Caspar works as a customer support agent at WP Media, helping people to get their websites fast with page caching, image optimization, and a decent dose of good old common sense. His involvement with the WordPress Community has included co-organizing local Meetups and related events, as well as volunteering and speaking at WordCamps.
Caspar will be giving a talk titled “Fast websites and how to make them“.
Why did you decide to speak at WordCamp Harare?
Well, I didn’t—you people did! I just applied, and I’m honored you selected me. 😉
Earlier this year, I saw Thabo’s Lightning Talk at WordCamp Europe. He talked about how the Harare WordPress community started out, how you’re growing, how the first WordCamp went, and the like.
Later I had a chance to talk to Thabo directly, and frankly, I just felt inspired! So felt my teammate Alice from WP Media, and together we decided we were going to apply for speaking. Thanks to our company’s generous support we don’t need to worry about travel cost, so it really was a matter of whether you people would have us. We’re excited to get to know the Harare WordPress community!
What is your talk going to be about?
Fast websites—that is: website performance, caching, speedy websites on mobile, maybe even offline support (progressive web apps).
By the way, I’m still figuring out from which angle I should approach the topic for this WordCamp?
Are you people interested in the tech stuff, like how to drill down into plugin code, un-hook unnecessary scripts, that sort of thing? Or should we take a more general approach on what kind of themes and plugins one can rely upon safely in terms of speed, and what kind one should avoid?
Could really use feedback from all of you here!
What is the one thing you want people to walk away with from your talk?
If I have to settle for one thing, I’d say: A solid understanding of what “speed” and “performance” actually mean.
There is so much confusion out there about what those are. Services throw tech terminology at people who just try to maintain a website with a tool like WordPress.
You don’t need to be a full-stack web developer these days to create a website, but naturally, when people lack basic understanding of what a website is technically, they get lost in jargon about “browser cache” and “render-blocking resources” and what not.
Even people who build websites for clients get confused about those terms all the time—and I don’t blame them!
So I really hope I can get across a fresh perspective on what performance really is, why it matters, and what is safe to expect from a WordPress website in terms of speed.
This may still seem a lot for a 20 minutes talk, but I heard we might have a chance to attend a WordPress meetup in Harare soon after the WordCamp? That’d be awesome!
How did you discover WordPress?
My younger brother started travelling the world after finishing college. I had already built a couple of websites for clients at that time, and had read about WordPress, so I made a blog for him to post travel updates for the family back home. That was WordPress 1.5. 😀
Next, I made WordPress sites for my brother in law and for the church I attended at the time. With those projects under my belt I started using WordPress in my client projects, until I stopped client work in 2013 and started working in customer support for themes and plugins at Inpsyde, and later at WP Media.
How has WordPress impacted you?
Getting into the open source mindset, and particularly getting involved with the WordPress community both, locally and globally, has made me a different and a better person, simple as that. It also helped me becoming a self-sustaining web developer when I was tired of being a broke musician. 😉
What do you do when not working?
Thinking about work. Honestly, I have a hard time convincing my brain to not bother about a problem I’m trying to solve at work, or a product idea I feel intrigued with. Probably the only time I really don’t think about anything work-related is when I sleep, watch a good movie, or play the piano. I’m working on developing healthier habits in that regard. 😉