I just got back from WordCamp US in Portland which was August 27-29, 2025. I wasn’t totally sure what I’d get out of the trip, but I went in with a few goals:
- Learn what’s coming into WordPress core
- Meet freelancers or small agency owners who could be referral partners for Oh My Hi
- Replenish my wardrobe with new shirts from the sponsors (my wife’s favorite part 😂)
In this article I’ll give a recap of the trip, how I did on my goals, how much it cost me to go and whether I thought it was worth the trip.
What’s New in WordPress Core
I stay busy working on Oh My Hi, so I’m not always able to keep up with everything new coming into WordPress Core. Since Oh My Hi uses the native block editor, I wanted to know what’s coming with the block editor and what the plans are for AI in WordPress. Going to WordCamp forced me to take the time to sit in sessions and hear what’s going on. Here are a couple highlights:
AI Is Coming Into Core
I attended the Core AI team’s session about what they were building and learned about the PHP AI Client SDK, Abilities API, MCP Adapter (you can learn more about these AI Building blocks here). These are helping to standardize the interaction between WordPress and AI LLMs. Some of this functionality will be coming into core in version 6.9.
While I’m not sure how we will leverage it yet for Oh My Hi, I think there’s a lot we’ll be able to do and I’m excited to see what people create with these tools.
Create Blocks Using AI
Matt Mullenweg also talked about the experimental AI tool Telex created by Automattic that will generate WordPress blocks for you using AI. You prompt it with what you want your block to do and Telex will write all the code to create the block.
Meeting Cool People
On the networking front, I had hoped to meet more folks who serve smaller clients who might want a simple, supported platform like Oh My Hi in their back pocket to refer people to that decide to go DIY.
Instead, most of the people I met were running or working at larger agencies working on bigger projects or enterprise platforms. Their clients aren’t choosing between hiring someone to build their site or to go DIY. So while I didn’t walk away with referral partners, I still met a lot of cool people and gained more clarity on who isn’t the target for this kind of collaboration. To me, that’s still a win.
Messaging Tune-Up
One of the most helpful things about being at WordCamp US was having to explain what I do over and over. It really forced me to tighten up my message.
When trying to explain what Oh My Hi is, I find that my usual “It’s a website builder like Squarespace or Wix with integrated email marketing and live support from humans to help you get it done” works great with folks outside the WordPress world.
I didn’t think that would be clear to people inside the WordPress world because I thought they would assume it is a page builder or plugin. I thought the term WaaS (Websites as a Service) was an accurate description and widely known term, but it didn’t land well. It confused most people and I had to elaborate or people would nod their head and the conversation would move to something else.
Eventually one person trying to understand Oh My Hi better said, “so it’s basically managed hosting, but super locked down to make it easier for your clients,” and I thought that was great. People in the WordPress world are familiar with the term managed hosting, and that is part of what we do.
So, lesson learned: when talking to WordPress insiders, I’ll frame Oh My Hi more like a fully managed hosting platform with the plugins and theme locked down and support from real humans versus calling it a WaaS.
Talking Shop Felt Really Good
It felt great to be surrounded by people who geek out about the same stuff I do. If I try to talk to my wife (and business partner) Becky about tech or coding stuff I’m working on, I see her eyes gloss over and she checks out. At WordCamp I was able to reminisce about old ACF updates breaking a bunch of sites, and nerd out over the HTML parser class and those conversations never happen in my day-to-day.
One specific highlight was sharing an Uber and chatting with the original creator of Jetpack CRM (originally ZBS CRM), Mike Stott. We got to talk about his plugin being acquired by Automattic and comparing Jetpack CRM to FluentCRM (which is what we use on Oh My Hi). I don’t get to have these kinds of conversations in my day-to-day business life.
New Shirts and Swag
The exhibit hall didn’t disappoint. I was able to load up on new shirts, chocolate, coffee, a Wapuu stuffed animal, posters, water bottles and more. I wasn’t super impressed with the shirt designs this year (I thought they were better at the previous WordCamp I attended in San Diego in 2022), but I still grabbed a bunch and was able to cycle out some older, worn out shirts.
The exhibit hall had a really awesome setup. There was a donut truck, arcade games, claw machine to get the Wapuu stuffy and a bunch of lounge areas to hang out.
Parties and Events
One of the best parts of WordCamp was the after parties and events. I didn’t have to buy any meals while I was there because of these events. Lunch was provided by the conference and I had dinner every night at one of the parties.
On my first night (Wednesday) I attended a dinner hosted by hosting.com. It was a sit down dinner with prime rib, potatoes and drinks. There was probably about 50 people. The food and drinks were great and I met some awesome people at my table.
On Thursday night I went to the event hosted by WooCommerce. They had a taco bar and also provided drinks. This event was fun, but it was really hot inside so I didn’t stay too long.
On Friday night there was the WordPress sponsored party after the conference. They had food trucks and gave you a drink ticket. There was also live music. It was at the World Forestry Center and we were able to walk through the museum and check it all out.
Was It Worth It?
So was it worth it? While I may not get a big monetary return since I wasn’t able to find referral partners for Oh My Hi, I still think the cost was definitely worth it for what I got out of it. Would it be worth it for you? As always, it depends on your circumstances and what you’d like to get out of it.
Here is the breakdown for how much it cost for me to attend WordCamp US:
- Airfare: $365
- Airport Parking: $86
- Hotel: $675
- Taxi/Uber: $195
- Food/Drinks: $105
- Conference Ticket: $50
- TOTAL = $1,476
I could have saved some money by staying at a different hotel, but staying at the conference sponsored hotel had its benefits. I was right across the street from the convention center where the conference was held and some of the best conversations I had were with people I met at the hotel bar after the conference.
If I would have taken public transit instead of Ubers I could have saved some money also. The conference provided a transportation card to give you free rides on public transit, but I still took Ubers for convenience.
With most things, I think you get out of it what you put in. If you sit by yourself and don’t talk to anyone, you probably won’t get a lot out of it. If you make an effort to connect with people and participate in the events and sessions, you’ll be more likely to find it worth attending.
Have questions about attending your first WordCamp or want to connect at the next one? Reach out — I’d love to chat.
Thinking about going to the next WordCamp US? I’d love to meet you in Phoenix in 2026!
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