WordCamp US, 2026  🔗 **Source:** [WordCamp US, 2026](https://topher.how/wordcamp-us-2026/) > [!note]+ Document Notes > --- > tags: [wordcamp-us, wordpress-community, contributor-day, wordpress-photos, hosting-industry, ai-assisted-development, event-accessibility] > author: Topher DeRosia — inferred from site and content; byline not in capture > source: https://topher.how/wordcamp-us-2026/ > reference: "WordCamp US, 2026" — topher.how, personal event recap > date created: 2026-08-26 21:45 > --- > > [!info] Generated analysis — not the author's words. Sections below are machine-written > > from the captured source. Only text inside `> [!quote]` blocks is verbatim from the author. > > Do not quote or attribute any other line to the named author. > # 🏷️ Title: WordCamp US, 2026 > **Attribution — inferred, basis stated.** Reader's `author` field reads `topher.how`, a domain, with **no byline in the capture.** The author is **Topher DeRosia**: the site is his, he references **MediaForge** as his business, and he served as **Table Lead for the WordPress Photos project** — all consistent with his long-standing role in the WordPress community. **Reviewer inference from in-text evidence, not a stated byline.** > **Register — and the disclosure matters.** A **short personal event recap**, 647 words, informal and warm. **It is also partly commercial**, and the author says so in the second paragraph: his attendance was sponsored by **xCloud Hosting**, he wore their shirts at the event, and he uses the post to promote a white-label hosting offering he plans to build. **The disclosure is upfront and unambiguous, which is the right handling** — but the post should be read as a sponsored recap, not a neutral report. > **Why it matters here.** Three things, none of which the post treats as its main subject. It contains a **show-floor observation about hosting and AI that complicates the Sanja Grbic / Jesse Friedman episode** from earlier in this batch. It documents a **last-minute structural change to Contributor Day** worth recording. And it includes a **first-hand account of AI-accelerated plugin development in a single day** — the accelerator pattern again, in a WordPress context. > ## 🧭 Table of Contents > 1. Summary > 2. Main Content and Notes > 3. References > 4. Paraphrase > 5. Newsletter > 6. Action Items > 7. Hypotheses > 8. Methodology > 9. Questions > 10. Future Research > 11. Implications > 12. Learning Styles Assessment > 13. Accessibility Assessment > 14. DEIB Assessment > 15. Logical Validity > 16. DARVO Analysis > 17. Conclusion > 18. Refactor Appendix > 19. Template Library > ## 🔗 References (in-page) > - **xCloud Hosting** — his sponsor, named and disclosed. > - **MediaForge** — his own business, named as the intended home for a white-label hosting offering. > - **The WordPress Photos project** — the team whose Contributor Day table he led. > - **Michelle Frechette** — credited with the idea for the media-library integration plugin. > - **Matt Galdino** (UI work) and **Kamran Abdul Aziz** (remote, performance) — credited contributors. > - **WP Sprints** — a short video he appeared in. > - **The plugin itself** — stated to be on GitHub and downloadable, **not linked in the captured text.** > - People greeted by first name with photos: Harmony, Arpit G, Isotta, Rocio, Chris, Mayank, Maura, Robert, Anthony, Mikey, Nikhil, Guste, Schalonda, Adnan — and *"A pigeon!"* > ## 📝 Summary > **The setting.** WordCamp US 2026, **Phoenix, Arizona, in August.** He opens on the obvious issue: *"Many people were quite wary of the heat, and I know people that didn't even go because of it."* > **Sponsorship, disclosed immediately.** *"I want to start by saying thanks to xCloud Hosting for sponsoring me to WordCamp, I couldn't have gone without them."* He wore their shirts and reports being *"pleasantly surprised by how many people came up to me and told me they had moved (sometimes) hundreds of sites from other hosts to xCloud."* > What he was there promoting: **white-label hosting for freelancers and agencies** — *"Basically you can become a web host with xCloud managing the hard stuff."* He plans to spin this up for MediaForge and make a video about it. > **The hallway track, and the observation that matters.