Stefanie A. Newton is the design and website wrangler for this year’s WordCamp DFW.
WordPress has enabled me to combine my technical and creative sides into a business that allows me to build comprehensive website solutions, due largely to the vast amount of available knowledge and assistance generously provided by others.
WordPress is open source software, you don’t have to pay anything to use it, and that fact helps drive the spirit of giving back that is so prevalent and why I’m glad to help organize this year’s WordCamp DFW. But how did I come to use WordPress?
My career with computers goes back a long way. Back to my senior year of high school working as a data entry clerk (at a time when you had to hire someone to “run the computer”). I worked my way up from there over the years to the level of software development, working with Pick BASIC, SQL, and VBA.
I started working on websites by creating my own, writing HTML in Notepad. Then I made a few for others the same way. Meanwhile, I had transitioned away from software development and was trying other types of work, but what I really wanted to do was work from home. I decided to start my own company, which at first focused on editing and proofreading, but quickly shifted to creating websites.
I needed a way for my clients to work with and maintain their own websites, so I tried one of the all-in-one hosted website builder options. While that was much better and allowed my clients to enter their own content and make some site changes, there were still drawbacks, such as frustrating interfaces and builder branding being inserted into the free versions of the user websites.
I started researching and comparing website frameworks and liked what I saw with WordPress. I was able to quickly learn from all of the tutorials, forums, blogs, and other resources available. After creating my own themes using the component libraries of Bootstrap and Foundation, I discovered the Genesis Framework by StudioPress. Now I create website solutions as nerdworker.com and work exclusively with WordPress and Genesis as my preferred tools.
As someone who considers themselves extremely introverted, I was slow to connect with the WordPress community, but eventually got up the nerve to attend our local Fort Worth Meetup. It was a great decision and I connected with welcoming and knowledgeable people there and also online through Twitter, Facebook, and Slack. While not without its share of drama at times, I can honestly say that you would be hard-pressed to find a group of people more welcoming and generous with their knowledge than the WordPress community. So, don’t be afraid to reach out and connect.
WordCamps allow you to take those connections to the next level. My first WordCamp was New York City 2014. It was exciting to be among so many others who also loved WordPress and spend two immersive days learning new things. It was also a chance to see so many people in person that I had only read about or corresponded with online.
Since then I have attended all of our rebooted local DFW WordCamps: 2014 through 2016. I have also participated as a volunteer and sponsor, as a way to give back to the community and help ensure that these events continue to be a helpful resource for everyone. In the future, I hope to attend WordCamps in many other regions as well.
This year, it’s exciting that we have expanded to a two-day event. I hope to see many familiar faces and new ones as well. Even if you’re new to attending, don’t miss this opportunity to learn from, and connect with, the larger WordPress community and say “Howdy!” to WordCamp DFW 2017.
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, speak at the event or help run it. We hope to see you there!