WP Engine DE{CODE} 2021 Now Available On-Demand

Following in the footsteps of last year’s inaugural event, DE{CODE} 2021 was another resounding success, kicking off last week with a full day of engaging, informative content for WordPress developers and anyone else interested in building better websites faster.  

With 15 all-virtual, expert-led sessions and more than 4,400 registrants from around the world, this year’s DE{CODE} saw a huge uptick in activity and engagement from last year’s event, as well as an outpouring of positive feedback across social media and the live DE{CODE} Slack channel. 

While DE{CODE} took place last week, it’s not too late to view all of the excellent sessions that were included. Follow this link for access to on-demand content from DE{CODE} 2021 or view the full agenda here for a better idea of the topics covered. 

Headless WordPress: The future of digital experiences. 

WP Engine Founder & CTO Jason Cohen kicked off DE{CODE} 2021 with his keynote presentation, “Why Headless WordPress is the Future of Digital Experiences,” exploring the role WordPress plays in the larger headless world, as well as the various choices developers face when using this type of web architecture.

Citing WP Engine’s recent research showing more than 60% of enterprise organizations are already using a headless approach, the keynote begins by noting that headless is already, emphatically here.   

“When more than half of the world is doing something, it’s not just the future, it’s happening now,” Cohen says, explaining that developers are leading the headless charge because it offers greater choice and flexibility while allowing for faster, more personalized digital experiences across various channels.   

The ability to create fast, personalized omnichannel experiences is a major factor behind the rise of headless adoption. 

WordPress plays a major role in the headless conversation too, and last week’s event took place alongside the launch of Atlas, the complete headless WordPress hosting platform from WP Engine that utilizes WordPress to combine unprecedented performance with modern frameworks. 

“We’ve brought our WordPress expertise into the headless space so you can build these fast and dynamic websites, hitting on all the things developers and marketers want,” Cohen says. The session then offers a deeper dive into the wider challenges and benefits of headless architecture, as well as what Atlas does differently. View the full session here.  

Help Google help you, by decluttering your site. 

The second keynote session at this year’s DE{CODE}, Declutter Your Site Structure, features Yoast CEO Marieke van de Rakt and explores ways to ensure your site is speaking Google’s “language,” particularly when it comes to site structure optimizations that help search engines understand and surface your site to as many visitors as possible. 

As the #1 WordPress SEO plugin, Yoast has helped millions of websites rank higher in search, and the session covers additional insights, like improving your internal linking, that will help you outrank your competition. View the full session here. 

Becoming a better developer.

At more than 40% of the Internet, WordPress has officially overtaken hand-coded sites as the most common type of website. As an open source platform, it isn’t about the amount one person contributes, but the amalgamation of all the small contributions of many along the way. 

In the third keynote session at DE{CODE} 2021, “Five Things That Have Made Me a Better (WordPress) Developer,” WordPress Co-founder Mike Little shares five things that have made him a better developer over a long career in the tech world, and how we can all work together to grow the larger WordPress community. 

With advice on how to further your career as a developer (hint: learn more languages), ways to break out of creative ruts, and inspiration around the vibrant group of developers, marketers, and other users that make up with wider WordPress community, this session is a must-listen for all! Check out the full session here. 

The above are just three of the 15 developer-focused sessions that were included in DE{CODE} 2021. Check out the full agenda here, or visit our DE{CODE} site for access to all of the 2021 sessions!