Speaker Spotlight: Douglas Hanna of A Small Orange

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Michael Torbert

Douglas Hanna

If you’re in the market for a web hosting provider (or frustrated with your current one) don’t miss Douglas Hanna’s session, The Secrets of Web Hosting without the BS. A returning speaker to WordCamp Raleigh, Douglas knows the world of hosting. He’s the CEO of A Small Orange, a hosting company that makes customer service a priority.

Finding a good hosting provider is about more than just looking at their reviews online and picking someone who sounds good. It’s about understanding the goals for your site and how that provider can support you along the way. Douglas will cover topics like how to choose a quality host and choosing the right package to fit your needs. He’ll also demystify some industry jargon and dispel common myths about hosting.

When it comes to WordPress, Douglas likes the extensibility. “If WordPress core doesn’t do what you need, chances are there’s a plugin that does,” he said. “Very few platforms can combine the ease of use that WordPress offers out of the box with the tremendous extensibility that’s easily within reach.”

One of Douglas’ favorite WordPress features are the iPad and iPhone apps. “The blog I use the most is written by several different people, so I use the iPhone and iPad apps all the time to make quick edits to new posts published by others,” he said.

The most important thing you’ll get from attending Douglas’ session at WordCamp Raleigh is how to choose the right plan at the right web hosting company. Douglas feels that “A web host is essential to keeping your site online, and I want to help attendees make the right choice.”

Attend this session and get even more WordPress awesomeness at WordCamp Raleigh 2012 on Nov 3-4. Tickets are only $40 and you can register online now!

Written by Kelly Phillips

A Small Orange sponsors WordCamp Raleigh 2011

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Steve M

We are pleased to announce that A Small Orange is sponsoring WordCamp Raleigh 2011. Here’s a note from the guys at A Small Orange:

We’re A Small Orange – a soon to be Durham-based Linux hosting company dedicated to our customers. We provide a wide range of high value hosting options including shared hosting, business class hosting, virtual private servers, and managed dedicated servers. Even though we’re responsible for hosting over 450,000 domains, we haven’t lost sight of our humble roots. Our commitment to customer service continues to set us apart from our competition.

We’re not just making things easier for webmasters, we’re also doing our best to make a difference. That’s why we’re proud to support the local WordPress community through our sponsorship of WordCamp Raleigh 2011. Without strong support from talented developers and users like you, the world wouldn’t have access to terrific open source tools like WordPress. We admire and respect the collaboration and effort required to make projects like WordPress possible.

So, thanks for all the hard work you’ve poured into this project, and thanks for making WordPress what it is today.

The CEO of A Small Orange will be speaking at WordCamp Raleigh about the WordPress Showcase. We’d like to thank A Small Orange for their support of WordCamp Raleigh 2011. Come join us on May 21st and 22nd and meet them.

Speaker Spotlight: Douglas Hanna of A Small Orange

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Steve M

Douglas runs a web hosting company called A Small Orange, but has been involved with WordPress in a variety of ways for a number of years now, including as the person responsible for the very popular WordPress Showcase. The Showcase is terrific because it shows what people can do with WordPress. As Douglas put it, it’s WordPress’ way to sort of promote the people who have used WordPress in unique ways and attract more users to it.

Douglas will be presenting on the topic of Showcasing the Showcase in the Users track. Here’s an extract from what you can expect to hear from Douglas:

In his presentation, Douglas will highlight close to 20 of the most interesting WordPress sites online today. Expect to learn about what celebrities, world leaders, athletes, and the like are using WordPress, but also about some unique and innovative sites that you might not have heard about. Douglas will also go over how to get your own site included in the Showcase and how the WordPress Showcase came about and works today.

So register today for WordCamp Raleigh 2011 and come meet Douglas.