The Power of Plone: Highlights from the 2021 Python Web Conference

Learning the power of Plone, a free, Python-based, open source content management system (CMS), was a highlight for Pythonistas at the 3rd annual Python Web Conference. The five-day international conference, the most in-depth Python event for web developers held virtually on LoudSwarm by Six Feet Up, took place from March 22-26, 2021, and featured over 300 attendees from 41 countries and 21 time zones.

The conference featured three, Plone-specific presentations:

Plone for News Portals by Érico Andrei

Andrei, the CTO and co-founder of Pendect, returned to the Python Web Conference for the third consecutive year. During his presentation — which is great resource for anyone looking to get started with Plone or learn how to manage a site’s available features — Andrei:

• presented an in-depth overview of Plone’s out-of-the-box features;
• conducted a live demo; and
• provided several use case examples including how Pendect built upon Plone’s out-of-the-box features for the company’s publishing platform.

Debugging Your Plone Site by Chrissy Wainwright

Wainwright, the Plone Foundation president and Six Feet Up Senior Python Developer, discussed debugging for Plone, the perfect complement to Philip Bauer’s “What You Need To Know About Python Debugging” tutorial which occurred earlier in the conference. During her presentation — which is helpful for anyone who is developing on/using Plone and hoping to eliminate bugs from a production site — Wainwright:

• helped attendees understand why and how bugs happen;
• shared common Plone front-end bugs, debugging add-ons and how to do standardized testing through a Vanilla Plone site; and
• showcased best practices.

Adding Custom Control Panels to Your Plone Add-On by Annette Lewis

Annette Lewis, Six Feet Up Python and Plone Developer, shared insight into Plone custom control panels and why a user would want to add a custom control panel in the first place. During her presentation — which is ideal for more advanced Plone users — Lewis:

• showcased code and live examples for adding custom control panels;
• explained how to make a custom theme add-on function, rather than hard-coding customization options each time; and
• emphasized the importance of custom control panels for saving organizations both time and money.

Explore the complete 2021 Python Web Conference event schedule and presentation details here: https://2021.pythonwebconf.com/schedule.

Learn More:

All 2021 Python Web Conference recordings are now available exclusively to registered attendees in LoudSwarm by Six Feet Up. Post-event access tickets are available to those who did not attend the conference for $100.

The Plone Foundation was a Silver Sponsor of the 2021 Python Web Conference. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities for the 2022 Python Web Conference, reach out to the conference organizers at events@sixfeetup.com. More information about the Python Web Conference, speakers, sponsors, and where to purchase post-event access can be found at https://pythonwebconference.com.