My background is in linguistics, and for me, making websites is like playing a really fun linguistics game with real-time rewards. I built my first WordPress website in 2013 and have been enamored with WordPress ever since.
I don’t consider myself to be a designer (though I *love* good design) or a developer (yet) — I have training in library science and information architecture, so my approach to website implementation really focuses on the content and how to make it usable and accessible.
I love WordPress for how functional it is – how possible it is to make websites *do* things – and how those functions and possibilities come from the incredible community that’s grown around it. Off the web, I do a lot with food (source, grow, cook, eat), yoga, and small child wrangling.”
Presentation: WordPress Development for Non-Developers: An Introductory Tour Under the Hood
“I started digging around template files on my 2nd WordPress site and was thrilled to see what kinds of changes I could make once I figured out where all of the inputs were coming from.
I’ve heard feedback from other Camps that there’s often a gap between user- and developer-geared tracks, where the latter tends to assume a level of understanding that leaves new developers a bit lost. I wanted to give a presentation that offers a gentler, laypeoples transition from the front end to the underside of the system.”
What unique perspective are you bringing to this talk?
“In my work as an information professional, I’ve kept one foot on each side of the machine, so to speak — I worked in library systems but always kept shifts on the reference desk, for example.
Knowing how the back end of a system works *and* how users approach the system from the front end interface give me insight and language that helps convey technical concepts to people who aren’t familiar with IT jargon.
I’m also really great with metaphors as a means of explaining abstract concepts.”
What’s one really cool thing people will discover during your session?
“My session is geared toward super users, not-yet developers, and curious parties who want to start digging into the programming and moving parts that make WordPress work like magic.
People will see – and hopefully, start to understand, the code underneath the interface that makes a WordPress site tick.
We’ll start learning about the various moving parts that work together to make WordPress a true content management system, and explore safe and effective ways to make custom changes to the system.”
Do you have a good WordPress related story, anecdote or memory?
“When I started working exclusively with WordPress, I remember telling my husband, “I wish I could find a group of people to talk to about this work, to bounce problems off of…” On a whim I looked up WordPress on Meetup and discovered that the largest and longest-running WP meetup in my area met 15 minutes from my house. When I attended the first meeting, it was like swimming with a school of like-minded fish.”
What are you most looking forward to at WordCamp Toronto?
“I love the energy and camaraderie at WordCamps, and being with a group of people who speak my language. I also have a particular fondness for Toronto and appreciate any good excuse for a visit up north.”