Category Archives: Sponsor Showcase

E-commerce: Are you Ready?

eCommerce

The following guest post comes from Kobayashi Online, a Toronto-based agency that offers a comprehensive, one-stop-shop solution for small and medium-sized businesses in web design, web hosting, email campaigns, plus logo and print design. They have been an active participant in Toronto’s WordPress community for several years.

In Canada, eight percent of overall retail will be accounted for by online spending. Forrester Research, an independent technology and market research company, predicts that online retail spending in Canada will increase from $20.6 billion to $33.8 billion in 2018. As such, e-commerce or the purchase of goods and services over the internet, is becoming an increasing vital aspect of any business.

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WiredTree Sponsor Logo

Sponsor Showcase: WiredTree

WiredTree, a provider of managed virtual private servers, dedicated servers, and hybrid servers, has announced the introduction of two new Pure SSD hosting platforms. WiredTree’s new low-cost Pure SSD Virtual Private Servers and Hybrid Servers take advantage of the incredible performance advantage of solid state technology to provide an outrageously fast hosting platform.

Please visit wiredtree.com for more information.

Guest Post: Why WordPress Makes Mobile Easy

WPtouch Mobile

The following post comes from Dale Mugford of BraveNewCode, the company behind WPtouch Pro, a longtime supporter of Toronto’s WordPress community and sponsor of WordCamp Toronto 2013.

WordPress is hands-down the best publishing platform on the web for making mobile WordPress websites and publishing on the go easy. I wanted to share some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned after working over the past 5 years on WPtouch, a popular WordPress plugin solution for making your WordPress site mobile. I’ve really come to love how WordPress really makes adapting to the mobile revolution as simple as installing themes and plugins.

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Sponsor Showcase: New Horizons Media

New Horizons MediaNew Horizons Media is a Toronto-based video production company that helps Canadian non-profits and small businesses get their message out with cost-effective, professional videos & content solutions.

We always say that if a picture is worth a thousand words, video delivers 25 of them per second!

Why are you sponsoring WordCamp Toronto?

We use WordPress for our website and we love it! There’s a great community in Toronto that uses WordPress and we want to support it.

What is your one tip for WordCamp attendees?

Use lots of video! WordPress and video are a match made in heaven :-)

A big thank-you to New Horizons Media for lending their video production expertise to WordCamp Toronto 2013.

Sponsor Showcase: WP Engine

WP EngineWP Engine is the one of the most mature premium managed hosting platforms for websites and apps built with WordPress. WP Engine powers tens of thousands of websites, delivering the fastest, most reliable, and most secure web experience. Businesses large and small have come to rely on WP Engine’s exceptional customer service team that specializes in solving problems ranging from troubleshooting plugins, making themes scalable, and mitigating site migration headaches.

The crew at WP Engine have been big supporters of WordCamp Toronto for the last couple of years, and we’re very happy to see team members Austin Gunter and Mark Kelnar both stepping up to present for 2013. (You can see the rest of their fabulous team right here.)

Check out WP Engine’s pricing plans to find the right fit for your needs. Every plan comes with a risk-free, 60-day money-back guarantee.

Why is WP Engine sponsoring WordCamp Toronto 2013?

WP Engine loves WordPress and loves what WordCamps do for the WordPress community. We enjoy the opportunity to not only support, but also contribute back by sponsoring, attending and speaking at WordCamps. WordCamp Toronto is definitely a mover and shaker in the WordPress community so we love getting the opportunity to be a part of WordCamp Toronto 2013.

What tip do you have for WordCampers in Toronto?

For security, keep your passwords super strong. Always keep WordPress up to date. Interact with the people in your local WordPress meetup, and use a quality managed WordPress hosting provider like WP Engine.

Launch Philosophies for new WordPress Sites

Launching WordPress Sites

This post comes from our friends at Radii Production. The Radii team specializes in a wide range of services, including web design and development, strategy and marketing, managed services, and web hosting. A big thanks to Radii Production for sponsoring WordCamp Toronto 2013!

WordPress excels for its ease in launching. But because it’s so quick and simple to get a site live, it’s tempting to forego best practices that ultimately result in a better website—tempting, but completely and irrefutably a bad idea. Instead, the method we’ve found to be the most successful takes an additional two steps before launch, steps which help to create a better experience for clients and for the end audience.

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Humber College

Sponsor Showcase: Humber College, School of Media Studies & Information Technology

There is a story to be told here. How will you tell it?

With the largest combination of Media, Arts, and IT programs offered in any college in Canada, there is a story to be told on multiple platforms.

The School of Media Studies & Information Technology at Humber features some of the most advanced facilities and equipment available for students to learn, practise and develop skills in real-life settings.

The School of Media Studies & Information Technology offers the largest college-level combination of media-sector programs in Canada. From foundational offerings to highly specialized programs, our faculty, staff, administrators and industry advisors work together with our students to develop job-ready professionals equipped to succeed in their chosen field.

With a comprehensive portfolio of more than 30 programs including Bachelor Degrees, Advanced Diplomas, Diplomas, Certificates and Graduate Certificates we offer a broad range of career possibilities in media, arts and information technology.

Bluehost WordPress Hosting

Sponsor Showcase: Bluehost

Bluehost has been providing quality web hosting solutions to businesses and individuals since 1996. Our goal is to provide outstanding services for the best possible price. To achieve these goals we are constantly innovating and upgrading our services at no additional cost to our customers. Come and join the millions of other website owners that have already chosen Bluehost and see how we can help you with your site.

From the business owner to the individual who desires full functionality on a small budget, Bluehost provides your complete web hosting solution.

Please visit Bluehost.com for more information.

Dreamhost Sponsor Spotlight

Sponsor Showcase: DreamHost

DreamHost is a global Web hosting and cloud services provider with over 350,000 customers and 1.2 million blogs, websites and apps hosted. The company offers a wide spectrum of Web hosting and cloud services including Shared Hosting, Virtual Private Servers (VPS), Dedicated Server Hosting, Domain Name Registration, the cloud storage service, DreamObjects, and the cloud computing service DreamCompute.

Please visit DreamHost.com for more information.

As a personal aside: I’ve been a happy DreamHost customer since April 2006. They’re my go-to provider for domain name registration, in part because of their free domain WHOIS privacy service.

A big thanks to DreamHost for their support of WordCamp Toronto 2013!

artifakt Communications

Sponsor Showcase: artifakt Communications

artifakt Communications is a digital strategy agency specializing in WordPress website and plugin development and consultation, online presence, and complete digital strategy solutions. They provide services in writing & editing, social media strategy, digital newsletters & flyers, and digital publishing.

Industries that artifakt has a particular focus on include:

  • Realtors and Real Estate Agents
  • Real Estate Marketing and Listing Sites
  • Hotels, Hospitality, and Tourism Operations
  • Food and Beverage Operations, including restaurants, bars, and nightclubs
  • Artists, musicians, and DJs

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