WordCamp Welcome from Gold Sponsor – SiteGround

We couldn’t have started 2014 better!

Happy 2014! The New Year couldn’t have started better for us! We at SiteGround are extremely proud to kick off 2014 with WordCamp Phoenix. As Gold Sponsors of the event, we finished 2013 eagerly preparing materials and giveaways for this fantastic gathering and look forward to January 17-19 to meet great WordPress folks and have fun together.

As of the last two years, we have been actively attending, sponsoring, and speaking at WordCamps, and we like talking to customers at these events. We believe these are the best places where we can find out what we do well and what we need to do better. So if you are going to WordCamp Phoenix 2014 (why would you miss it anyways), we sure hope you’ll stop by and have a chat! You can’t miss us – we have large colorful circles on our stand and lots of cool swag at the booth.

SiteGround is a web hosting company servicing more than 300,000 domains, a large percentage of which work with WordPress. As huge fans of the open source software, our involvement with WordPress started long ago when it was just a new blog tool that quickly became hot. Over the last few years, we watched with admiration how from just a handful of people who were using it on our servers – now there are tens of thousands of people working with it. The more of our clients chose WordPress, the more dedicated we became to supporting that software. Now we have an array of tools whose development went through with the purpose of creating convenience for our WordPress users.

SiteGround WordPress hosting now gives users the flexibility of a typical host and the convenience of a managed WordPress provider. On our servers, users could use any plugin or theme they like, have access to their account via FTP and SSH, while at the same time WordPress gets autoupdated by SiteGround together with all extensions added from the official repository.

Besides the server setup we maintain, we developed a caching solution for WordPress with static, dynamic and memcached included, to boost website performance. In terms of security, we have applied unique, in-house security solutions. For example, we were among the first to stop a huge brute-force attack that WordPress users suffered through in 2013, thanks to a combination of rules we added to our server software. And none of these solutions included stopping your login access to the admin area!

One more thing worth mentioning is that Siteground cares about user experience and to that end we develop tools like our Staging tool and integrated GIT, which allows users to work with WordPress conveniently. We also have a password manager for the WP admin that could be accessed from our cPanel, and offer free website migration to new clients.

And finally, we have lots of surprises for all attendees at WordCamp Phoenix, and we can’t wait to meet you all!

WordCamp Phoenix 2014 Gold Sponsors – We Appreciate You

We’re officially only two and a half weeks away from WordCamp Phoenix 2014! This week, we’d like to take a few minutes to sincerely thank the companies that support us:

INFUSIONSOFT
At Infusionsoft, they’ve dedicated themselves to a single purpose: to help small businesses succeed. It’s their sole reason for existence. They live out this calling, some say obsession, by building the only all-in-one sales and marketing software that makes it easy for small businesses to get organized, attract more customers, grow sales and save massive amounts of time.

Website: http://www.infusionsoft.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Infusionsoft
Twitter: https://twitter.com/infusionsoft (@Infusionsoft)

SITEGROUND
With over nine years in the business, SiteGround is trusted by more than 250000 domains to provide managed WordPress hosting services crafted for top speed, unmatched security, unprecedented uptime and 24/7, fast, expert phone, chat or ticketing support. In addition, they offer strategic data center locations on three continents and provide a variety of tools for WordPress users and fans, all crafted in-house by the SiteGround team.

Website: http://www.siteground.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/siteground
Twitter: https://twitter.com/siteground (@SiteGround)

WP ENGINE
WP Engine is the one of the most mature premium managed hosting platforms for websites and applications built with WordPress, powering tens of thousands of websites. Our customers range from top WordPress developers, bloggers, and enterprises that trust WP Engine for their managed WordPress hosting needs and value our customer service team of WordPress experts.

Website: http://wpengine.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wpengine
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wpengine (@wpengine)

WordCamp Phoenix Multi-Event Pillar Sponsor

A special “Thank You!” goes to our Multi-Event Pillar Sponsor this year – the support of BlueHost allows us to bring you the many varied events that make WordCamp a valuable learning opportunity and tons of fun.

BLUEHOST
Bluehost has been a WordPress partner since 2005 and powers over one million WordPress sites. Their goal is to provide outstanding hosting services and customer support for the best possible price. Bluehost is also constantly innovating and upgrading their services and infrastructure at no additional cost to their customers.

