Here are my slides from my WordCamp Lancaster 2019 talk on “Advice for New WordPress Developers”. You can also see them on SlideShare.
Come Say Hello at WordCamp Lancaster 2019
If you happen to be at WordCamp Lancaster 2019 this weekend, come say hello. I’ll be presenting “Advice for New WordPress Developers” at 9:50 am tomorrow (April 27).
My talk will give an overview of the non-code elements of theme and plugin development for new developers to consider — presented from the viewpoint of a person who has tested hundreds of plugins and who has built both plugins and themes.
I’m looking forward to seeing you there!
Finishing 2018 on a High Note with Hallway Chats
What a great way to wrap up the year! I had the opportunity to talk with Liam Dempsey and Tara Claeys for their podcast, Hallway Chats. We talked about WordPress in higher education, the definition of success, the Walker Principle, theater and lots of things in between.
You can check out the episode on the Hallway Chats site — which includes a transcript — or download the podcast from the store in iTunes. Be sure to check out their other episodes. I’ve enjoyed listening to episodes with other members of the WordPress community and getting to know them better.
Hallway Chats is also on Twitter.
Making New Year’s Resolutions for 2019
I’m sitting here working on New Year’s resolutions, as I often do when I have a low-key New Year’s Eve. Yes, I actually write them down. And I look at the ones from last year to see if things turned out anywhere near what I had planned.
They never do.
But there is one thing I’ve gotten really good at over the past couple of years: recognizing that modest accomplishment is still accomplishment.
Watching Gutenberg from the Trenches
On my first full-time gig managing a university’s web presence, the head of the Criminal Justice department grumbled about a photo on her site of the building where the program was located. She didn’t have a specific criticism; whenever the subject came up, she just said it looked funny.
Months later she showed me a set of images she wanted to use for new pages and I finally realized: Criminal Justice. When she sees pictures she evaluates them solely from the standards of her profession, meaning crime scene photos. When she said the picture looked funny, she was trying to convey that she didn’t understand photography optimized for aesthetics rather than forensic use.
Susan Wrote This 