WordCamp US is always the center of attraction for WordPress and WordCamp lovers because the scale of arrangement and participation is larger than most WordCamps.
Every year at least a single WordCamp event is held in the US. This Year, WordCamp US 2024 took place in Portland, Oregon, from September 17-20, 2024, at the Oregon Convention Center.
It was a four-day long event. The event was divided into many parts, like Contributor Day, Showcase Day, and sessions.
Let’s know more details about the whole event and what you must know.
WordCamp US 2024 in numbers
WordCamp is always a successful event because of the participation of attendees, the contribution of organizers, speakers, volunteers, and the support of sponsors. This year people from all over the world participated in the event.
| Attendees | Organizers | Speakers | Sponsors |
| 1700 | 42+ | 65 | 45 |
It is clear from the number of people who attended the gathering that it was huge. All Attendees were not from the US, they participated from different countries, and that was true for organizers and speakers too.
Event highlights
The event followed its schedule. As mentioned before, it was a four-day event. The program began with contributor day and ended with the session. The main part was the QNA part of Matt Mullenweg on Friday.
Day 1: Contributor day
WordCamp US 2024 started with Contributors Day. Contributor Day is a special part of the event, where all participants contribute to improving the WordPress open-source project. Everyone can contribute that day, no matter newbs or experts.
Event Details:
- Date: Tuesday, September 17
- Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
The day started at 8 AM registration, but the main event began at 9 AM. There was enough break between every part. Here is the full schedule of the day.
Schedule:
- 8:00 AM: Registration opens
- 9:00 AM: Event begins
- 9:30 AM: New contributor break-out session
- 12:15 PM: Group photo
- 12:30 PM: Lunch
- 2:00 PM: Teams resume working
- 4:30 PM: Team summaries and wrap-up
- 5:00 PM: End of Contributor Day
Day 2: Showcase day
Showcase Day offers a unique platform for creators to present their most innovative uses of WordPress. The day started at 8 AM and ended at 5 PM. The whole day’s task was divided into two parts.
Event Details:
- Date: Wednesday, September 18
- Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
In the morning, from 9.15 AM to 12.15 PM, speakers like Alexandra Guffey, James LePage, Nick Diego, and Stuart Shields shared their ideas and how they use WordPress uniquely.
Others shared their projects after the lunch break, from 1.30 PM to 5 PM. Here is the full schedule of the day.
- 8:00 AM: Registration Desk Opens
- 9:00 AM: Opening Remarks
- 9:15 AM – 12:15 PM: Morning Showcases
- 12:15 PM – 1:30 PM: Lunch (Provided)
- 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM: Afternoon Showcases
- 5:00 PM: Showcase Day Ends
Day 3 & 4: Session day 1 & 2
Day 3 and 4 was the session day. All the speakers gave their speeches. Many well-known WordPress expats participated as speakers at the event.
On day 3, discussions on many important topics like how to use WordPress for online courses, journalism, and many more took place.
The next day, speakers like Burhan Hamid, Tim Hossain, Jonathan Desrosiers, Aaron Jorbin, and many others discussed topics like WordPress Bootcamp, AI, and online success.
The main part of the day was the QNA session with Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress. This was an interactive session and attendees got the best outcome from it. This speech and QNA session created a controversy and we talk about it later.
Side events of WordCamp US 2024
Side events are activities organized by companies or individuals around WordCamp US 2024.
While these events were not officially endorsed by WordCamp US. There was no extra day for this site event, that was held besides the main schedule.
Here are some notable side events that happened during WordCamp US 2024:
1. Patchstack WCUS Capture The Flag
- Hosted by: Patchstack
- Location: Online
- Date & Time: September 16, 2 AM – September 21, 2 AM PDT
- Cost: Free
2. Accessibility Craft Meetup
- Hosted by: Equalize Digital and AccessiCart
- Location: Migration Brewing, Portland
- Date & Time: September 17, 6:00-9:00 PM PDT
- Cost: Free with drink tickets provided for confirmed RSVPs
3. Glow and Throw
- Hosted by: Cloudways
- Location: Glowing Greens, Portland
- Date & Time: September 17, 7:30-11:00 PM PDT
- Cost: Free
4. Digital Asset Happy Hour
- Hosted by: Porkbun and BotGuard
- Location: To Be Announced
- Date & Time: September 18, 5:00-6:00 PM PDT
- Cost: Free (ticketed event)
5. BlackPress WordCamp US 2024 Social
- Hosted by: BlackPress
- Location: Fabo’s Tacos, Portland
- Date & Time: September 18, 5:00-7:00 PM PDT
- Cost: Free
Organizers and sponsors
WordCamp is the perfect collaboration of organizers and sponsors. The organizers were divided into different sections and they lead different sectors. Among them, Aaron D. Campbell, Julia Golomb, Katie Richards, and Sandy Edwards were lead organizers.
