WordCamp London 2017 took place over the weekend of 18-19 March, with a contributor day on Friday 17th.
This year I was down just for the conference weekend.
As ever, the organising team, speakers, volunteers and sponsors worked tirelessly to make it an extra special time.
WordCamp London 2017 was the most inclusive WordCamp I’ve attended yet, with:
- All talks live captioned by Global RT captioning.
- 3 accessibility talks simultaneously.
- A creche with 7 kids using it – up from the 1 from 2016!
- Lactation room, quiet room and multi-faith room.
I’ve picked out six of my favourite presentations over the weekend. I enjoyed all that I saw, but these ones made the most impact on me.
Defensive Web Development: Protecting the Web from Political Uncertainty – Heather Burns
I know Heather well from previous WordCamps and our local Edinburgh meetup. Her speciality is digital law and she writes at WebDevLaw.
Once again she delivered a polished and professional presentation.
We live in uncertain and scary times as web developers. Brexit and Trump have changed the goalposts. Our freedoms, right to data protection and chances of avoiding surveillance have all diminished, or are going to.
But Heather reminded us that we still have great power as web professionals. We need to be informed and protect others who are less well informed.
.@WebDevLaw om how recent scary political developments affect us as digital professionals. But there is hope… #wcldn pic.twitter.com/2yIoIELw2u
— Claire Brotherton (@abrightclearweb) March 18, 2017
Despite Brexit we will still adopt the GDPR EU data protection legislation.
GDPR strengthens existing data protection regulation and will lead to the appointment of thousands more data protection officers. Users will gain more rights over how their data is stored and accessed, and data breaches will have to be reported within 72 hours.
Read 10 key facts businesses need to note about the GDPR for an overview.
Part of our responsibility is to minimise data collection and storage – to see it as a liability.
The right to be anonymous or use a pseudonym is important. Putting a Facebook social login on a site immediately removes that right and sends someone’s personal data to Facebook.
Websites wanting users to open up and share information about themselves need to consider the privacy gradient – how they will conduct users from public spaces to private ones.
As groups, we can educate lay users about privacy and security and enable them to make better choices.
Engagment with the powers that be needs to be more than clicking on a petition or making an app.
We can:
- Speak with managers and leaders.
- Engage with politicians.
- Join Open Rights Group who campaign on digital rights.
- Talk to industry bodies.
Heather finished by reminding us of the tale of Rene Carmille, a computer expert who sabotaged machines which collected personal data on French Jews during World War 2.
73% of Dutch Jews were murdered by the Nazis, compared to 25% of French Jews.
His actions saved thousands of lives.
View Heather’s presentation: protecting the web from political uncertainty
Encrypt All The Things: Practical Encryption from SSL to Email and Beyond – Chris Wiegman
Chris is a developer, teacher and speaker who currently works for the University of Florida. You can catch up with him at ChrisWiegman.com.
Chris spoke about security and privacy, which are not the same thing.
Security is the confidentiality and integrity of data. Privacy is the appropriate use of it.
Encryption helps both security and privacy by:
- Protecting data in storage
- Protecting data in transit
As WordPress users we can secure our data by:
- Using SSL on our websites
- File encryption on our computers and devices
- Strong passwords (a password manager is recommended)
- Using a VPN on public wi-fi networks
- Encrypting instant messaging
- Email encryption with PGP, S/Mime or GPG
- Private browsing and blocking JavaScript and cookies
The main point was that encryption has to be consistent. Make one mistake and your data could be compromised.
For more details and lots of links, see the presentation.
View Chris’ presentation: Encrypt all the things
I was able to catch up with Chris later at dinner. He’s good friends with my friend Deborah Edwards-Onoro, and we managed to get a photo together.
https://twitter.com/ChrisWiegman/status/843191397872271360
Selfish Accessibility – Adrian Roselli
This was a tough choice. 3 accessibility presentations on together, and I could only go to one!
I helped Graham Armfield celebrate his birthday on Friday, and I had lunch with Mik Scarlet on Saturday, so I didn’t feel quite so bad about missing their talks.
Adrian Roselli has over 20 years’ experience in web development and web accessibility. He delivered a comprehensive (120 slides!) and amusing presentation.
Why should we care about web accessibility?
One reason that people should care is that we’re more likely to become disabled with age.
Why #a11y? Disability increases from 10% to 50% affected with age. @aardrian #wcldn pic.twitter.com/GCljIBfM1u
— Claire Brotherton (@abrightclearweb) March 18, 2017
Anyone immune to the ageing process? Thought not.
