The Top 10 Talks to See at WebExpo 2014

WebExpo 2014 is kicking off September 12, and we can’t wait!

For those of you who don’t know, WebExpo is the largest conference for Central European web designers, developers, and internet businesses, which has taken place annually for the last 6 years in Prague, Czech Republic.

As a professional guarantor of this amazing conference, we got to nominate some of the speakers. With so many amazing people giving talks this year, there’s some hard choices ahead!

We wanted to share the presentations we’re planning to attend and hopefully, it will help you decide what to go see.

Here are our team picks for the top 10 talks to go see:

Marko Dugonjić (HR): Responsive Web Typography

The basics of responsive web design are no longer enough to ensure your content adapts correctly across all the devices we have available today. You also need to consider factors like reading distance, information density, screen sharpness, and device orientation when evaluating the reading process.

And who better to cover the topic of responsive typography than one of the editors of Smashing Magazine?

Marko Dugonjić will show you how to look at typography multidimensionally in order to enhance the overall responsive experience of users.

Michal Buzek (CZ): Having Data Is Good, Using It Is Even Better

Head analytics man of Seznam.cz Michal Buzek talks the importance of data and how (if done correctly) it can be used to discover useful product information and even influence important business decisions.

He’ll share personal examples where data collection helped Seznam improve its products and increase revenues, as well as cover the pitfalls of following the wrong data.

Mark Ethan Trostler (USA): Designing Testable JavaScript Applications

Writing testable JavaScript is an important part of improve the quality (i.e. the sustainability, durability, and accuracy) of your code. Although there are several methods from other languages that apply to JavaScript, there are specific challenges that developers will face when it comes to writing and testing their code.

What anti-pattern prevents testing? How do you measure the testability of your code? And what’s the next step after you’ve written testable code?

Google Ads software engineer Mark Ethan Trostler will go over various ideas, design patterns, and methods that can help enhance the testability of your code.

Petr Chytil (CZ): Fast Data Delivery from the Cloud – A Strong Weapon in the Anti-Virus Arms Race

Petr Chytil heads Quality Assurance at AVAST software. He’ll discuss the need for increasing the speed of data distribution channels and new techniques for keeping anti-virus database definitions up-to-date in order to combat the increasing unpredictability of malware distributors.

Chytil will focus on infrastructure, the newest distribution techniques, and best practices for testing database definitions quickly and efficiently.

Tomáš Holas (CZ): Grunt v.s. Gulp – The Evolution of Build Systems

This talk is of particular interest to our team since we just recently started our own migration to Gulp.js. What does it mean when a new arrival like Gulp becomes a very real rival of the original king, Grunt? Is it a revolution or evolution?

Tomáš Holas of Socialbakers will talk about his own deployment experiences using both systems to demonstrate the benefits and the risks that come with different types of projects.

Daniel Steigerwald (CZ): Isomorphic Web Apps

When you write your code clean and DRY – you get an isomorphic app. But why is it a good idea to write both browser and server code?

Google Developers Expert and creator of Este.js Daniel Steigerwald will help answer this question by sharing his experience with designing and implementing isomorphic web apps.

James Waldrop (USA): Web Performance Testing at Scale

“Curious what Twitter did to get ready for the World Cup?”

Then you won’t want to miss keynote speaker, James Waldrop, as he shares how Twitter prepares to avoid unexpected fail whales and verify performance.

He’s a senior engineer at Twitter and the author of the Iago load generator, which Twitter uses to generate realistic traffic in excess of expected production loads.

Marek Raida (CZ): Don’t Be Afraid to SVG

Marek Raida of LMC will tackle the most common objections web designers and programmers have to SVG, such as lack of knowledge, compatibility, and easier methods.

This session should provide you with a better understanding of how to use SVG (and maybe even encourage you to start using it more regularly in your own projects.

Jan Sechovec (CZ): Banking WebAPIs and Their Security

As more and more web developers (and large-scale enterprise applications) opt for using API-centric access points, fitting out systems and apps with a REST API interface is becoming a necessity. The same goes for banks!

So what are the pitfalls and security risks for someone creating an open banking API for a huge banking system?

Join Česká Spořitelna’s Jan Sechovec as he shares what it was like building a banking API from inception to implementation and deployment.

Michal Kubíček (CZ): How (Not) to Have Your WordPress Site Hacked

Ever wonder what makes website owners using WordPress vulnerable to hackers, malware, spambots, and other “online vermin”?

This is the talk for you.

Michal Kubíček will go over examples from practice and (more or less) successful stories about what can happen when your site gets hacked.

Other Important Things You Need to Know

This year’s conference will be taking place at 7 different locations around the city center of Prague over 3 days.

According to the organizers, these venues will be adapted for the following purposes:

• Lucerna will be where all the keynote presentations take place.
• Světozor will be used for panel discussions and controversial topics.
• Bez Zábradlí Theater will have hands-on lectures and workshops.
• Česká Spořitelna and Cevro Institute will be used for smaller group topics.
• Era Svět will be a resting area with courses and coffee.
• Wayra will host the startup stage on Wenceslas Square.

Unlike last year’s conference, which was delivered entirely in English, half of the presentations at WebExpo 2014 will be given in Czech. Additionally, there will be a Czech translator for all the keynote speakers at Lucerna.

Standard tickets can be purchased here for 3,000 Kč (€ 110) until September 7th. If you miss this deadline, late tickets will be available for 3, 500 Kč (€ 130) until September 12th.

Remember there will be around 80 speakers this year talking about web design and other related fields, so contact the organizers if you’re having trouble navigating the program!

You can also check out the official WebExpo Facebook page and Twitter profile for more tips about what presentations, courses, panels, and workshops to attend.

Will you be attending WebExpo 2014? 

Let us know on Facebook or @testomatocom! We’d love to say hello in person.

See you there!