** His favourite track is the informal one. Being there with a host made him attentive to what other hosts were doing: > > *"It looks like hosts are going all in on AI, with site builders, plan management etc. It sort of feels like the way we've always managed hosting (menus, settings, etc.) is passing, and soon we'll simply tell an AI 'Set up a new site with SSL, using Gutenberg and this theme and those plugins' and it'll happen."* > And the self-aware coda: *"As a certified Old Person it feels weird, but I guess everything does when it's new."* > **Contributor Day — the most substantive section.** He was **Table Lead for the Photos Table**, and reports a structural change: > > *"This year they pivoted quite hard just a couple days before the event and decided that rather than have team tables they would have projects, with contributors from many tables."* > **Michelle Frechette proposed** building a plugin to integrate the Photos project into the **WordPress media library.** His reaction and what happened: > > *"I had my doubts we could do it in a day, but AI has really accelerated plugin development, so we dove in. With a single prompt I had a VERY rudimentary plugin running before we even announced what we were building!"* > Credited: **Matt Galdino** for UI work, **Kamran Abdul Aziz** remotely for *"speeding up the entire plugin quite a lot."* Outcome: *"By the end of the day we had a very usable plugin on github… I've added a bunch of new features since then, and it'll go into the WordPress.org plugins repository soon."* > **The heat.** *"I saw it get to 113F. I walked several blocks in it, carrying a backpack. It wasn't that bad. Only once did I sweat, and it wasn't that much."* His comparison: a 69°F, 87%-humidity day in Michigan left him *"drenched in sweat"*, and *"I was much more comfortable with the 113F than the 69F."* > **The close:** *"I had a really great time. It was profitable, it was fun, and I met some great people. Thanks Phoenix!"* > ## 📖 Main Content > ### 🗒️ Notes > **Setting and framing.** > - **WordCamp US 2026, Phoenix, Arizona, August.** > - *"Many people were quite wary of the heat, and I know people that didn't even go because of it. Read below for my opinion about it."* > - **Note the structure:** the heat is raised in the first paragraph as the thing people are worried about, then deferred to the end and answered from personal experience. > **Sponsorship.** > - *"I want to start by saying thanks to xCloud Hosting for sponsoring me to WordCamp, I couldn't have gone without them."* > - Four xCloud t-shirts, worn at the event. > - *"pleasantly surprised by how many people came up to me and told me they had moved (sometimes) hundreds of sites from other hosts to xCloud."* > - **What he was promoting:** *"white label hosting for freelancers and agencies. It's something I've been meaning to spin up for MediaForge, and something I'll be making a video on in the next couple weeks. Basically you can become a web host with xCloud managing the hard stuff. It's pretty slick. If you want to know more let me know."* > - **Reviewer note:** the disclosure is clear, early, and unambiguous. **The post nonetheless functions partly as sponsor content**, and the migration anecdote is an unverifiable testimonial relayed at the sponsor's benefit. > **The hallway track.** > - *"My favorite track at WordCamps is the Hallway Track. I really love meeting new people, greeting old friends, and learning about what everyone is building and doing."* > - Being there with a host made him attentive to *"both what other hosts were doing, but also what regular people were doing for hosting."* > - **The industry observation:** *"It looks like hosts are going all in on AI, with site builders, plan management etc."* > - **The prediction:** *"It sort of feels like the way we've always managed hosting (menus, settings, etc.) is passing, and soon we'll simply tell an AI 'Set up a new site with SSL, using Gutenberg and this theme and those plugins' and it'll happen."* > - **The self-aware hedge:** *"As a certified Old Person it feels weird, but I guess everything does when it's new."