You can make people feel guilty, threaten them with legislation and throw the rule book at them.
But the best way to motivate people to care abut accessibility is to talk about problems that they can relate to.
Make it about them.
https://twitter.com/categoryerror/status/843117594416758787?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fadrianroselli.com%2F2017%2F03%2Fselfish-accessibility-slides-from-wordcamp-london-2017.html
What sort of issues can people relate to?
For example:
- You broke your wrist and can’t use your dominant hand.
- You want to watch a video in bed but not disturb your sleeping partner – and there are no headphones handy.
- You are trying to type in a form on a moving train with limited elbow room.
- You’re staring at your laptop in bright sunshine.
All these situations can make us temporarily disabled. And we still want to do what we usually do on the web.
A user story might be:
As a user in bed with a sleeping spouse, I want to watch a training video in silence so that I can get caught up at work. As a user who doesn’t want to get punched for having slacked off at work.
Solutions:
- Make web pages usable by the keyboard alone.
- Add captions to the video.
- Make the hit areas on the web page large.
- Use high colour contrast on web pages.
Ta-da, you just made the Web more inclusive!
There was tons more useful advice packed into this presentation. I highly recommend you delve into it.
View Adrian’s presentation: Selfish Accessibility
The Unbearable Likeness of Design – Sarah Semark
Sarah Semark is a designer at Automattic, working on WordPress themes.
Have you noticed that websites have got very samey lately?
Logo, navigation, hero header image, call to action, 3 featured items with images… they are everywhere.
How did we get here?
1990s web design
We started with web pages with text and links only.
Then we moved to table layouts, and CSS was introduced.
Frames, hit counters and animated GIFs become fashionable.
Cursors turned into rainbows and unicorns. (There are still WordPress plugins that do this. Please don’t use them.)
.@sarahsemark taking us through the history of the Web #wcldn pic.twitter.com/VRHVsa0YtH
— Claire Brotherton (@abrightclearweb) March 19, 2017
2000s web design
Web 2.0 came in with more interactivity.
The grunge effect was popular.
The iPhone was released in 2007. It used skeuomorphism in its design – interfaces that resemble real-life objects.
Responsive web design started to become big in 2010.
Flat design and material design became popular.
Twitter Bootstrap was released.
Now anyone can make a web page that looks good without an understanding of design principles.
The problem?
"Modern web design is very literally stuck inside the box." – @sarahsemark #wcldn
— Claire Brotherton (@abrightclearweb) March 19, 2017
What can we do to be different?
- Break the grid – put elements outside.
- Use texture and patterns – we respond to natural, organic objects.
- Get creative with typography. Use CSS initial-letter for drop caps.
- Use squiggles and multiple borders.
- Add animation, but don’t overdo it.
- Spend time looking at design in all its forms for inspiration.
But don’t break with all conventions. Nielsen Norman Group found that a centred logo made a site 6 times harder to use compared to one that is left-aligned.
https://www.slideshare.net/sarahmonster/the-unbearable-likeness-of-web-design-73297669
The Art of Empathy in Customer Marketing – Nevena Tomovic
Nevena blogs at Not So Clueless and works in marketing and PR for ManageWP and GoDaddy.
Her story started when she was a little girl and her dad made up stories about ordinary objects like toothbrushes and soap.
From this, she learned empathy.
What is empathy?
- A sense of self-awareness.
- Taking another person’s perspective.
- Being able to regulate one’s emotional response.
Learning about the importance of #empathy in marketing with @NNotsoclueless #wcldn
cc/ @ali_mcgill pic.twitter.com/3xAzGgfc6c— Claire Brotherton (@abrightclearweb) March 19, 2017
How can we use empathy in our content marketing?
Two ways:
- In our copy
- Through storytelling
Writing copy for empathy
Donors Choose ran an email campaign asking for donations for teachers with the same name as the recipient. This created an instant connection and good feeling for donors.
Clever pitch from Donors Choose:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Give to a teacher
With the same name as you. pic.twitter.com/uuCdcBkxOd— Daniel Pink (@DanielPink) February 15, 2015
Empathetic copy can break inertia – the cause of 60% of lost sales.
Copy needs to be:
- Specific
- Emotional
- To the point
Hire Vue sent Nevena an email when she hadn’t opened their emails for a while. The call to action button was “Don’t Let Me Go”. She could choose to stay on their email list by pressing the button, or leave gracefully.
