In this talk, we will look at what WordPress looks like as an Application Data Graph and how WPGraphQL enables a GraphQL API for WordPress and allows us to interact with the WordPress graph via GraphQL queries and mutations. In previous talks, (WordCamp US 2017, WordCamp for Publishers 2017, WordCamp Orange County 2017) I’ve talked a lot about the history of WordPress APIs and how GraphQL compares to them and helps solve some problems of using other APIs. This talk will focus less on the history of why WPGraphQL came to be and how it compares with other existing WP APIs, and focus more on how to use WPGraphQL, how to extend WPGraphQL to work for your site. We’ll start by looking at basic usage of WPGraphQL: querying posts, pages, terms, etc. Then we’ll explore some features of the query language such as variables, aliases, and field arguments. Then we’ll look at Mutations (creating, updating and deleting data) and we’ll discuss how WPGraphQL handles Authentication and Authorization, and other features like fragments. Throughout the talk we’ll look at the internals of WPGraphQL and how it goes from a request to the WordPress server to resolving data back to the client, and how it makes use of core WordPress technology to efficiently resolve data.

The internet is the single most effective information sharing tool in all of history. We can build on the work and progress of others in a completely unprecedented way. The implications for the progress of humanity are both serious and exciting! But it’s also in danger. Find out why I think open systems and the open web will steer our future or how the lack of them will ruin it.

Do you know that if you have a picture of a duck having it face left or right can increase your conversions by 40%? Think this sounds silly? It is but backed by research. Spend some time to learn about what a/b testing is, what things to test, testing methodology and the best tools to use for your site. Everyone will get a handout of the very same checklist I use when A/B testing our client’s sites. One of our clients, an insurance company, increased leads by making just a small 2px change. When you launch a website, you are guessing. Sure the guesses are educated based on experience and data, but you can maximize your ROI with good A/B testing.

This talk will cover everything you need to know in order to create a plugin to start using on your own site. You won’t need to have any prior PHP or other coding knowledge to walk away with something you can use right away.

Imposter Syndrome affects minorities and Women in Tech at a much higher rate than in other professions. Dashon Hawkins and Sheila Hoffman will share their own experience on this important topic.

Zeek Interactive has been a successful agency since 1995. Steve will share his stories and tips for managing client expectations, strategies for proper communication and thoughts on how to motivate a team. This session applies to everyone from freelancers to agencies.

Far too often we build website from our own perspective. Putting yourself in your audiences’ shoes is much easier said than done. We’ll take a look at how visitors view your website and how to turn their frustrations into success.

Making changes on a live server is always risky. And when things go wrong it’s not easy to diagnose the problems. You can setup a staging server for changes, but you still have to deploy files, and that takes time. Spinning up a local environment is essential for WordPress development. And it’s also very easy to do, thanks to Local by Flywheel. I will show you how to quickly spin up a local site. We will cover SSL, debugging, database management, and other features to help you safely build better quality WordPress sites in less time.

In this talk, I discuss the roadmap of a typical WordPress site getting “hacked”. From start to finish, we look at how victims can be identified, how sites are breached, how persistent backdoors are established, and how the attackers will exploit the compromised site. I avoid getting too overtly technical in my descriptions, instead opting to focus on the mindset and overall process of the attack. This enables less-technical website owners to get a stronger conceptual grasp of what exactly goes on during a breach. It can be overwhelming for inexperienced webmasters to adequately defend against a threat they don’t understand. This talk defines these threats in a concrete way, which is much more compelling than the nebulous concept of “hackers” in general. Viewers leave the room empowered to take a proactive outlook on the security of their web presence.

After spending several years working in a large advertising agency I found the most useful tools for creative collaboration and building teams in an improv class. In this session I’ll share how to apply the basic rules of improv to build collaborative teams, who come up with more creative ideas and have more fun while doing it.