Website: www.bluehost.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bluehost
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bluehost (@bluehost)

Gracious Thanks to WordCamp Phoenix 2014 Platinum Sponsors

One of the awesome things about organizing WordCamp is learning how many people feel passionately about the WordPress community. The following companies are deeply committed to making WordCamp Phoenix a success, and we thank them profoundly for their generous support.

WordCamp 2014 Platinum Sponsors

GODADDY
Nearly as old as the Internet itself, GoDaddy, the world’s largest domain name registrar and Web hosting provider, was born to give people an easy, affordable way to get their ideas online and easily start, confidently grow and successfully run their own ventures. Today, they have more than 12 million customers and manage more than 55 million domains around the world. In addition, GoDaddy is preparing to launch a managed WordPress product, at WordCamp Phoenix 2014, that offers optimal performance and security and automatically provides updated versions of WordPress.

Website: http://www.godaddy.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoDaddy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/godaddy (@GoDaddy)

MEDIA TEMPLE
From its inception in 1998, (mt) Media Temple has been on a mission to help people and businesses succeed online. Over 125,000 customers in 100 countries now rely on Media Temple’s tools for domain registration, web hosting, business applications, virtual servers, and other cloud services to power more than 1.5 million websites. Our customers range from everyday people to top bloggers, creative professionals, and small businesses, as well as large enterprises.

Website: http://mediatemple.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mediatemple
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mediatemple (@mediatemple)

UBER
Uber is evolving the way the world moves. By seamlessly connecting riders to drivers through their apps, they make cities more accessible, opening up more possibilities for riders and more business for drivers. From their founding in 2009 to their launches in over 50 cities today, Uber’s rapidly expanding global presence continues to bring people and their cities closer.

Website: http://www.uber.com/phoenix
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/uber
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/uber_phx (@Uber_Phx)

Looking for a place to crash in Phoenix?

… You will if you don’t reserve your hotel stay at the Crowne Plaza San Marcos Resort. Last year, we sold out the exclusive room rate at the hotel and we don’t want you to be rushed to find a hotel right before the three-day WordPress conference.

For just $109 per night, you are able to stay at the official hotel for WordCamp Phoenix 2014. Let’s go over the benefits, shall we?

Well, for starters, you are able to have your own bed. This is swell because you’ll be crashing fast asleep after all the learning, networking and even a little partying. (Let’s be honest: a lot.) Being well rested every day for the weekend is nice, but how will you make it to the next day’s session?

With the complimentary alarm clock provided in the room, you can feel at least moderately confident that it will awake you from your much-needed REM sleep so you can arrive alert and ready to soak up the knowledge at our awesome WordPress sessions. But, nobody wants you just to show up at the three-day WordPress conference without first doing something else …

Yes, you guessed it, you are granted unfettered access to a shower so you are able to wash away all the grime from sitting in an airplane or a car for several hours as you hoofed it over to Phoenix. Or, to wash away the shame from not updating WordPress since 3.5. Either way, it sounds good to us.

Then, once you stroll out of your room, hopefully dressed, you will be within walking distance to the nearest Starbucks and the sessions and activities. You get access to all this for only $109 per night and a little cheddar to paid to the State of Arizona. With plenty of activities located near the hotel, you’ll be pleased with your decision to stay there.

Not convinced yet? Well, the awesome folks at Crown Royal, err, the Crowne Plaza have allowed you to make reservations without requiring a deposit and even allow you to mash in your credit card number to get the whole reservation done and over with in less time it takes update your WordPress plugins. (Okay, okay, it’s maybe quicker than the famous five-minute WordPress installation).

If you thought this was at least mildly entertaining and are traveling from outside of the Phoenix area, then go ahead and book your reservation now at the Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort with the group code “V1N” to obtain our special group rate.

And if this copy wasn’t convincing enough, check out these photos of the resort:

Lobby

Outside Area

WordCamp Phoenix 2014 Featured by the Phoenix New Times

WordCamp Phoenix - Featured in the Phoenix New Times We’re happy to see a nice mention of our upcoming WordPress event in January mentioned on the Phoenix New Times Culture Blog, Jackalope Ranch. The article encourages those who are interested to purchase tickets, apply to speak and to sign up to volunteer. It featured a photo of Robert Rowley from Dreamhost when he previously spoke at WCPHX about WordPress Security 101.

