WordCamp Session Recommendations For Non-Technical Attendees

There are A LOT of people who dismiss WordCamp because they think it’s only for developers, designers, and techies, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

I’ll be honest… I skipped many of the first WordCamps Brian attended because I thought they were more for developers. But then I took a chance, went with Brian to a WordCamp, and I was blown away. And not just by the content and sessions (which were amazing), but by the people. And yes, there were plenty of sessions for non-developers to attend, just as there are at WordCamp Sacramento.

In Fact, we have an entire day dedicated to beginner sessions, and a variety of non-technical sessions the next day to help you improve your content, website, search engine rankings, and more.

Check out our WordCamp session recommendations for non-techie attendees below.

And be sure to get your ticket today if you haven’t already because there are only a small number left!

Saturday Sessions

On Saturday, for the first time at WordCamp Sacramento, we’re running a Beginner Track — a sequential series of sessions designed to walk attendees step-by-step through the process of building/customizing a WordPress theme.

The sessions will also teach attendees how WordPress works, how to navigate the WordPress Dashboard, how to select a WordPress theme, and how to use WordPress. And it will cover popular plugins and provide recommendations.

There is also LOTS of time built into the schedule to get your specific questions answered. This is a HUGE opportunity to have professionals directly help you with your WordPress website and answer your questions.

Here’s an overview of the Beginner Track sessions:

WordPress Beginner Track: Introduction

Here is an opportunity to spend sometime, hands on building a website. This will be a workshop were you will be able to build a site on your computer. So bring your computer with DesktopServer installed and get ready to build a WordPress website.

This session will be an introduction to WordPress, how WordPress works, and local development with DesktopServer.

WordPress Beginner Track: The Dashboard

Learning and working inside the Dashboard is an important skill. In this session you will get a walk through on how to use the elements in the WordPress Dashboard and tips to help you use WordPress more efficiently and effectively.

WordPress Beginner Track: Wrap Up, Help, Q&A

This session is dedicated to answering any and all questions related to the WordPress Beginner Track morning sessions.

• First, we’ll wrap up the morning sessions with a quick overview.
• Then the instructors will take the stage to answer any and all questions you may have.
• Finally, there will be time for some extra help if needed (or you can get to lunch early and avoid any lines!

WordPress Beginner Track: Themes

When you develop a WordPress site one of the key steps is picking your theme. In this session, we’ll answer questions like:

• Where can I find reliable WordPress themes?
• What determines if a WordPress theme will be great for my project?
• What is the difference between a premium and a free theme?
• What is a WordPress page builder and should I use one?
• Can I customize a theme?

WordPress Beginner Track: Plugins

If you have a WordPress website and now want to add more functionality, this session is for you. In this session, we’ll cover how plugins can extend what you can do with and on your website, where to find plugins, and provide plugin recommendations for specific functionality like social sharing, photo galleries, selling digital products, search engine optimization (SEO), image optimization, and more.

WordPress Beginner Track: Deployment

So far the WordPress Beginner Track has taken attendees through:

• What WordPress is and how it works
• Getting started with local development
• Understanding the WordPress Dashboard
• How to use WordPress to add/update content, add images, video, and audio, publish a blog post, edit the menu, edit widget content, and more
• Selecting, using, and customizing WordPress themes
• Finding and using WordPress plugin, including plugin recommendations

Attendees who have followed along throughout the entire track will now have a WordPress site built and an understanding of how it works and how it can be customized.

Now it’s time to deploy it up to a host — to put it into your hosting account so the rest of the world can see the website you have created. This session will walk you through that process and include time for questions.

WordPress Beginner Track: Wrap Up, Help, Q&A

This session is dedicated to answering any and all questions related to the WordPress Beginner Track afternoon sessions.

• First, we’ll wrap up the afternoon sessions with a quick overview.
• Then the instructors will take the stage to answer any and all questions you may have.
• Finally, there will be time for some extra help if needed!

Pop In And Out Of The Beginner Track

While the Beginner Track is designed to walk attendees through building a WordPress site step-by-step, if you already have a WordPress site and you’re simply looking for help on how to use it, improve it, and get better results, you can pop in an out of the workshop as needed.

For example, you may want to skip the final Beginner Track session on deployment (because your site is already live), and instead attend the lightning talks:

• How to Develop a Color Palette for your Website
• Fun With Fonts: Using The Right Fonts For Your WordPress Website
• How To Optimize Images For SEO

You can then wrap up the day learning about Analytics and tracking data from your website to see and understand what’s happening and where improvements can be made.

Sunday Sessions

Depending on what you’re doing with your website, there are three different options to kick off Sunday’s learning session:

• If recurring revenue and memberships are your thing, you can learn about Launching Membership Sites And The Nitty Gritty Business of a Success Launch
• If you want to build a tribe or community, you can learn about Building Community To Supercharge Your Niche Blog
• If you’re interested in performance and site speed, you should check out WordPress Performance: Foundation And Tactics

Then there is a session on Nonprofit Website Best Practices that anyone with a website will find insightful, followed by the Blogging Monetization And Success Panel, which will be moderated by me and features four successful Sacramento area bloggers.

Next, you’ll gain valuable tips and tools to get more bang for your buck and bigger results from your content in the session I Wrote My Blog Post, Now What?.

After the Break, it’s time for lightning talks — one session split into two shorter talks. Non-developers can choose from two pairings:

• Pursuing Your Creative Passion: Turn Your Side Hustle Into A Full Time Gig
• Setting Up Your Own Podcast And Vlog

OR…

• Introduction To Child Theming
• Introduction To The Jetpack WordPress Plugin

Next, the sessions return to full length and there are two options to choose from:

• Learn about how to get the help you need when you need it in the session WordPress: What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do
• If you’re interested in marketing and list building, check out the session on How To Build An Email List And Generate Qualified Leads Using WordPress.

Finally, to round out your WordCamp Sacramento experience, select one of two last sessions:

• If you’re interested in media or press coverage, the session Building A Journalist-Friendly Online Pressroom With WordPress is a great choice.
• If you’re interested in improving your search engine rankings, the session on WordPress Technical SEO; Best Practices For Publishers and eCommerce is right up your alley.

Expand Your Skill Set And Knowledge About WordPress

As you can see, WordCamps aren’t just for developers, designers, or techies. WordCamp Sacramento has a variety of sessions designed to help anyone with a WordPress website or blog who wants to improve their site.

Tickets are still available, but there aren’t many left.

Get Your Ticket Today