In the City of the Saints, the WordCamp was set to unfold on May 10th for the second time. As most of us in VizibleSEO hadn’t had the privilege to attend last year, this was our chance to be part of the action.
So, we grabbed our tickets, packed our bags, and, one fine morning, boarded our train to Sylhet.
And boy, oh boy! What a roller coaster the whole experience was! The amazement we experienced is too much to contain, so here we are, sharing what we gathered!
The WordCamp Sylhet 2024: Our Favourite Moments
Day One – May 10th: Contributor’s Day
As we are still taking baby steps into the community of WordPress, we are still a bit far from actually contributing to WordPress. But that shouldn’t stop us from attending the Contributor’s Day, should it?
Well, it didn’t.
Right after we landed in Sylhet, we were greeted with a light shower of rain. Still, we were quick to hop onto a CNG and reach the event venue, which is the nice, cozy office of AuthLab.
At first, we were a bit overwhelmed by being at the presence of such veterans of the WordPress community. But soon, we felt welcome and started soaking up knowledge.
Throughout the day, we learned about what contributing to WordPress means, the different areas of contribution, and how we can contribute to the ever-growing WordPress community.
From theme design to core development, WordPress offered 18 distinct areas for contribution. Each area had its own table, with a dedicated table lead to answer questions and guide newcomers.
Quickly, we found our way to the marketing table and made ourselves comfortable.
The marketing table was led by the veteran content marketer Mumtahina Faguni, who shared her insights and experience about WordPress contributions. We weren’t afraid to raise our hands and ask questions, and the veterans were incredibly approachable and encouraging.
By the end of the day, our notebooks were overflowing with notes and fresh knowledge.
During the breaks, we mingled with other attendees. There were fellow newbies like us, eager to learn and grow, alongside established contributors who loved to share their experiences.
We talked with people from different community groups working on different WordPress products and companies. We took note of their challenges, achievements, and their real-world perspectives about the industry.
As the day came to a close, we left the Contributor’s Day feeling like we had truly become a part of something bigger. The sense of community and the wealth of knowledge we gained were the perfect motivation to keep exploring and contributing to the world of WordPress.
Day One – May 10th: Welcome Dinner
Unlike the other parts of the event, which were accessible to all the attendees, the welcome dinner was exclusive to the sponsors, micro-sponsors, and organizers. Lucky for us our co-founder, Nazmul Asif, had the opportunity to attend, so we turned to him to know what it was like.
The dinner hall buzzed with warm energy as all the top minds of the WordPress community mingled and connected. The venue, Hotel Star Pacific, was filled with lively conversations and the exchange of ideas. Laughter and the clinking of glasses filled the air as most of the CEOs and founders were gathered in the same room, sharing success stories and business cards and building new relationships.
Day Two – May 11th: Conference Day
Since there were a lot of events to cram into a single day, the Conference Day was scheduled to start very early in the morning, at 8 am. We almost made it in time, but a local dish called “Akhni” got the best of us (it was so delicious, we couldn’t stop eating it!).
Anyhow, we arrived sometime after 8 am, during the opening remarks, and started the final day of the WordCamp Sylhet 2024.
Registration
Just as we arrived, multiple booths were at the entrance, with long queues confirming registration and handing out IDs, breakfasts, and a goodie bag. Although we were discouraged by the long line, we snaked our way in and snagged our goodie bags (yay!).
After this, we were requested to put on our IDs, and we were able to enter the building. What we saw afterward was something none of us were ready for.
The attendees’ energy was electric! People were everywhere chatting, laughing, and browsing sponsor booths with displays of all shapes and sizes.
After the initial shock, we decided to go and take a look at the 2nd floor, where the scene was even more vibrant.
From that moment, we knew it was going to be a banger!
Sponsor Booths
As usual, all the biggest WordPress names from Bangladesh and the world showcased their products at stalls spread across both floors of WordCamp Sylhet. We set out on a mission to visit them all, starting on the 1st floor.
Our first stop was BlueHost, where we met two friendly gentlemen who had traveled all the way from India. We picked their brains about SEO-friendly hosting solutions and learned some valuable tips we couldn’t wait to implement. After completing a quick survey, we scored some cool BlueHost swag – a notebook and a pen!
Next, we braved the massive queue at the weDevs stall. After a long wait in the queue, our turn finally arrived, and we participated in their game and walked away with some awesome weDevs swag.
The rest of the morning was a whirlwind of interesting conversations, product demos, and, of course, swag collection. We especially enjoyed playing bottle flip at the AuthLab booth and scored a nice branded t-shirt from the Elementor team.
Conferences
Even though we were enjoying ourselves networking, playing games, and collecting swags, we kept an eye on the speaker sessions. After all, we weren’t here to collect swags but to get insights from the best in the country.
As we were all marketing nerds, our first target was to attend the session given by the man himself, Atikur Rahman Tonmoy, who is the CMO of weDevs. His session was about “Crafting a Winning Launch Strategy for Your WordPress Product,” which was indeed something that we were interested in.
As expected from one of the top marketing minds in the country, Tonmoy’s session on crafting a winning launch strategy was nothing short of a masterclass. He blew us away with his perception of the WordPress industry and depth of knowledge.
We walked away with a bunch of new ideas to implement and a renewed sense of excitement about launching new projects.
The next speaker was someone named Subhasis Chatterjee; we didn’t really know him, to be honest, but since his topic was about the future of blogging, we decided to sit in.
To our surprise, once he started speaking, we were bombarded with stats, facts, and insights that were both surprising and thought-provoking.
After this session, we took a break to collect some swag, but we came back for the panel discussion about contributing to WordPress. As we were new to this environment and eager to contribute, we needed to learn as much as possible about contributing to the WordPress community.
All the panelists were renowned WordPress contributors and were also organizers of several WordPress events and meetups. So, we knew we were in safe hands to learn about contributing to WordPress.
It goes without saying that we got what we came for, and we were really glad that we took the time to sit through the whole panel. It was super enlightening and left us feeling inspired and motivated to contribute to WordPress in the future.
After all the knowledge-gathering and swag-collecting, our Akhni breakfast had been long gone. It was time to refuel. So, we headed out to the cafeteria to collect our lunch.
Closing Ceremony
After lunch, we decided to take some time off to rest and soak in the natural beauty of the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology campus, with its sprawling lawns dotted with shady trees.
Refreshed and energized by our break among the campus beauty, we made our way back to the auditorium, amped up for another round of networking and photo sessions. And before long, it was time for the closing ceremony.
The closing ceremony began with tokens of appreciation – crests were presented to every speaker, table lead, volunteer, and sponsor, acknowledging their valuable contributions to the successful event.
Then, the two dynamic organizers of the WordCamp Sylhet 2024 took the stage: Syed Rezwanul Haque (founder of TechNext) and Shahjahan Jewel (founder of AuthLab). Their infectious enthusiasm and genuine gratitude were noticeable as they thanked the attendees once more.
Finally, they wrapped up the ceremony by capturing a final celebratory group selfie.
The Lasting Impressions
As we were leaving the WordCamp Sylhet 2024 venue, with our swags and newfound knowledge, a sense of accomplishment and inspiration washed over us.
With this newfound inspiration, we will definitely strive to be a contributing member to the WordPress Bangladesh community and hopefully, play a bigger role in the upcoming WordCamp Dhaka.
In the meantime, keep the knowledge flowing!