What is WordCamp?

A WordCamp is a conference, usually held in person, where anyone can learn about WordPress and connect with other users of the CMS. Because WordPress is created and maintained by its community, meeting the people who use and build it can help you solve site problems, learn new techniques, and find ongoing community support. Some WordCamps have also run fully online.

Sessions run in several formats: presentations, lightning talks, panels, live demos, and hands-on workshops, covering everything from first-site basics to advanced development.

The history of WordCamps

The first WordCamp took place in San Francisco in 2006. The model spread: local communities have since organized 1,487 WordCamps and other WordPress events across 421 cities, 72 countries, and 6 continents, according to WordCamp Central (August 2026). What started as one city’s gathering now spans everything from single-day local events to multi-day flagship conferences.

Flagship events vs. local WordCamps

Three flagship events anchor the calendar: WordCamp Asia, WordCamp Europe, and WordCamp US. Each runs 3 to 4 days of keynotes and sessions, with more sponsors and attendees from around the world. WordCamp US 2026, for example, runs August 16–19 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and the ticket covers Contributor Day, Showcase Day, and two conference days. Local and regional WordCamps are smaller, cheaper, and closer to home, and they often feature the same speakers who appear at the larger industry conferences. If you’re picking a first event, start local: it’s the lower-cost, lower-key way in.

WordCamp vs. WordPress meetup

The two are connected by design:

• WordPress meetup: a local group that gets together regularly for smaller, informal events.
• WordCamp: ideally, that meetup group’s annual big event: a full conference with speakers, workshops, and sponsors.

If your area has no meetup group, a WordCamp can be the event that kicks one off. Any surplus a WordCamp raises is reinvested in the community, often by supporting those ongoing meetups.

The volunteers who run WordCamps

Local volunteer communities organize every WordCamp, with guidance and resources from the global WordPress community. Speakers donate their time, and event-day helpers are volunteers too. Volunteering is one of the most rewarding ways to give back to the WordPress open source project. The name is protected as well: events organized for profit aren’t approved to use it. If you want to go further, the WordPress Foundation is the charity that works to keep WordPress free and open source, and our guide on how to become a WordPress contributor covers the first steps.

How to attend a WordCamp

Upcoming events worldwide are listed on the WordCamp Central schedule. Between annual WordCamps, your local WordPress meetup group is the usual entry point to the community. And if you can’t attend in person, you don’t lose the talks: session videos and slides are published free after each event.