Why

I started off just wanting to read the latest WordPress news and information. RSS feeds are fine but I really didn’t like any of the readers and wanted to read WordPress news via WordPress.

There’s a WordPress plugin that I’ve used in the past to post RSS feeds items as standard WP posts. So creating a way to read my feeds with WP was actually pretty simple.

Once I got things up and running I thought it might be nice to make the website public and share my feeds with others. If others were going to read the feeds, there should be a way for them to comment. If people were going to comment, then there should be a way to learn more about those people. And things snowballed.

What

Why are so many WordPress communities not using WordPress as their base? Starting to use WordPress for communities is the best way to get better WordPress communities.

Remember, the purpose of this website is fun. I’m hoping people will use it and have a little fun, maybe meet some new pals and get some grins.

Additionally, WP After Party can be used as a way to promote yourself, your agency, and the websites you create. My goal is for everyone to grow together and inspire one another.

Podcasts

I listen to a lot of podcasts and I see a lot of fantastic audio and video content being created for and by WordPress Professionals. No matter where you are in the community, you’ll be able to find something of value in the WordPress podcast listings.

The listings are posted as new podcast episodes become available but once you find a podcast that you want more of, please subscribe to it in your favourite podcatcher. If you need help finding the right podcatcher for you, please take a boo at the Podcast forum on WP After Party.

News

For now, I’m pulling in news from many different sources in the WordPress community. Each post on WP After Party where the content originated on another site will be limited to a relatively small number of words to ensure that the websites producing interesting content get the traffic and eyeballs they deserve. So please, click through to the full story and read the full articles on the site of the original post.

Comments

Everyone is just waiting to see what you think about each news post. Post a comment and let people know how you feel.

Profiles

The profiles were created so that people could learn a little bit more about the other people in the WordPress community that commenting on new posts. A bit of real world interests and past occupations will hopefully allow for like minded people to connect.

Note: Please keep your personal profiles personal and not as a way to promote your business self. You have the opportunity to do business promotion for FREE by setting up an Agency listing/profile.

Status Updates

Just like on Twitter and Facebook, you are encouraged to post updates to let the rest of the community know what’s going on in your world. Give us an update on the progress of your latest project or post about a newly discovered tool or resource.

Agencies

As stated above, something that a lot of people tend to do when setting up a personal profile is present themselves as their business self instead of their personal self. Please, always keep those profile separate and on topic.

The Agency listings are completely free and will also allow you to post examples of your work.

Websites

Everyone wants to see great examples of the websites that other WordPress professionals have created. WP After Party allows you to add website listings once you’ve created an Agency listing.

Using a parametric search, WP After Party members will be able to sort website listings using a number of parameters to get inspiration and see what other websites existing in a market or web space.

There is no limit to the number of websites you can post for your agency for free. Please keep them family friendly though.

Web Hosts (Secret Killer Feature)

In most cases, reviews of web hosting services are complete garbage. Whether or not a web host is a good fit for your project depends a lot on your project, your traffic, your budget, etc.

With people listing their Agency’s websites, I thought it would be a great idea to allow you to list web hosting service that you’re using for that website. Once we have enough websites listed, WP After Party members will be able to search through the website listings for sites that are similar to their future project and find suitable hosting.

Community Forums

I’m not sure what I need to say about this. There’s a plethora of different forums that will likely grow, shrink, and morph over time.

If you’ve ever played around in Facebook groups, you should know what community forums are all about.

But What About?

If you see something that’s missing or have an idea to make the website even better, please use the contact form on the Contact Page.

One More thing…

I honestly don’t like making things about me, because I often see myself as a cog in the machine. A brightly coloured cog thats fantastic, but still, a cog. I do not want to be Mr BigFancyPants and would prefer to just do the work that makes me happy, which in some cases is helping other people succeed and put food on their table.

I’m not a super private person, I just think that most of the time “it’s not about me”. That said, sometimes getting involved with something where the person behind it is Captain Anonymous can be daunting. So where the deal with the big wheel…..

Darryl Schmidt

I live in Kamloops, BC, Canada with my wife, two children, two cats, and one dog. I’m a Red Seal Journeyman Electrician and also a certified Computer Systems and Electronics Technician.

I’ve worked in the electrical field across Canada on projects like car manufacturing plants, hydroelectric dams, substations, mines, etc. One of the most challenging things I’ve done is designing, programming, and overseeing the implimentation of Building Security and Control Systems for prisons in British Columbia.

I’ve been making websites since 1994, which doesn’t seem that long ago to me. I’ve made websites with Notepad, Frontpage (shut up it was cool at the time), Dreamweaver, PHPNuke, PostNuke, Zikula, Drupal, and finally WordPress, where I’ve been for many years. Oddly, I do very little client work and prefer to refer potential clients to other people. Most of the work I do with WordPress is in specific verticals like community and the construction industry.

Since I discovered WordCamps, I’ve gone to every one in Vernon (only one), Vancouver, and Seattle. Of course, I always enjoy the After Party 🤣

Be kind.