WordCamp London, in it’s 4th year in 2018, is an excellent event that I’d recommend to anyone working with WordPress. Whether you are a seasoned developer or have only just starting working with WordPress, it’s worth taking the time to attend one year.
The entire 2 days costs only £30, which is incredible value when you consider this includes a decent lunch for 2 days, dinner on the Saturday night, snacks and hot drinks throughout the event. Of course WordPress is open source and so this event is non-profit and for the community, with everyone speaking for free and all of the huge number of volunteers helping run the event.
Costs
If you use WordPress for your work then ask your employer to pay for you to attend. If you are independent it’s a really cost effective way of getting some personal development training.
In 2018 I spent:
- £30 for my ticket
- £10 train ticket (Hove to Victoria, this was a bargain ticket)
- £60 for overnight hotel room (Queens Hotel single room with breakfast)
- Total : £100
This is incredible value considering many conferences will cost you £150 for a single day of attendance, without travel or accommodation.
Talks
The talks at WordCamp are varied covering development, design, accessibility, business and more. Experience developers will find the development talks pitched at a less technical audience, and so its worth trying different topics as I often find the business and design talks the most beneficial to me.
Networking
WordCamps are the best networking events I have ever been to. The WordPress community is very friendly and open to discussion. At WordCamp you’re likely to meet lots of people quickly including sales leads, people to work alongside, people looking for jobs, and companies looking to hire.
Location
WordCamp London has been at the London Metropolitan University, Holloway Rd for the last 3 years. It’s a great venue that allows 3 separate tracks of talks, a great social and dinner at the same venue.
There are a large number of WordPress related sponsors helping fund the event also, and they can be found giving away swag on their stalls, so drop buy and have a chat with them.
The WordCamp London website lists a number of suggested hotels. I have stayed at both of the Queens Hotels (there are two right next to each other) near Finsbury Park, as they are cost effective, and would recommend both. This one has a parking space outside which I’ve used on the Saturday, and there is lots of free parking nearby on a Sunday. I’d recommend getting to London by train though, as even on a Sunday the traffic can be tiring.