Ben Byrne is a co-founder of Cornershop Creative. He’s been designing on the web professionally for nearly 20 years, but he’s also been a developer for almost as long, building up extensive experience with languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP, and putting them to good use implementing his designs on several CMS platforms, including WordPress and Drupal. In addition to his own work, Ben oversees the design and development the rest of the Cornershop team does, ensuring it’s up to our high standards. He enjoys sharing his knowledge, and has presented to groups of varying sizes on topics like the difference between print and web design, web typography, various aspects of WordPress, and front-end performance. Ben lives in beautiful Santa Rosa, CA.
We’re thrilled to have Ben onboard as a speaker at WordCamp Sacramento 2018 asked a few questions to help you get to know more about him. Check out our mini interview with Ben below:
What is the topic of your WordCamp talk?
Accessibility: Beginning The Journey
Why do you think this is important?
For reasons both practical (reach a wider audience) and ethical (discrimination is a bad thing!), accessibility is an important consideration for any website. But it can also be an intimidating topic at times… with this session I hope to approach accessibility concerns without judgment or expectation, helping those just starting to think about it finally begin tackling this important element.
What’s your WordPress origin story?
I first started dabbling in WordPress around maybe 2010, after years of working with other systems, including Drupal, a proprietary CMS, and rolling my own. While at that time WordPress was still fairly primitive, its ease of use was revelation.
How has WordPress impacted your world?
When I co-founded Cornershop Creative back in 2012, the plan was to be a technologically agnostic agency that went through an “unbiased” discovery process with clients before recommending any particular solutions, software or platforms. After less than two years, though, we found ourselves opting for WordPress so frequently that we decided to focus on it much more, and that’s a decision we haven’t regretted in the least; in that time we’ve grown from a small firm of 5 people to a team of about 15, and WordPress continues to be a great tool for our nonprofit clients.
You can connect with Ben further at:
@drywall | @cornershop | Facebook
Get Your Ticket ASAP!
WordCamp Sacramento 2018 sold out in 2015, 2016, and 2017, and we do expect it to sell out again. Be sure to get your WordCamp Tickets asap to secure you spot at this awesome event! Tickets are only $40 (thanks to our generous sponsors) and include:
- Two full days of Beginner Tracks, walking new users through how to use WordPress.
- Two mixed tracks of sessions on Saturday.
- Two mixed tracks of sessions on Sunday.
- A Happiness Bar — our version of a help desk, open throughout the event so you can get help with your site and get your questions answered.
- An opportunity to network with and meet sponsors, speakers, and other WordPress community members, including business owners, designers, developers, agency owners, bloggers, copywriters, freelancers, site owners, and more.
- Refreshing drinks throughout the entire event.
- A WordCamp Sacramento 2018 t-shirt.
- A catered lunch on Saturday.
- A networking reception Saturday immediately following the event.
- Snacks on Sunday.