PressConf wrapped up this past weekend after two packed days of talks, a VIP day, and countless conversations. And honestly, I’m exhausted! It was a big week in every sense.
The mood? Reunion (strangely, even for people who had never been to PressNomics), reflection, and uncertainty — but also a sense of hope, rooted in the feeling that, despite everything that’s going on right now, the WordPress community is still something worth showing up for — and protecting.
This wasn’t a typical business conference, or even like a typical WordCamp. PressConf was small — about 140 people — and it felt more like a retreat: a space for honest conversations, serendipitous moments, and getting to know people beyond their job titles, even among competitors.
At the same time, the tension running through the WordPress community was impossible to ignore. It wasn’t the topic of every conversation, but it was always there — a reminder that big questions about leadership, governance, and the future of the platform still need answers.
If you didn’t see much online about PressConf last week, it’s because the sessions weren’t recorded and the organizers encouraged everyone to be present — and we were.
Recaps are already starting to filter through as folks return home. So here’s mine. While I can’t share everything, here’s my honest take on one of the most impactful events I’ve attended in a long time.
Bringing back what the community wanted
First thing’s first: PressConf wouldn’t have happened without the force that is Raquel Manriquez, along with her dedicated team: Carol Stambaugh, Adam Weeks, Brian Richards, Matt Medeiros, Dave Ryan, Nathan Atkinson, and Nathan B. Weller.
I won’t go into PressConf’s backstory. I covered it last November when it launched: PressConf to Reunite WordPress Business Community in Arizona.
PressConf reflected Raquel’s leadership at every turn, from the branding and speaker selection to the vulnerability she herself brought to the event. She didn’t simply copy-paste PressNomics — she put her on spin on it, making the event her own.
I asked her what she was taking away from the event, now that it’s over: “The overall feeling is overwhelming joy… I can’t believe this worked. It was exactly what I intended it to be,” she said.
The feedback so far is that she nailed it. GravityKit founder Zack Katz sums it up best in his post on LinkedIn:
“Normally, I feel exhausted after an event. This time — even though I went to every talk, networked, talked shop, stayed up every night chatting with WordPress folks — I feel like I just had a vacation. I don’t know what Raquel Manriquez did to accomplish this, but thanks to her and to the whole organizing team.”
My session highlights
Look, all the sessions were great. I attended every one and took copious notes. But let me share my top three, including two that I hosted, if you’ll indulge me.
Mary Hubbard and Matías Ventura on leadership, tension, and hope
I had the privilege of hosting a fireside chat with Mary Hubbard, Executive Director of WordPress, and Matías Ventura, lead architect of Gutenberg. We explored leadership, transparency, Automattic’s reduced contributions, uncertainty around the development of Gutenberg, and their hopes for what the WordPress project might look like a year from now.
While I can’t unpack everything they shared, I want to clarify one important moment: It was hard to miss the audible gasp across the room when Mary revealed how many accounts have been blocked from WordPress.org. After the session, she clarified to me that she wasn’t referring to the number of accounts banned since September — that number is closer to 30.
Unlike other sessions, this one didn’t include a Q&A, which was a controversial move. Those who lined up to ask questions made it very clear they were not happy. The stir prompted Mary’s bodyguard, who had been standing quietly off to the side, to step forward and make his presence known.
According to organizers, Automattic hired security for Mary following online threats after she was announced as a PressConf speaker. Whether those threats were serious or not is beside the point — the fact that security was deemed necessary is a shocking reflection of where the community is at right now.
Karim Marucchi’s alternative future
I also sat down with Karim Marucchi, CEO of Crowd Favorite, to talk about what he’s been working on with Joost de Valk since the pair called for an end to Matt Mullenweg’s role as WordPress’ Benevolent Dictator for Life (BDFL) in December.
Again, I can’t share much from this thought-provoking session, which closed out day one and sparked heated discussions in the groups I spoke with that evening as people tried to unpack what it might mean for WordPress.
During the session, Karim made the case for FAIR — Federated and Independent Repositories — a decentralized approach to distribution outside of WordPress.org. While he spoke mostly in hypotheticals, he outlined a radically different vision for WordPress’ future, sharply contrasting the earlier conversation with Mary and Matías. He also shared his bold hope for WordPress a year from now.
Karim left many thinking harder about what governance reform could potentially look like in practice, the challenges that would come with trying to make change happen, and what’s at stake if the status quo holds.
Miriam Schwab is a badass
Miriam Schwab, Elementor’s Head of WordPress, delivered one of the most powerful sessions of PressConf — a deeply personal talk sharing the realities of her career and family life since she first became involved with WordPress.
She shared candid stories, photos, and text messages, opening up about the personal challenges she has overcome, both in her personal and professional life. She also shared the everyday realities that are constant and grounding, no matter how successful you are, like the dirty dishes waiting at home.
