Author Archives: Andy McIlwain

Featured speaker: Brian Rotsztein

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Brian’s session is Current trends in SEO for businesses and bloggers.

Since 1997, Brian has worked with clients of all sizes on their websites and Internet presence, including online marketing strategies, search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, web design, social media, and conversion tactics. You can connect with Brian on his website, Instagram, and Twitter @brianrotsztein.

Why did you choose your topic?

I’ve been doing SEO since 1997. While things were relatively stable for a while there, a lot has happened recently and so I’d like to provide an update. I run brands like Uniseo which is a full service web design, SEO, and Internet marketing services provider and training centre, the WordPress support and maintenance service WP Phone Support, and Montreal-based RedstoneX Web Design, and we get a lot of questions about the industry, so I am going to share some of the big ones.

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Sponsor spotlight: BoldGrid

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Thanks to BoldGrid for helping make WordCamp Toronto 2018 possible.

 

 

BoldGrid is a website builder powered by WordPress. It is a free set of WordPress plugins, themes, and other content that allows site creation and management similar to non-WordPress website builders.

By placing WordPress more in line with DIY site builder solutions on the market, our mission is not only to make WordPress more accessible and easy for beginners to utilize, but also automate and streamline typical WordPress tasks to provide a fast, creator-friendly platform that even web professionals will appreciate.

Experience WordPress as a website builder, including: free pre-built themes, drag and drop editing, integrated image banks, simplified photo editing, built-in staging, automated backups, and so much more.

BoldGrid will have you creating professional looking WordPress sites in minutes!

Sponsor spotlight: Boom Host

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Thanks to Boom Host for helping make WordCamp Toronto 2018 possible.

BoomHost

Headquartered right here in Toronto, Boom Host provides cost-effective enterprise-grade Managed WordPress hosting under a single-tenant model using SSD powered dedicated Virtual Private Servers.

Boom Host also offers the additional choice of optimised WordPress hosting under our shared hosting model which make use of powerful SSD dedicated servers with no overselling. We’ll help you choose which is the best option for you!

Our servers are physically located in the Greater Toronto Area, helping your website load even faster for your regionally-targeted audience. We specialise in carefully engineered Canadian data privacy and protection, security, and performance backed by an unrivaled commitment to 24×7 technical support and assistance.

As a proud Canadian company, we provide billing in our native Canadian dollar. (USD billing’s also available if you need it.)

Why wait? Get the reliable and lightning-fast Canadian WordPress hosting that your website and its visitors deserve!

Featured speaker: Christie Witt

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Christie’s session is Migrating 1,300 websites from HTML to WordPress.

Christie specializes in corporate brand implementation across both print and digital platforms. Christie graduated from the Graphic Design course at Algonquin College, specializing in web/interactive design and motion graphics. Her hobbies are fine arts, traveling, and being a CSS whiz.

Why did you choose your topic?

I learned a lot of valuable lessons during the massive 1300 website migrations from HTML to WordPress that would definitely benefit other WordPress users.

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Sponsor spotlight: Bluehost

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Thanks to Bluehost for helping make WordCamp Toronto 2018 possible.

Bluehost has been a WordPress partner since 2005 and powers over 1 million WordPress sites worldwide.

Their objective is to help customers, whether novice or pro, create a thriving online presence at an affordable price.

With a team of in-house tech experts available 24/7, Bluehost dedicates time and resources to providing the best support and services in the industry.

Join millions of other site owners and see what Bluehost can do for you and your online presence.

Hello from DreamHost!

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The following is a guest post from our sponsors at DreamHost.

Pop quiz – Where can you go in 2018 AD to see raptors walking through maple leaves? (And ok, let’s just assume Jurassic Park is still in ruins.) The answer is Toronto!

DreamHost loves Toronto!

Once we realized that sponsoring WordCamp Toronto would mean we could SEE raptors with our own eyes, we knew what we had to do.

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Featured speaker: Troy Fawkes

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Troy’s session is The One Stop Marketing Shop: Gutenberg’s Marketing Toolbox.

Troy has managed and developed just under a hundred personal and client WordPress websites over 8 years. He runs a 7 person digital marketing agency, Delta Growth, that conducts SEO, paid ads, email marketing and conversion rate optimization campaigns on all types of sites, the majority of which are WordPress.

Why did you choose your topic?

I know that WordPress sometimes fights the reputation of being a small business CMS, or at least that their competitors like to try to suggest that in their sales material. I wanted to show off WordPress’s extensibility by talking about how it has helped businesses of all sizes achieve success across all of the major digital marketing categories.

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Featured speaker: Juan Pablo Gomez

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Juan’s session is CSS Grid, Gutenberg, and the future of layouts.

From Juan: “NYC based web designer. Built my first table-based site in 2004. Currently designing things for FC Harlem and New York City FC. UX Design Mentor at Bloc.io.”

Why did you choose your topic?

This is the most exciting technology that’s come to browsers since CSS was released. Gutenberg now means a new wave of exciting new themes and websites!

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Featured speaker: Adrian Tobey

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Adrian Tobey’s session is Democratizing Digital Marketing: Why we need to create a better user experience.

From Adrian: “I’m taking my 10 years of marketing and 5 years of WordPress development experience to create new tools for the small businesses of today so that they can grow their businesses quickly without feeling as if they have to learn a whole new language.”

Why did you choose your topic?

The WordPress community has so much to offer the public in terms of both content and software. However, WordPress is losing a battle to the closed source sector.

Every year the SAAS platforms are posting larger user acquisition numbers than WordPress and affiliated platforms. I believe this is because the SAAS industry has truly raised the bar on expectations when it comes to usability.

With the advent of Gutenberg, not only is WordPress signaling to the world that they are ready to compete and deliver a stellar user experience, but they are signalling to developers and publishers alike that we need to get our act together before if we want to stay relevant in 2019.

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Three Reasons to Invest in Great Website Content

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The following is a guest post by Andrea Zoellner. Andrea is the Chief Content Creator at SiteGround, a web hosting provider that specializes in powerful tools for WordPress webmasters.

She will be presenting back-to-back sessions on content at WordCamp Toronto 2018:

  • 10:30, Room 3 COPYWRITING FOR BETTER UX
  • 11:30, Room 2 STORYTELLING WITH GUTENBERG: HOW TO USE THE NEW EDITOR TO BOOST YOUR BLOG

Catch her at the event to talk about WordPress, content strategy, and learn more about SiteGround hosting and affiliate opportunities.

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