New to WordCamp? Here’s What to Expect

First and most important thing to know: You Are Welcome Here! It doesn’t matter whether you are new to WordPress, or aren’t familiar with the terminology. You are welcome whether or not you’ve gone to WordPress Meetups, or feel that you are somehow different from “people who go to WordCamps.” If you are interested in WordPress, WordCamp is for you, no matter who you are.

When you enter the University of the Sciences facilities, you’ll see a bright, accessible space. Registration is right inside the door, where our volunteers will greet you and give you your name tag, with a schedule (and some cool swag!) We’ll have coffee, tea and other breakfast-y things to eat and drink in the registration area, too.

We’ll feature three tracks of speakers (listed on your schedule), and the title of each talk will be posted with the level of knowledge recommended to get the most from the talk. Of course, you can go to any talk you like. New to WordPress? We will also have a WordPress 101 track — you can start with little or no knowledge of WordPress, and by the end of the day, you’ll have learned the basics of building a WordPress site and filling it with content.

You’ll also find a valuable aspect of WordCamp that’s not on the schedule: the “Hallway Track” — those informal, unplanned conversations you often have with people as you get a snack or coffee, or just sit out a session. Most people are happy to share what they know. It can be a great source of connection to the WordPress community, and you may find that you learn as much from those conversations as from a scheduled talk!

We’ll serve a nice lunch, with meat and veggie options. Lunchtime is another opportunity to meet other attendees in an informal, friendly setting. On Saturday evening, we’ll have a great afterparty. We aren’t all work and no play!
To help make sure that everyone feels comfortable at WordCamp Philly 2018, the event will be guided by our Code of Conduct. At its core, it says that people need to behave respectfully to one another, and it provides for remedies in the unlikely event that someone doesn’t.

On Sunday we hold a Contributor Day, which is an opportunity to learn how to become involved with the WordPress project itself. By no means is this only for developers! WordPress needs designers, quality testers, people to write documentation, develop training, translate into other languages and a lot more. At Contributor Day, people who are involved with the various teams will explain what they do and how you can contribute as well, if you are so inclined.

In short, you can expect to find a chance to learn from others, to share what you know, and to have fun doing it, at a friendly, welcoming event. We look forward to meeting you at WordCamp Philly 2018!