Issue #119 Loop WP

Hi, friend. 👋

Welcome to Issue #119 of Loop WP!

Last time, we discussed the dominant WordPress UX and UI debate on social media. If you missed it, it was a very popular edition of my newsletter, so make sure you have a read.

Before we move on to this week’s topic, Brian Coords shared a superb clip from Jason Cohen and his insights on WordPress UX.

This week, we are discussing WordCamps. Before we get started, did you know I was one of the three lead organisers of the first-ever WordCamp in Northern Ireland?

(I’m probably one of the only organisers not to attend their own WordCamp…I had to fly to America, so I missed it. 😔)

Let’s go! 👇

WordCamp Netherlands Rescheduled

A few days ago, WordCamp Netherlands had to reschedule from September to November.

However, it was this tweet that initially caught my attention. 👇

There are many comments and opinions in reply to Jono’s tweet, and it’s worth reading them.

The official reason for rescheduling was:

Is it just a WordCamp Netherlands thing?

💡 Some commentators suggested that the rescheduling was down to the following:

• Poor planning

• Poor marketing

• WordCamp US is happening the week before

• Other events happening around the same time

• Change in guidelines/WordCamps since the pandemic

Not all of these comments were necessarily aimed at WordCamp Netherlands, but at WordCamps (WordCamp Central) in general.

Miriam Schwab (Head of WP Relations at Elementor and cofounder of Strattic Web) said this:

The Pandemic and Wider Impact

The last WordCamp Belfast was in 2018, and our sister WordCamp Dublin was last hosted in 2019.

🍀 Ireland and Northern Ireland (Belfast) are complex places. The two WordCamps alternated each year in our particular case, but nothing has happened since the pandemic.

There is no question that WordCamps' momentum suffered during the pandemic, with physical events cancelled and a shift to online events before a prolonged return to in-person events.

🤦‍♂️ The last time WordCamp Central posted on X (formerly Twitter) was 15 months ago, and the pinned tweet is related to the pandemic era.

The WordCamp Central YouTube has only produced six videos in the last year (10 if you count live streams)…that’s not good enough by today’s marketing standards.

52.86% Drop in WordCamps Year on Year

There were 70 WordCamps in 2023 compared to 33 in 2024 (there is still time for more WordCamps to appear this year), a 52.86% drop in WordCamps year over year.

⚠️ There were 26 WordCamps in 2022, which means that the increase in WordCamps in 2024 compared to 2022 is only 26.92% (or seven events).

Remember, from January to February of 2022, most countries were starting to remove all COVID restrictions as we moved to live in a “new normal”.

So, the fact that 26 WordCamps even happened in 2022 is impressive.

Can WordCamps Survive without Sponsors?

In short - No! (at least not in their current format.)

💶 Since exiting the COVID pandemic, we’ve had the “cost of living crisis” which have made everything more expensive than it ever was, including hosting a WordCamp.

I know from previously organising a WordCamp that raising funds was very difficult eight years ago but never mind now. Especially with WordCamps, which aims to have accessible ticket prices.

🌍 The success of WordCamp doesn’t just rely on a good organising team and marketing but also:

• The type - online or offline?

• The location - venue and other costs

• The number of people in the local WordPress community

You can be fighting an uphill battle before you even get started, and without the usual main sponsors, I don’t think most WordCamps would be able to exist today.

Katie Keith from Barn2 Media wrote an incredibly detailed blog post about her experience sponsoring for the first time last year.

There were many highlights in Katie’s post, but I want to draw you towards her comments at the end:

The Future of WordCamps

✋ Katie’s comments above stopped me in my tracks (and she spoke further about this at WordCamp Europe 2024).

With organisers and volunteers giving up so much time for free in preparation and during the WordCamp, it can be soul-destroying if an event is cancelled or turnout is low.

In no particular order, for WordCamps to be sustainable and grow (which will benefit not only the community but WordPress, too), I believe they should:

• Redesign the WordCamp Central website.

• Have an active presence on existing social media channels (and new)

• Update guidelines and produce marketing material.

• Create an in-house marketing/events team.

• Research other successful tech and marketing events and learn from these.

• Improve communications and marketing around all WordCamps to those “outside” of the community.

• Offer blanket event insurance outside of the US and Canada.

That’s not an exhaustive list, but if you’ve made it to this part of the email, you’ve done well, and I would love to know your thoughts friend.

That’s it for this week 👋

⏭️ Next week, I’m taking some time off.

So, there might not be a newsletter next week, but if there is, we will discuss accessibility, which this conversation has sparked.

Weekly WordPress News & Tips

Last week, Grammarly got a bit excited and pretty much destroyed it. 🤣

Check out the bottom of last week’s newsletter.

WordPress News & Tips are back, offering excellent and insightful content this week!

• Testing - An issue with block editor e2e test cross-version compatibility. (Felix Arntz)

• Celebrating Ollie Pro - Our first $10k and lessons learned in the first 30 days. (Mike McAlister)

• New Launch - Level-up Your Content Game. Content for your WordPress business. Written by specialists. (Jack Ketterhing)

• Big Changes - WooCommerce 9.2: Pre-release updates (WooCommerce)

• Editing the Cart Block - WooCommerce Visual Hook Guide: Cart Page (Block Version). (Rodolfo Melogli)

• Roadmap - WooCommerce in 2024 and Beyond: Roadmap update. (WooCommerce)

• Survey Says - The State of Enterprise WordPress survey is a collaborative effort by key brands in the enterprise WordPress community, hosting organisations, and The Scale Consortium. (BigBite)

💡 This section isn’t quite back to where I want it to be yet, but it’s getting there.

✅ If you have any news you’d like to contribute friend, reply to this email and let me know.

If you have a question about this email or WordPress, reply, and I will answer you as soon as possible.

👋 Until next time,

Simon