Sessions

WordCamp Ottawa 2014 will feature sessions chosen for those new to WordPress, those who have WordPress skills, and professional designers and developers.

As an attendee, you can sit in on any session in any of the tracks. You can switch tracks if you like. There are no restrictions on the tracks or sessions you attend.

To help you decide which sessions to attend, we’ve let you know the audience knowledge level the speaker is expecting and any prerequisites the speaker suggests. But the levels are only guides—and the prerequisites are recommendations, not requirements. So, if a session interests you, feel free to attend it even if it doesn’t seem to be at the right level. Just be aware that some parts of it may not suit you.

Thursday, May 1

WordCamp Ottawa 2014 opens with an optional three-hour Pre-camp Introduction to WordPress. This takes place on the Thursday evening before the main camp.

Saturday, May 3

We’re planning 32 sessions, each lasting 45 minutes for Saturday. The sessions will be divided in tracks suited for:

  • Content Creators, who want to learn how to publish content on a WordPress site
  • Site Creators, who want to learn more complex tasks but aren’t designers or developers
  • Code Creators, designers or developers who want to learn about topics such as site set-up, theme design, plugin development, development best practices and more

Sunday, May 4

For Sunday we’re planning a half-day of eight in-depth sessions and panels, each lasting 1-hour-and-45-minutes. The sessions will be divided in three tracks.

Three days of learning and networking—plus the Happiness Bar

And don’t forget the Happiness Bar where registrants can get one-on-one help and answers for their WordPress questions.

WordCamp Ottawa 2014 will bring together hundreds of attendees and about 40 knowledgeable session speakers, some from our own WordPress community and others from distant centres, to present to you the latest and greatest about WordPress.

If you want to learn and meet people who share your interest in WordPress, this is the event to attend!

Session List

Introduction to WordPress

Presented by Jasmine Vesque, Rick Radko • Pre-camp Track

Introduction to WordPress is for you if you’re a beginner who wants to learn some of the main WordPress concepts and terms before the weekend sessions. There are no prerequisites for this session. At the session, you will learn about:

  • What WordPress is
  • Who uses it
  • What the WordPress dashboard is
  • WordPress content types
  • How to add content to a WordPress site, including images and video
  • How to add and manage menus, sidebar widgets, themes and plugins

The details

  • Introduction to WordPress takes place Thursday, May 1, 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. in Room 5050 of the Minto Centre at Carleton University
  • You need to register for this session separately. To register, please select the Pre-camp “Introduction to WordPress” ONLY option.
  • You can attend this session without attending the main WordCamp on the May 3 – 4 weekend.
  • WiFi will not be enabled during this session.

WordPress Site Clinic

Presented by Jasmine Vesque • Workshop Track

Need a second opinion for a website you’ve been working on? No problem! The WordPress Site Clinic puts panellists to the task of reviewing your site, offering recommendations related to design, content & site structure, and functionality.

If you are interested in having your site reviewed during this clinic, please register your site for review..

Level: All

Prerequisites: Register your site for review, only pre-registered sites will be reviewed.

Advancing your custom fields

Presented by Troy Chaplin • Code Creators Track

Do you often use custom fields in your custom themes? Have an interest in using them, but not sure how or why? Find the core setup not as user friendly for non-technical users as you would like? Then the Advanced Custom Fields plugin might be just the thing for you! From simple text fields or radio options, to more advanced features such as repeating fields and conditional logic, Advanced Custom Fields goes a long way in helping you take your custom fields to the next level by providing a wealth of options for your users.

This presentation will provide you with lots of ideas and samples of the various ways you can use the plugin to your advantage from the most commonly used features, to more advanced functionality including some that are found in a few of the plugins add-ons

Level: Intermediate developer, Advanced developer

Prerequisites: You should have a good knowledge of php, and creating and using variables.

Be the Perfect Client: A Guide to Working with Developers

Presented by Lucas Cherkewski • Content Creators Track

You’ve got an idea for a website, or you have an existing one, and you need someone who can help you out by building the site which will see your vision through. We’ll start by looking at what it takes to find a developer who’s easy to work with, and then focus on how to work with them effectively. You’ll learn how a good developer can save you money, and what you should do to be the perfect client that makes the whole process as smooth as possible.

Level: Beginner user

Prerequisites: