WordCamp Vancouver 2019 Session Proposals

2 minute read

The following are some WordCamp presentation proposals I sent in for WordCamp Vancouver 2019. They thought the second one, “Zombie plugins,” would be good. But unfortunately, once it got accepted, Amanda and I decided the timing isn’t great for me to attend WordCamp this year. Our youngest is only 6 months, and we will have just moved into our new fixer-upper house.

Anyway, here’s what I had proposed:

5 Mistakes Non-Developers Make Choosing WordPress Plugins

WordPress plugins allow you to make cool and useful websites, without knowing a lick of code. But there are some pitfalls non-developers tend to make when choosing them. Is it more expensive to pay for a premium plugin, or hire a developer to write custom code? Should you choose a theme that replaces plugins? Where should you get plugins from (and what should you pay for?) Can the WordPress community help you choose a plugin? If you need customizations, how can you find the most well-qualified developers? These are all questions I will answer, in order to help you make the best use of WordPress plugins.

Note: this was based off this WordPress Meetup presentation.

Zombie Plugins: What to do When Plugins get Abandoned

Sometimes, good WordPress plugins, even popular ones, get abandoned by their developers. It can be scary, especially if your website (or business) depends on them! They’re a major security concern and time sink.

Let’s understand why some WordPress plugins meet this end; how you can help keep them alive; and what you can do when they’re totally dead. There’s not only hope, but opportunity.

Note: I have a half dozen draft posts on this topic, but nothing published yet. Let me know in the comments if you’d be interested in learning about this.

Time Traveling for WordPress Blogs

In a few decades, someone will want to read your blog. But your hosting plan will be expired, the software that runs it will be woefully out-of-date, and your backups will be corrupted. Most likely, your data will be lost. Future generations will refer to our time as the “Digital Dark Age”.

Let’s explore the software, mediums, and organizations that could help preserve your blog’s stories for the future.

Note: this was going to be on the same topic as my posts on the Digital Dark Age and Your Blog and Preserve your Story with Print My Blog WordPress Plugin.

And just for completeness, this was my speaker bio.

Speaker Bio

Michael Nelson is author of Print My blog, developer for Event Espresso, WordPress core contributor, Meetup Organizer, small “b” blogger (cmljnelson.blog), and family man. Canadian, lived in Mexico and USA, of French and Irish descent, and, according to his family tree, 1000th part Mi’Kmaq.