement to WordPress today, what would it be?

I would love to have an easier/more integrated way to publish and update plugins via GitHub.

Using SVN and the entire process for publishing a plugin makes things extremely cumbersome and is a huge barrier to entry for people looking to publish their first plugin.

Who do you most admire and why?

I admire Steve Zehngut and Chris Lema greatly. They are both very intelligent and savvy businessmen.

Steve is very good at understanding people and situations. I continue to learn from him better ways to approach and handle situations.

Chris is a thought-provoking and forward thinking individual who has a very solid understanding of the current landscape, where it’s headed and what opportunities exist.

I greatly respect and admire them both.

What’s your favorite quote from a book or movie?

“Ship like this, will be with you till the day you die.”
– Firefly

What inspired or motivated you to give this talk at WordCamp?

I recent project I worked on code42.com and the benefits of integrating modularity in our process.

Do you have any advice or words of encouragement for those who are thinking about getting involved in the WordPress community?

WordPress is one of the most open and inviting community in the web development eco system. Just jump right in !!!

What’s your favorite quote from a book or movie?

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

• Eleanor Roosevelt

What inspired or motivated you to give this talk at WordCamp?

Securing your site is important. There are two problems that I often see:
1) People get fooled into thinking things they are doing, like moving the wp-admin or login URLs, keep them safe. False security causes them to not worry about other things that could actually keep them secure.
2) People are so overwhelmed by excessive, or flat out contradictory, information that they take no action at all.

The internet is no longer a toy. It is no longer used only for fun or even simply for research. It is now an integral part of people’s lives, of businesses, and even entire economies. It is the single most effective information sharing tool in all of history. We have an obligation to protect it for future generations. Learning how is important. (https://aarondcampbell.com/2017/06/the-open-web-matters/)

Do you have any advice or words of encouragement for those who are thinking about getting involved in the WordPress community?

The WordPress community is extremely accepting, overwhelmingly helpful, and also powerful. Getting involved is easy, will help you get better at what you do, allows you to work with some amazing people, and will end up benefitting you and your career.

The WordPress community is extremely accepting, overwhelmingly helpful, and also powerful. Getting involved is easy, will help you get better at what you do, allows you to work with some amazing people, and will end up benefitting you and your career.