* > - A photo  WordCamp US was in Phoenix, Arizona this year. In August. Many people were quite wary of the heat, and I know people that didn’t even go because of it. Read below for my opinion about it. #### Sponsorship xCloud Logo I want to start by saying thanks to [xCloud Hosting](https://xcloud.host/) for sponsoring me to WordCamp, I couldn’t have gone without them. I got 4 cool xCloud t-shirts and wore them at the event, and was pleasantly surprised by how many people came up to me and told me they had moved (sometimes) hundreds of sites from other hosts to xCloud. Here I am with a cool xCloud shirt and the ever cool Emily Sparkle. One of the things I was promoting was white label hosting for freelancers and agencies. It’s something I’ve been meaning to spin up for [MediaForge](https://mediaforge.pro), and something I’ll be making a video on in the next couple weeks. Basically you can become a web host with xCloud managing the hard stuff. It’s pretty slick. If you want to know more let me know. #### WordCamp Networking My favorite track at WordCamps is the Hallway Track. I really love meeting new people, greeting old friends, and learning about what everyone is building and doing. Since I was there with xCloud I was quite interested in both what other hosts were doing, but also what regular people were doing for hosting. It looks like hosts are going all in on AI, with site builders, plan management etc. It sort of feels like the way we’ve always managed hosting (menus, settings, etc.) is passing, and soon we’ll simply tell an AI “Set up a new site with SSL, using Gutenberg and this theme and those plugins” and it’ll happen. As a certified Old Person it feels weird, but I guess everything does when it’s new. Here are some pictures of some great people I met at WordCamp: * [ Harmony!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8810.webp) * [ Arpit G!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8819.webp) * [ Isotta and Rocio!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8823.webp) * [ Chris!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8833.webp) * [ A pigeon!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8838.webp) * [ Mayank!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8839.webp) * [ Maura and Robert!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8840.webp) * [ Anthony!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8841.webp) * [ Mikey!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8842.webp) * [ Nikhil!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8851.webp) * [ Guste!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8854.webp) * [ Schalonda!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8856.webp) * [ Adnan!](https://topher.how/wp-content/uploads/3026/08/IMG_8871.webp) Additionally, I was in a short video made by WP Sprints, check this out: #### Contributor Day I was selected as a Table Lead for the Photos Table. Typically that means I help people get involved with [the WordPress Photos project](https://wordpress.org/photos/). This year they pivoted quite hard just a couple days before the event and decided that rather than have team tables they would have projects, with contributors from many tables. [Michelle Frechette](https://profiles.wordpress.org/michelleames/) had the brilliant idea of building a plugin to integrate the photos project into the WordPress media library. I had my doubts we could do it in a day, but AI has really accelerated plugin development, so we dove in. With a single prompt I had a VERY rudimentary plugin running before we even announced what we were building! We had many contributors and testers, I won’t list them all, but I do want to call out [Matt Galdino](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mattgaldino/), who did some really great work on the UI. [Kamran Abdul Aziz](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ekamran/) also did some great work remotely, speeding up the entire plugin quite a lot. By the end of the day we had a very usable plugin on github. You can [download it](https://github.com/topher1kenobe/WP-Photo-Directory-Importer/) and test it now! I’ve added a bunch of new features since then, and it’ll go into the [WordPress.org](http://WordPress.org) plugins repository soon. Here’s a screenshot of it.  #### About the heat… I saw it get to 113F. I walked several blocks in it, carrying a backpack. It wasn’t that bad. Only once did I sweat, and it wasn’t that much. The week before I left I went to check the mail here in Michigan and came back drenched in sweat. It was 69F, but 87% humidity. I was much more comfortable with the 113F than the 69F. If it were only 80 or 90F out there I think it would be very livable. #### Summary I had a really great time. It was profitable, it was fun, and I met some great people. Thanks Phoenix! , WordCamp US, 2026, Topher DeRosia (inferred - byline not in capture), 01m0zhc0mj0eb49xmqxnj0672y.