MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Anything that brings together 2 or more people to share their WordPress experiences counts — there’s no minimum number of attendees or required format. These events (commonly referred to as “meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook.”, which can be confusing since people often use the same word to describe the group itself) take many formats:

  • presentations/lecture series,
  • hackathons,
  • social gatherings,
  • workshops,
  • co-working,
  • running a WordPress help desk,
  • contributor sprints/drives, and others.

For groups that are hosted on meetup.com, there is an official WordPress chapter account. WordPress meetup groups that are part of this chapter receive certain benefits, including having the meetup.com dues paid by the WordPress Community Support PBCWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a subsidiary of WordPress Foundation. It is created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program.. Having a meetup group on this account does require following a few good-faith rules that were created by a group of volunteer meetup organizers:

  1. WordPress Meetups are for the benefit of the WordPress community as a whole, not specific businesses or individuals. All actions taken as an event organizer are with the best interest of the community in mind.
  2. Membership in the local meetup group is open to all who wish to join, regardless of ability, skill, financial status or any other criteria.
  3. Meetups are volunteer-run with volunteer speakers. In cases where a modest attendance fee might be necessary, this fee should only cover the costs of the meetup and should not be used to pay speakers or organizers.
  4. Meetup groups allow events to be organized by any reliable/trusted member of the community.
  5. Meetups are welcoming places where everyone works to foster an accepting environment which is free of discrimination, incitement to violence, promotion of hate, and general jerk-like behavior.

Want to start a WordPress meetup? Apply here!

Suggesting Meetup Events for your Local Meetup Group

Any member of WordPress Chapter Meetup groups can organize an event for their group and are encouraged to do so — the more events a group has at different times and in different parts of town, the more people will be able to be involved in some kind of WordPress Meetup activity. Events don’t need to be formal presentation series, they can be pretty much anything that brings together 2 or more WP people and gets them talking about WordPress.

  • If you would like to organize an event for your local group, follow these steps:
    Decide what kind of event you want to organize. It could be co-working at a coffeeshop, blogging over a beer, a weekend hackathon, a study group, you name it. If it relates to WordPress, let’s try it!
  • Find a venue. For smaller events just getting started, a coffeeshop or a pub can be a good first venue. As the event grows (if you do more of them) you may want to look into a donated venue. If it requires a paid venue, the Venue request form.
  • Schedule the event on the meetup group. Be sure to use a descriptive event title, and write a good description so people know what to expect if they come. If you say you’ll wear a WordPress/WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. shirt, it makes it easier for people to find you.
  • Show up.
  • Show up.
  • Did we mention show up? Seriously, though, if you schedule an event, you really need to be there. Please arrive a little early so that if other group members get there early they won’t feel lost.
  • Have your event (yay!), keep track of who attends, and update the RSVP attendance list afterward so we have an accurate count of who was there.
  • Start thinking about your next event!