Donna Zeibar and Sam Garner lead the design section. Photos were taken by Gale Wallace, and Michele Butcher. There were many other sections like Web, Volunteers, Social Experience & Swag, Food & Beverages, and many more.
Regarding sponsors, they were the backbone of the events. They funded the event from the back. There were different categories of sponsors. For instance, Super Admin, Admin, Editor, Author, and Micro-Sponsor.
Here is the full list of the sponsors.
| Sponsors Type | Name of Sponsors |
| Super Admin | Bluehost, GoDaddy, WooCommerce, WordPress, WP engine |
| Admin | A2 HOSTING, ElementorGoogle, HOSTINGER, Jetpack, Patchstack, SiteGround, Wordfence, WordPress VIP |
| Editor | GRAVITY, AUTOMATTIC, CLOUDWAYS, Deerdesigner, Inmotion, NitroPack, Omnisend, PANTHEON, Rocket.net, VULTR |
| Author | Avalara, Beaver Builder, BIGSCOOTSBLUE IVORY, BotQuard2M Solution, GreenGeeks, Stellar WP, synchrony, WEGLOT, Yoast, Zealous Web, etc. |
| Micro Sponsor | Joe Alagna, Katie Hoesley, Mike Ingala |
WordCamp US 2024 controversy
Matt Mullenweg is a co-founder of WordPress. As mentioned first, there was a QNA session of Matt Mullenweg in WordCamp US 2024. At one point in the session, he mentioned WP Engine and made some allegations against WP Engine.
The main allegations against WP Engine –
- Not contributing to WordPress open-source projects
- Using WordPress Tread mark
- WP Engine focuses on revenue
How did this controversy start?
September 17, 2024, Matt published an article before his QNA sessions. The title of the article is ‘WordCamp US & Ecosystem Thinking’ and he explained several points.
WP Engine was contributing only 47 hours per week, whereas Automattic was contributing 3,786 hours. As a result WP Engine just only focuses on revenue, they do not contribute to improving the WordPress ecosystem.
After this article, everyone assumed that something would happen in WordCamp US 2024. Matt again mentioned WP Wngine in his QNA session and said WP Engine confuses users by using similar logos and colors.
Many people confuse WP Engine with WordPress, they think it is an official part of WordPress. However, this is not true and Matt claimed that in his speech.
The next day, September 21, 2024, another article was published, and the title of the article was “WP Engine is not WordPress”. Matt addressed WP Engine as a cancer to WordPress. He also said that WP Engine turns off revision because it costs them more to store.
Matt even launched a Twitter poll, asking the WordPress community if WP Engine should be allowed a booth at WordCamp US. The majority of the people supported WP Engine.
WP Engine response
To reply to Matt, WP Engine published an article on September 20, 2024, and they tried to highlight their contribution to the WordPress ecosystem.
They emphasized their ongoing commitment to supporting over 1.5 million WordPress sites and providing tools to more than a million developers.
Since it was founded in 2010, WP Engine claims that they have driven innovation, contributed financially, and partnered with thousands of agencies to further WordPress’ growth as a leading CMS platform.
So, what do you think? Who is right and who is wrong in this context? Let us know your opinion using the comment box!
Final massage
We always encourage WordPress enthusiasts to join WordCamps. After joining a couple of events we’ve realized how important it is to be a part of that kind of event. It is an opportunity to work in a team, learn from seniors, and share ideas with others.
It is advised that before joining any WordCamp, must make a whole trip plan. Not only attend the sessions but also try to visit the area and don’t forget to discover new cultures and try traditional foods when visiting outside the country.
If you want to know about our other WordCamp joining experience, you can check these blogs out.
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