She also spoke about the intense and ongoing hardships she is facing today, as the war in Israel continues to impact her family, friends, and daily life.
The session felt raw and unguarded — the kind of openness that could only come from someone willing to put so much of themselves into their story. The room was completely absorbed. Her talk ran nearly 30 minutes overtime, but no one seemed to mind, everyone stayed, listening right to the end.
A business conference where crying is completely normal
“If you’re a first-timer, you might be thinking, ‘Why are so many people crying at a business conference?’” podcaster Matt Medeiros joked during the final session, a live podcast recording set to be released soon.
It’s a fair question, especially for newcomers. But as GREYD COO/CMO Sandra Kurze shared in her thoughtful LinkedIn recap, emotional honesty was part of what made the experience so powerful.
“As Germans, we usually keep our personal lives separate from business, so we are not used to business conference talks that include a lot of personal things. We are definitely not used to speakers showing raw emotions on stage,” Sandra wrote.
“So it felt a little unusual at first when we realized that the speakers on stage were not only there to share business related experiences, thoughts and advice, but also to give us very deep insights into their personal lives.
“But it didn’t take us long to realize that some of the talks would be among the best we’d ever heard. They would be talks that would not only provide immense value on both a personal and business level, but would also move us deeply. Tears were shed not only on the stage, but also in the audience.”
Real conversations, real connections, and real business impact
Everyone I spoke to had different reasons for coming. Some wanted to test business or product ideas. Some were looking for collaborators. Others came to hang out with old friends from the PressNomics days. Some were simply curious — they’d never been to PressNomics and wanted to see what PressConf would be like.
While business conversations often happen during WordCamps, those events aren’t really set up for it. PressConf was, and you could feel the difference. Everywhere you turned, people were meeting: in the hotel lobby, at nearby cafes and restaurants, by the pool, on the couches outside the elevators on every floor. And meetings weren’t tucked away — as soon as you walked out of the lift into the lobby, you could see them happening all around you, part of the energy of the event.
Tempe Mission Palms, long the home of PressNomics, was the perfect backdrop for it all, with plenty of spaces that made it easy to sit down, talk, and make things happen. As Barn2’s Katie Keith put it in her recap, the small size of the event meant you kept running into the same people, leading to better conversations and bigger opportunities.
For me personally, attending PressConf was a game-changer, and I look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks. Much of the value came from the unexpected moments: the honest conversations, the openness to share so much more than you might in a Slack message, and the willingness to listen deeply and share advice. But it was also about showing up. The fact that I was there in person made all the difference.
One serendipitous moment: Thanks to jetlag, I was up at 5am on Friday and decided to hike up Hayden Butte behind the hotel. At the top, I ran into Roger Williams from Kinsta and we ended up grabbing breakfast together. Not only was it great to get to know him better, he gave me ideas I’m already putting into action this week. Thanks, Roger!
The companies that helped make PressConf possible
Let’s face it: PressConf wouldn’t have happened without the financial support of its sponsors: Kinsta, GoDaddy, WP Engine, Bluehost, Pressable, and Wonderland Curious (Raquel’s event and travel business — she says a website will be up soon.)
A further shout out to the event’s Community sponsors: StellarWP, BigScoots, A2 Hosting, Blackwall, Rapyd Cloud, and Showit for also supporting the conference.
The top-level sponsors were all hosting competitors (including two that are locked in a legal battle…). But as WP Engine’s Brian Gardner posted on X and LinkedIn, it was a powerful reminder of what makes WordPress special: collaboration over competition.
Wrapping up
For some, PressConf felt like a reunion, a chance to catch up with old friends from the PressNomics days. For others, like me, it was a rare chance to step away from my desk, meet people IRL, and have the kinds of real conversations you can’t have over Slack — conversations full of nuance, depth, and even a bit of silliness. A chance to really get to know people, not just swap information.
The organizers are already planning next year’s event at Tempe Mission Palms, with dates to be announced soon, and from what Raquel has shared with me, it sounds like PressConf will be staying there for years to come.
If you thought about going this year and didn’t, you missed out! And if you were waiting to see how the first year would go, take this as your sign: it’s absolutely worth it.
Based on the overwhelming positive feedback from this year, I’m calling it: next year’s event is going to sell out quickly. Since ticket numbers will be capped to keep the event small (around 200, I’m told), you’ll want to grab one early so you don’t miss out.
I’m back home now with a head full of ideas, a Notes app full of follow-ups, lots of new friends, and a strong sense that showing up — even when things feel uncertain — still matters, because the WordPress community is everything.
The Repository is a proud media partner of PressConf.
Disclosure: PressConf invited The Repository to attend and covered flights, accommodation, and a VIP ticket. All views shared in this recap are genuine and subject to The Repository’s advertising policy.
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