Workshop: WordPress Plugin Development 101 with Anthony Cole

Anthony Cole

In the history of WordCamp in Australia, there have been a total of 3 events. Anthony Cole has helped organise the two of these.

WordCamp Gold Coast will be the first camp in Australia or New Zealand Anthony has attended without the responsibilities of also organising. What better way to take advantage of all the free time than to run a workshop on plugin development?

When not organising WordCamps, Anthony creates commercial WordPress plugins and is also a freelance WordPress developer who has worked with the likes of Saatchi and Saatchi.

Anthony will share his skills at WordCamp Gold Coast to help absolute beginners learn how to develop WordPress plugins. His workshop will cover fundamentals of plugin development as well as best practices such as unit testing and version control. If you’ve ever wanted to get started in WordPress plugins, this is the workshop for you.

I asked Anthony a few questions to find out more about his plans for WordCamp and why he keeps coming back for more.

You’re no stranger to WordCamps, what is your favourite memory from a camp?

Well, WordCamps – especially Australian ones, have brought me a significant amount of memories.

I’ve been to WordCamps in a everything from a bowling club to a “red box” dance studio. I’ve seen some crazy after-parties and battle axes ordered on eBay by certain individuals that might or might not be conducting this interview.

But I think the best memories I’ve had have been after I’ve organised an event – it’s a great chance for me to reflect on how I’ve put together a WordCamp and see how the community has grown.

To answer your question – my best memories from WordCamp has been seeing people grow their business and their group of WordPress friends out of these events and learn about how they can contribute back to the community.

This is the first WordCamp in Australia you’ve attended where you haven’t also been helping to organise it. How are you going to make use of all the free time you don’t normally get at the event?

I must admit, I haven’t really thought about that yet. I’ve been quite busy – since I last spoke to you guys, having spent a month in New York City as well as getting settled in Melbourne.

But most likely, I want to meet people! If you’re around at WordCamp Gold Coast, then feel free to talk to me. I love to hear what people are doing with WordPress! These events are a great way for me to catch up with some good friend and meet some cool people.

I love our community here, and I think it’s just going to continue to grow and flourish.

Your workshop is on plugin development. What is your favourite WordPress plugin and why?

Well, I have multiple favourite plugins, so I’ll list a few that I like. It’s hard to pick sides!

My favourite commercial plugin would probably have to be Gravity Forms. It’s saved me so many times as a developer and it’s great for clients to use.

My favourite non-commercial plugin would have to be Yoast SEO. I love what Joost de Valk has done with the plugin and how well it works.

As a developer, my favourite plugin would have to be the Debug Bar plugin for WordPress – it does so many great things quickly and easily.

Finally, how are you planning to take advantage of the sun and fun at Gold Coast?

I’ve always wanted to learn how to surf – being a California native, It’s always been on my todo list, and living in central Melbourne, I don’t find much time to go out to Torquay, Point Lonsdale, or Bells beach that often and enjoy our amazing beaches.

Thanks Anthony. We’ll see if we can both learn to surf something other than the Internet while at the Gold Coast.

You can follow Anthony on Twitter. To stay in the know, you should also follow WordCamp Gold Coast on Twitter.