Shifting WordPress from Manual to Automattic

Managing WordPress websites can be challenging and exciting. A new category of companies have been launched over the past several years that help WordPress-powered website owners with hosting, fixing, developing and fitting WordPress solutions into existing businesses. Managed WordPress hosts ensure your WordPress websites are reliable, secure and well-maintained. Managed service providers help your business by orchestrating WordPress with other cloud tools, creating new business solutions that help you run your business. Another category of providers provide on-demand, overnight fixes for WordPress problems at an incredibly competitive cost. Finally freelancer sites now specialize in WordPress development on a global scale.

In this presentation, Alex Sirota (@alexsirota), Director of NewPath Consulting (@newpathtech) and Robin Macrae (@robin_macrae) will describe the different types of WordPress management service available on the market today.

This will be a non-vendor biased presentation that will help web developers, designers and their customers understand the value proposition of the myriad of WordPress-centric services. These services can help you shift your website management from manual to automatic. We spelled “Automattic” correctly in the title of this presentation. It is a humorous reference to Automattic, the for-profit company that helps to manage the WordPress ecosystem and provides an array of managed services we will cover in the presentation.

Alex Sirota, Director of NewPath Consulting, is a pioneer in orchestrating cloud-based systems to meet the needs of small and medium sized business (SMBs). NewPath Consulting provides technology advice, services and training to educate and enable SMBs to optimize business activities through the cloud. NewPath curates and integrates a suite of cloud-based products that transform businesses into more productive and profitable organizations. Alex is an organizer of the Toronto WordPress Group Meetup and leads the Toronto WordPress Group Meetup | North Edition launched in January 2016.
@alexsirota, @newpathtech, http://www.newpathconsulting.com

Robin Macrae works with NewPath in several roles. He is a content strategy and development consultant with a background in information architecture, content management, software development and marketing. He has been a thought leader in professional systems and digital work methodologies for many years. He has been a WordPress consultant and a member the Toronto WordPress Group Meetup since its inception in 2010 and a speaker at WordPress, SharePoint and content management events throughout North America.
@Robin_Macrae, https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinmacrae, http://workspacebuilders.com/

Note:Alex Sirota presented an early version of this talk at WordCamp Toronto 2015.