Notes from the WordPress General Meetup, June 8th, 2023.
News and Updates
Upcoming WordCamps
- WordCamp Europe 8 June–10 June
- WordCamp Cartagena, España 10 June–11 June
- WordCamp Montclair, NJ 24 June
- WordCamp Iloilo City, Iloilo, Philippines 8 July
- WordCamp Kampala 5 August–6 August
Introductions
Twelve attendees tonight, join us next month as we aim to arrive at an unlucky thirteen total attendees!
Our icebreaker during introductions, generated by our AI buddy, ChatGPT:
If you had to describe your WordPress skills as a food, what would it be? (TV Dinner, Gourmet meal, Paleo, etc…)
Presentation
The “All You Can Eat Buffet” of WordPress
Carol leads an informal review of WordPress site’s constructed by our attendees.
One of our attendees pulled up their site and we walked through the site and provided feedback on the site’s design, user experience, and construction. For the sake of privacy, all notes are anonymized.
Generally Useful Notes and Information
Video hosting
Hosting videos, especially larger videos, can be problematic. Videos are, by nature, large files so they’ll take up a lot of hard-drive space and they will also load slowly since your server is likely not optimized to stream video. Instead, we recommend you using video hosting services such as Vimeo.
Font Size, Color Contrast, and Accessibility
Using slightly larger font sizes is generally helpful to ensure visitors can read your content.
Ensuring your text has sufficient color contrast from it’s background will assist reading as well.
Links in body text should always be underlined.
Use accessibility tools such as Axe or Lighthouse to help find these kinds of accessibility issues on your site.
Additional accessibility resources can be found in Resources, Tools, Tips and Tricks article.
Question: How can you tell if the site you’re looking at is built on WordPress?
Tools such as What WordPress Theme Is That? can tell.
Javascript and No-Script Mode
Beware of visual flourishes and animations which hide key parts of the website when Javascript is disabled.
AI Generated Notes by Krisp.ai AKA Riklan
We have covered the following topics:
Introductions: Attendees introduced themselves by sharing their names, businesses, and what they do with WordPress. They also answered an icebreaker question about describing their WordPress skills as a food.
Website Redesign: The group discussed the recent redesign of the Arizona WP website by one of their volunteers. They encouraged attendees to check out the new site and attend next month’s meetup where the volunteer will deconstruct it and explain how he built it.
Meetup Details: The organizers provided details about upcoming meetups including Divi Meetup on first Thursday of every month, Tempe Meetup on second Thursday of every month, and Advanced Development Meetup on last Thursday (except November & December) each month. They also mentioned that all meetups are sponsored by different companies who provide support in various ways such as pizza or meeting space.
Upcoming Events: The group shared information about upcoming WordCamps happening around the world including WordCamp Europe in Athens Greece happening soon followed by other events in Cartagena, Montclair New Jersey, Philippines Campala before culminating with WordCamp US at National Harbor Maryland from August 24th to 26th.
Sponsors & Support: Attendees were informed that all meetups are organized voluntarily without any financial compensation from WordPress or anyone else for that matter. Instead they rely on sponsors like Radiate WP agency which pays for minor things like meetup fees while Cahoots provides free meeting space along with Blue Host who often sponsor pizzas for attendees.
Open Forum Discussion: During this part of the meetup attendees had an open forum discussion where they could ask questions or share feedback regarding anything related to WordPress development or design work etcetera
Meeting
Accessibility Tools: The meeting discussed various accessibility tools that can be used to ensure websites are accessible for all users. These tools include the Wave Evaluation, Lighthouse, and AXE. The team also emphasized the importance of building sites with an eye towards accessibility from the start rather than relying on one-click solutions.
Website Theme Detection: The team discussed ways to detect website themes and plugins using online tools such as What WP Theme Is That? This is useful for identifying customized or proprietary themes that may not be immediately recognizable.
Inspector Accessibility Tool: The Inspector Accessibility Tool was mentioned as a built-in tool in Chrome and other web browsers that allows developers to analyze websites for accessibility issues. It was noted that this tool can be accessed by right-clicking on a webpage and selecting “Inspect.”
Accessibility of Website: During the meeting, the team discussed the accessibility of their website. They talked about how links in the body should have underlines for people who are color blind. They also mentioned that menus and navigation are an exception to this rule because they’re obvious. The team suggested using tools like Lighthouse or AXE to check for color contrast and recommended making changes based on their recommendations.
Goal of Website: Another topic discussed during the meeting was figuring out what is the goal of their website. The team suggested having a clear message on what they want visitors to do when they come to their site, whether it’s buying something, signing up for something or learning something.
Use of Javascript: The use of Javascript was also brought up during the meeting as a concern since some important information doesn’t display if scripts are turned off. However, it was noted that most users don’t turn off Javascript anymore so it may not be a major issue but still worth considering.
Feedback on Website Design: Lastly, there was feedback given on how well-designed and functional their WordPress website is despite being built by someone with limited skills in web development. The team appreciated seeing progress made and encouraged more sharing in future meetings while offering constructive criticism where necessary.
Accessibility Importance: During the meeting, the importance of accessibility was discussed. The group emphasized that it is crucial to consider accessibility when designing websites. They also mentioned that real-world problems can be seen in live lessons and how they can be fixed.
Web Hosting Options: Different web hosting options were discussed during the meeting, including Blue Host, Go Daddy, and Siteground. The group recommended these hosts for beginners or those with smaller sites due to their affordability and WordPress-specific options.
Domain Registration: The group talked about domain registration and recommended using a registrar like Go Daddy or Blue Host if you’re just starting out as it makes configuration easier. They also mentioned that domains can easily be transferred between registrars if needed.
Slack Channel Sign-Up: A Slack channel was introduced during the meeting where members could chat directly with each other about WordPress-related topics. To sign up for this channel, members had to visit Arizona WP dot org’s website and click on “Join Slack.”
Community Support: Throughout the meeting, community support was emphasized as an essential aspect of learning WordPress effectively. Members were encouraged to ask questions in channels like Burning Questions or Burning Something where others could help them find solutions quickly without having to go through individual chats.