We’re excited to announce that both GoWP and WP Buffs are Subcontinent partners for WordFest Live 2021 and will feature across the live event January 22, 2021.
In case you’re unfamiliar with either company, allow us to introduce you.
GoWP provides WordPress agencies with unparalleled maintenance, dedicated developer, content, and page build services. Their happiness engineers work as part of your team 24/7, solving problems and finding solutions to pesky technical issues so that you can focus on growing your agency.
WP Buffs handle unlimited edits, performance enhancements, daily health maintenance and regular security troubleshooting so you don’t have to. Everything they do is driven by you, their customers and white-label partners. Their aim is to help as many website owners and digital agencies with WordPress as possible.
To learn even more about them we chatted with Emily Hunkler from GoWP and Allie Nimmons from WP Buffs to find out what excited them about partnering with WordFest Live 2021. Here’s what they had to say:
We asked Emily why reaching out to the remote working community was important to GoWP?
Because we are part of the remote working community! While there are so many benefits to working remotely, it’s true that many people are now realizing the challenges.
With more people working remotely than ever before, it’s so important to find a community that you can feel welcomed, comfortable, and supported in. We’ve created an online community of our own and we know the benefits! Big Orange Heart does an excellent job at spreading awareness and providing resources, and we’re thankful for that!
To the same question, Allie at WP Buffs answered:
WP Buffs is an entirely remote company; we are the remote working community! Content shared at an event like this is extremely valuable to us and helps us work, learn, and lead better. The WordPress community has always been remote to some degree. So continuing to support that concept of collaboration across the globe is close to our hearts.
We love the fact that both companies stated that they are the remote working community. Through their sponsorship of WordFest Live 2021, they’ve directly supported the wider community by enabling well-being and mental health support through Big Orange Heart’s virtual event.
We then asked Emily how GoWP has adapted to the virtual event environment:
We’ve always been a remote team, but our connection to our community has always been strengthened through events like WordCamps and other agency summits and meet-ups. GoWP believes in community and we work very hard to nurture that.
We hosted our first Happiness Hour at WCUS 2019 in St. Louis and then another at WordCamp Phoenix 2020 before everything was quickly moved to virtual.
We’ve been hosting a weekly virtual Happiness Hour call in our Facebook group and what started on a whim has turned into my favourite part of the week — sitting in a group of my peers, sharing our successes and our struggles, and laughing and learning together.
We know that virtual events cannot replace in-person events fully, but it has been so inspiring to see how people in this space have stepped up and created platforms to encourage connections and communication. We’re so thankful to help support WordFest because we know it is going to put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces just to step into that virtual venue and see each other.
Allie from WP Buffs added her own positive take on adapting to virtual events:
We definitely miss opportunities to meet team members, clients, and other community members face to face. But the pivot to virtual events means we can support creative efforts like WordFest and “attend” events from all over the world!
While everyone is missing the in-person connection that can only come from being physically together, the current pandemic has driven innovation in the virtual event arena that both companies see as benefiting everyone.
Emily:
It has been incredible seeing what people are coming up with for these virtual events! With each event, it seems we are getting closer and closer to replicating the benefits of in-person gatherings (without the risks!)
I’m very excited to attend WordFest and explore the hallway track where we’ll be able to actually say hi to friends who are there and join in conversations with groups of people. I’ve missed these experiences and I’m grateful there are people out there working hard to create a safe space for them to happen amidst a global pandemic.
Allie:
We love to see how organizers have not only taken on the challenge of virtual events with enthusiasm but are searching for ways to make these events just as valuable – if not more – than physical ones. The opportunity to take advantage of the medium means more creative content and interesting approaches to old problems.
WordFest Live 2021 will feature speakers, partners, and attendees from across the globe.
Become part of the worldwide celebration now. Register for your free ticket. Partner with us as a sponsor. Share the news with your friends. Together we can have some fun in 2021!
What excites you about WordFest Live 2021? Let us know in the comments below.
Big Orange Heart