Overview
This page helps organizers plan what actually happens during a WordPress Campus Connect (WPCC) event: the format, the content, and the activities. It builds on the formats and standards outlined in Event Formats & Standards, with more detail on structuring the day (or days) and delivering sessions that meet the WPCC standard.
The standard: tangible outcomes, not just presentations
Whatever format you choose, every WPCC event should give students a tangible outcome, not just information. That’s the single most important thing to plan around:
For WPCC events, we would like to see tangible outcomes for students, like creating their first WordPress website, contributing to the community, developing a website, etc., not just seminar/presentation events. If this new event is mostly presentation, then we’d recommend a different WordPress event format instead of WPCC.
A tangible outcome can look like:
- A student builds and publishes their first website, on WordPress.comWordPress.com An online implementation of WordPress code that lets you immediately access a new WordPress environment to publish your content. WordPress.com is a private company owned by Automattic that hosts the largest multisite in the world. This is arguably the best place to start blogging if you have never touched WordPress before. https://wordpress.com/ or WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/
- A student makes their first community contribution, such as a SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ introduction, a TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. or GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged by the repository owner. https://github.com/ ticket, a Learn WordPress lesson, or translation work
- A student completes a guided, hands-on activity from the Activity Library
- A student joins or forms a Student Club, or signs up for WP Credits, as a next step after the event
If a planned event is mostly a keynote, a panel, or a pitch about WordPress or the Credits and Student Clubs programs, with no hands-on component, it’s a better fit for a different WordPress event format, like a 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., a talk, or an orientation session. Have that conversation with organizers early, before an agenda is built, so they can choose the format that fits what they actually want to run.
Suggested workshop formats
A single-day or half-day workshop covering the fundamentals of WordPress and basic hands-on activities is perfectly acceptable, especially when launching Campus Connect for the first time. Use these as starting points, and adapt based on capacity, student experience level, and available devices.
Half-day (roughly two to four hours): Keep the agenda simple, and protect time for the hands-on portion; it’s the part organizers most often report running short. A typical flow: a brief welcome and introduction to WordPress and WPCC, a guided hands-on activity from the Activity Library sized to the time available, and a short close covering certificates and next steps. If devices are limited, small-group or shared-laptop activities let students work hands-on together toward a shared outcome rather than defaulting to a presentation. A coffee break is generally enough catering for a half-day event.
Full-day (roughly six to eight hours): Gives room for a fuller arc: an introduction, one or more hands-on workshop blocks resulting in a published first website, certificate distribution, and community networking or Q&A that introduces Student Clubs and WP Credits as next steps. If an event is drawing a very large number of speakers and a packed schedule, consider a leaner agenda with fewer speaking slots and more facilitation time. It’s often easier to organize, and it protects the hands-on time that gives students real value. Plan for a meal rather than just a coffee break.
Multi-day, multi-session, or extended: Works well when the goal is a completed student project rather than a single introductory session. A sample two-day structure:
- Day 1: Introduction to WordPress and setup, including a hands-on workshop where students create a WordPress.org account and build a first site on WordPress.com
- Day 2: Next steps, including certificate distribution and an introduction to the community, Student Clubs, and WP Credits
Organizers have also had success spacing sessions across several weeks or a full term: an opening session, one or more workshop sessions on building a site, a stretch of independent project time with mentorEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. support, and a closing event where students present their projects and get feedback. A clear session-by-session plan up front, even a simple one, helps keep momentum and makes it easier to recruit facilitators who can commit to specific sessions.
For centralized events across multiple campuses, see the multi-campus guidance in Event Formats & Standards.
Facilitation approach
Sessions should emphasize interactive sessions, inclusive participation, and practical demonstrations. Recommended tools include WordPress Playground, Learn WordPress courses, and local testing environments.
As a general guide, plan for at least three organizers or facilitators per event. The right number depends on the size and duration of the event, and how many concurrent activity stations or breakout groups are planned. Larger events need more facilitators on hand to keep hands-on portions genuinely hands-on; it’s easy for practical time to get squeezed out when there are many speakers and few facilitators helping students work through an activity.
Hands-on activities
Student engagement should focus on:
- Creating basic or personal websites
- Exploring themes, plugins, and the blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. editor
- Completing guided activities from the Activity Library
- Discussing real-world WordPress applications and career opportunities
Mentorship component
The program incorporates mentor support for small groups during and after events. Students can connect with mentorsEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues. on the WordPress.org Slack for continued support after the event ends.
Resources for organizers
Organizers don’t need to build a session from scratch. A few places to start:
- Learn WordPress: courses and lessons that can be used directly or adapted for a session
- Learn WordPress Activity Library: ready-to-use, hands-on activity kits and facilitation guides, sized for different time slots, well suited to half-day events or limited-device situations
- Here you can find the prebuilt curriculum that might help you.
None of this is prescriptive about exactly which activities or how many sessions an event should have; every campus, student group, and facilitator team is different. The goal is to give organizers planning their first (or fifth) WPCC event real examples to work from, all pointed at the same outcome: students leaving with something they built, contributed to, or started.