We asked Alexandra from #WCBelfast’s sponsor CaptainForm a few questions on WordPress and WordCamps…

How are you currently using WordPress?
We are developing CaptainForm, a form building plugin launched about a year ago.

What role are you using WordPress as?
We are developers, testers, marketers, support specialists.

How do you think WordPress has evolved over its 13 years?
In a healthy, durable fashion. It turned from a minimal blogging platform into an extremely flexible CMS. I think that its development model is the main reason for its success, as WordPress is being built, directly or indirectly, by its own users. Each addition is a response to a need resulted from usage and, because of the extensive developer community, all major needs find a response, either through core features or through plugins.

Would you like to see anything different in how WordPress has evolved?
The fact that WordPress is helping so many businesses and individuals thrive validates its amazing evolution and the value it has come to provide. To be a bit picky, I would very much fancy a built-in rollback mechanism, and I think that the MySQL search should have been replaced years ago.

What excites you most about WordPress?
I discovered WordPress in the Coltrane and Baker era, when the UI got significantly more inviting. I remember spending very many nights in different dorm rooms playing with core, theme and plugin files, and being very enthusiastic about it, like it was the only purpose of each day. My path went a different way after that, but now I’m working with WordPress again and, while I am still excited about how WordPress works, I am also thrilled about the community.

Have you been to other WordCamps? If so which ones or how many?
We’ve started attending WordCamps this year. We’ve attended WC Bratislava, WC Antwerp, WC Europe, WC Split, now WC Belfast, and we’ll be attending WC Bucharest in October and WC Barcelona in December.

Would you consider yourself to be active within the WordPress Community?
We’ve only got started. There is room for more.

If you currently contribute to the WordPress Community, in what way?
We are sponsors and speakers at different WordCamps, we’ll be volunteering at WC Bucharest, we have started engaging with the localisation community, and we’re thinking about submitting patches to core developers. Reviving the WordPress community in our hometown (Timisoara, Romania) is also on our list, but I’m not sure if it is a realistic plan for us right now.

How do you think we can improve the WordPress community in Northern Ireland?
I’m not familiar with its current status (looking forward to learning about it soon!), but I’m thinking that WordPress meetups and WordPress cafés can only help.

What made you want to get involved with WordCamp Belfast?
The fact that it is an opportunity to discover a new community.

What are you most looking forward to at WordCamp Belfast?
Engaging with the community.

We asked #WCBelfast’s and Global WordCamp sponsor WPML a few questions on WordPress and WordCamps…

How are you currently using WordPress?
As a WordPress company we are, we have currently two WordPress plugins. WPML that makes it easy to build multilingual sites and run them. But also Toolset, the Easiest Way to add Custom Types to WordPress

What excites you most about WordPress?
Its community. I think WordPress has built something different, and that community spirit is what has allowed it to become what it is today.

Have you been to other WordCamps? If so which ones or how many?
As Global sponsors and being a remote working company, we have the opportunity to sponsor WordCamps all over the world. It is exciting to see our team attending in WordCamps: last week we had Denise speaking in WordCamp Frankfurt, this weekend Dat will be speaking at WordCamp Singapore.

Would you consider yourself to be active within the WordPress Community?
Yes, I think our team is pretty active, however it is never enough. I think that there is always a chance to give back a bit more, that’s precisely what keeps WordPress as the it is nowadays. That community feeling of improvement and change.

If you currently contribute to the WordPress Community, in what way?
We are a team with more than 80 members all over the world, we have from core contributors, to people working with the community, plugins, themes..
But also we encourage people to attend, organise and speak in WordCamps. Any way we can contribute to the community is more than welcome.