Jennifer Johannesen runs Low to the Ground, the Toronto-based WordPress development and training company she founded in 2008. Jennifer has almost 20 years of experience developing websites for clients and digital agencies, and for the past five years has worked exclusively with WordPress. At last count she has built just over 200 custom WP sites for a wide range of clients.

Jennifer thinks of WordPress as the Great Enabler – helping individuals to realize their dreams and organizations to achieve their goals. Because she doesn’t get out much, she’s especially excited about coming to Toronto WordCamp and meeting fellow WP enthusiasts!

Jennifer is also an author and active blogger with a particular interest in bioethics and patient advocacy.

Presentation: WordPress for your Small (but Mighty!) Business

Using real-life examples and helpful dos and don’ts, we will look at how WordPress can be implemented to accomplish your business goals.

What do you want people to learn from your presentation?

WordPress sites are what you want them to be!  You don’t have to be penned in by the blog and the sidebar.  Options abound…  See what others are doing, discover new themes, get some helpful tips for getting started on your small business site.

What attracted you to WordPress in the first place?

At the time I started making WordPress sites (5 years ago) there were several platforms available that looked more or less equal.  WP was only marginally more popular!  I installed several types on my own site, compared the interfaces and usability and never looked back.  Core reasons?  Options, configurability, awesome community!

What are you most looking forward to at WordCamp Toronto?

Meeting other developers, seeing some familiar faces, hanging out with my peers.  This is my first WordCamp – time to get out and see what all the fuss is about!

Why did you decide to speak?

Great opportunity to share a bit of what I know.  Also, it’s so hard for people just getting started to parse through information online – I love that I can provide some helpful info to shortcut the maze of all the advice out there.

What is your favourite plugin or theme, and why?

Theme: Canvas by WooThemes. It can do anything you tell it to do.

Plugin: Lately, WPML. The last 4 sites I’ve implemented included some combination of English, French, Spanish and Chinese – the plugin is robust and the support is great.