The call to action button was “Don’t Let Me Go”. She could choose to stay on their email list by pressing the button, or leave gracefully. Either way, it showed that they cared.
Empathy through storytelling
Stories elicit oxytocin production, which increases our sense of empathy and emotion. Oxytocin is known as the trust molecule or the moral hormone.
What do you need to do?
- Find your story – transformations are powerful. e.g. case studies.
- Craft your story – focus on one element, include emotion and have a call to action.
- Tell your story – through your website, video, social media or presentations.
Companies doing this well include Soul Carrier and Airbnb.
The business benefits are increased customer acquisition and customer retention.
Download Nevena’s presentation: The forgotten art of empathy in customer marketing (PDF, 778KB)
Ending Design Revision Hell – Nela Dunato
Nela is an artist, designer and web designer from Croatia. Find her at NelaDunato.com.
This was one of the most practical sessions of the weekend.
She had a nightmare last year with a client wanting a ton of revisions and suggesting font and logo designs. She ended up yelling at the client one time. Result: shame, and feeling she should have known better.
The revision problem is one nearly all designers and web designers have faced.
What is the answer to design revision hell?
What doesn’t work
- Multiple variations of a design – they might not have enough information to make a decision.
- Asking the client what they like – they often don’t know!
A better approach
We need clients to remember that websites are for users, not the client.
Our job as designers is to solve users' problems – @nelchee #wcldn pic.twitter.com/RRETi3OccF
— Claire Brotherton (@abrightclearweb) March 19, 2017
Clients are scared of the unknown, so have a process. Explain it and show them how to give relevant feedback.
Divide the project into phases. She has 6 including a discovery phase. This also allows for staged payments – better for cash flow.
Take a problem-solving approach – find the problem and offer to solve it for them.
Sell your solution with a compelling story.
Make your terms clear in the proposal and repeat in the contract. Repetition is good.
Collect as much information as you can in advance. It saves the need for feedback later.
Always explain your design decisions and their benefits to allay doubts. Show you’re a pro.
Be confident. Confident people set better boundaries.
Limit revisions to focus on the things that make the most impact i.e. make more money!
Don’t be afraid to say no to a project.
https://www.slideshare.net/NelaDunato/ending-design-revision-hell
Overall – WordCamp London 2017 was a hit!
I had lots of fun at this WordCamp and expanded my knowledge.
I met these cool accessibility people:
Enjoying lunch with @MikScarlet @_dianewallace @coolfields (thanks @beneale for the photo) 😀 pic.twitter.com/yDug4v6gi9
— Claire Brotherton (@abrightclearweb) March 18, 2017
At the #wcldn Happiness Bar with Make WordPress Accessible team members (& 1 honorary one) @aardrian @afercia @RianRietveld pic.twitter.com/bcliIxumuo
— Claire Brotherton (@abrightclearweb) March 18, 2017
With @samikeijonen at WordCamp London 😀 #wcldn pic.twitter.com/rx1kWpdRwl
— Claire Brotherton (@abrightclearweb) March 19, 2017
And picked up a heap of swag!
Did well for #wcldn swag on Sat! TY @34SP @HeartInternet @yoast @timpaniWP @SiteGround @WooCommerce @GoDaddy @wpengine @YIThemes @WinningWP pic.twitter.com/Ci2kn2KPWW
— Claire Brotherton (@abrightclearweb) March 19, 2017
Mega-special thanks to Jenny Wong, who was standing down as organiser this year:
A @WordCampLondon mug – a fitting gift for an outgoing #wcldn organiser (an emotional @miss_jwo ). You were awesome! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/mdMUPaStoC
— Claire Brotherton (@abrightclearweb) March 19, 2017
Thank you #wcldn! You all make this happen. I happened to just be the person at the front of the pack. Your turn! 💛❤️💛❤️💛❤️💛 pic.twitter.com/8dIXOm7Ep1
— Jenny Wong 🐝 (@miss_jwo) March 22, 2017
Did you go to WordCamp London 2017? Who did you see and what did you think?
More WordCamp London posts:
Thank you for the recap of six of the WordCamp London sessions, lots of useful information! Loved the notes about empathy and storytelling. Glad you were able to meet up with my friend Chris after his presentation!
The whole weekend was fantastic and it was good to meet Chris.
Might you come over for a future WordCamp London?
We are having our first WordCamp here in May and I am really looking forward to it. So reading your post was great.
Thanks Amelia, and good luck with your WordCamp. Which city will it be held in?