WCEU Porto and Talk

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the first WordCamp Europe post-COVID. This year it was based in Porto, and it offered a different experience to the last one I attended in Berlin in 2019, not least because I was chosen as a speaker for the first time and gave a Lightning Talk about WP-DXP.

The conference brought together WordPress enthusiasts from all over the world to share ideas, connect with others, and learn from some of the cleverest minds in the WordPress community.

One of the highlights of the event for me was to be able to give a Lightning Talk, which was an ambition I’d had since Berlin. The audience was engaged and afterwards a number of people asked some great questions, and it was a pleasure to be able to connect with others who are passionate about the same subject.

It was also great to be able to attend the wide range of talks and workshops that were on offer. There were sessions on everything from design and development to content creation and business strategy, and it was great to be able to learn more about a range of topics.

My favourite talks were Connected Commerce: Evolving to Multichannel Selling by Beka Rice, A New Era of WordPress Themes is Here: Block Themes by Rich Tabor, and Content Creators Are Users, Too: The Crucial Importance of Carefully Crafted Editorial Experiences by Phil Scrumm and Helen Hou-Sandi. Each of them provided thought-provoking ideas and suggestions for the future, and are well worth checking out.

And of course the Q&A by Matt Mullenweg at the end of the conference rounded things off in the usual way – probing questions and interesting answers…

Then outside of the conference, I was also lucky enough to spend time with my family exploring the city as it was a half-term week. We found it was a great location for those with younger children as everything is close by, and we were able to tour the Taylor’s port house, eat and drink by the river, and even found a chocolate shop. We found that Friday evening on the riverside was full of culture, atmosphere and fun!

Of course, no WordCamp would be complete without the after-party, and the one in Porto did not disappoint. It was a fantastic opportunity to relax, unwind, and connect with other attendees in a more informal setting. I was able to meet some incredible people and make some valuable connections that I’m sure will benefit my work with WordPress in the future.