WordCamp Johannesburg 2026 recap

On Friday 30 October 2026, I attended and spoke at WordCamp Johannesburg.

It has been six years since the last WordCamp in the City of Gold, since the pandemic effectively scattered the existing community organisers to the four winds. 2 years ago a few Johannesburg WordPresers met at WordCamp Cape Town and agreed to reignite the Johannesburg meetup, with the stretch goal of a WordCamp in 2026. It was therefore with great excitement that I made my way to attend its first WordCamp since 2019.

Attendance

The organisers had decided to aim for a smaller event for their first, with 100 tickets available. I chatted with Ryan Wiggle, and they only had a handful of tickets left on the day. The venue was also perfect: the main room comfortably seated 100, with little overflow space, so instead of feeling like a big conference, it felt more like a large family gathering, with folks comfortable joking and laughing with each other and the speakers during sessions.

During the opening and welcome session, it was revealed that approximately 50% of the attendees were attending their first WordCamp, which was pretty exciting! We also had visitors from all over Africa, including Uganda, Cameroon, and Zimbabwe, plus a few folks from Europe.

Sessions

The organizers put together a great schedule, with talks covering practically every aspect of the WordPress ecosystem.

There were also a few AI-related talks (including my own). What I found interesting about Johannesburg versus other WordCamps I’d been to this year is that there doesn’t seem to be hesitation to use AI. All of the talks were AI-positive, and in almost all the conversations I had, folks were actively using AI. The main concerns people had were cost and privacy around customer data, as it relates to our own POPI Act (South Africa’s version of GDPR).

My talk, Work smarter, not harder, The WordPress AI tools worth your time, was the last on the schedule. It went down well, and folks were excited and engaged. At the end of the talk, I handed out Cape Town Wapuu and Studio stickers, as well as some WordPress pins I had.

Conversations

Usually, in between sessions, I try to talk to other developers about their thoughts on AI and WordPress. Unfortunately, something I ate the night before upset my digestive system, so I spent the morning break picking up a few things at a nearby pharmacy, lunch sitting quietly, having a small meal and chatting with old frinds, and the last break having a small cup of coffee to help me wake up for my talk!

Wrap up and plans for the future.

The event ended on a high note, with a group photo, followed by an Automattic team photo with all my work colleagues in attendance.

At the after-event social, organizer David Mutero shared their plans for next year: 150 attendees, 2 days, with up to 2 tracks per day. I’m excited to see that happen!