Check it out and share the article with your friends: WordCamp Phoenix 2014 Tickets Are on Sale Now

Thanks, Alexandria! :)

WordCamp Phoenix 2014 Tickets are Now Available!

Hey Early Birds, we’re happy to announce that WordCamp Phoenix 2014 tickets are now on sale! You might also want to check your email for a special, limited-time discount code.

Register Now!

For the outrageously low price of ~~$50~~ $45, you get three days of WordPress learning, fun and community. This year is shaping up to be the biggest and baddest WordCamp Phoenix yet. Whether you’re a new user, an experienced pro, a savvy developer or a crafty designer, you’ll love WordCamp Phoenix. With the green light for tickets, it means you have a chance to attend to this one-of-a-kind event for WordPress users by WordPress users.

Be sure to tell your friends, co-workers, bosses and even significant others. WordPress is a community and we depend on you to get the word out.

If you’re from out of state, hurry and book your hotel room before the discounted room block fills up.

We want to thank our past attendees and those who expressed early interest in WordCamp Phoenix 2014. We have emailed you a special discount code that you can use during registration. If you believe you should have received it and didn’t, check your spam or “Promotions” folder.

Lastly, if you would love to share your WordPress skills and expertise with others, apply to be a speaker. If you want to help out during the event, sign up to be a volunteer.

Register Now!

Missed your discount code? Since you’re reading our blog, the first 25 people can use the WCPHXBLOG discount code for $5 off.

Unless otherwise stated, all discounts codes expire after midnight MST on November 18, 2013.

Help us Make the Rockstar Bar Awesome!

WordCamp Phoenix 2014 Calling all WordPress Rockstars: WE WANT YOU!

(And we know that you want that killer WordCamp hoodie that only volunteers get.)

We are looking for some AWESOME to put in our Rockstar Bar and maybe that’s you! Everyone has some AWESOME inside of them. If you’re awesome at SEO, using WordPress, or Developing on WordPress, you can donate some of your time to the Rockstar Bar. All Rockstar Bar volunteers are requested to be available for at least three of the session times, leaving the rest of time for you to attend the presentations and mingle with attendees.

Click here to drop your name in to be an AWESOME leader at the Rockstar Bar!

What’s in a Name? WP Weekend Phoenix = WordCamp Phoenix 2014

WordCamp Phoenix 2014 You may have noticed that we started out talking about the Phoenix WordPress event in 2014 with a different name, WP Weekend Phoenix. The vibrant and passionate WordPress community in Phoenix has meant each year our event becomes larger and has the opportunity to impact more people throughout the community. Along with the growth, there have also been new opportunities to serve the Phoenix community in the best way possible.

Given our collective experience putting together WordCamps in the past, our dedicated staff of organizers initially determined we needed to branch out as an independent event in order to produce the level of experience the Phoenix community deserves.

Fortunately, the folks at WordPress Foundation reached out to us to see if we couldn’t figure out a way to continue as a WordCamp. After successful negotiations on certain guidelines, we are thrilled to report that our event will operate as an official WordCamp in partnership with the WordPress Foundation!

Brian Krogsgard at Post Status was kind enough to do a full write-up, so if you are craving specifics, be sure to check out the article. We hope our suggestions will help all future WordCamps with the challenges of growth as well as assist WordPress Foundation with clarity and transparency for their guidelines. Afterall, we are all looking to benefit local and global community interests and growth.

We can’t wait to share every exciting detail about WordCamp Phoenix 2014. If you previously signed up to attend, speak, volunteer or sponsor on any of our current forms, don’t worry, your information followed us over. If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for?

Attend – Tickets will be releasing soon, so get on the early bird list!
Speak – Get your speaker submission in NOW! The speaker deadline approaching, don’t miss this chance to share your WordPress goodness!
Volunteer – We are looking for awesome peeps to help out in all kinds of ways. Volunteers get free admission to WordCamp Phoenix and a fantastic volunteer hoodie!
Sponsor – Slots are filling up, but we’re still actively taking sponsors. Don’t miss your chance, get in touch today!

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