It’s June, which means it’s only a couple of months until the Europe Perl community descends en masse on Glasgow for this year’s Perl Conference (formerly known as YAPC). For me, that also means I need to start planning the training courses I’ll be running before the conference. And for you, it means you need to start deciding which training courses you want to come to before the conference

This year, it looks like there will be one day of training courses on the day before the main conference starts (that’s Tuesday 14th August). There are a number of courses being offered – details are in a recent conference newsletter.

I’ll be giving two half-day courses and, unusually, there will be little or no Perl content in either of them. Here are the details:

Web Site Tune-Up: Improve Your Googlejuice

Many of us have web sites and for most web sites, success is measured by the number of visitors you get. And, in most of the western world, getting your web site to rank higher in Google’s search results is one powerful tool for bringing in more visitors.

In this half-day course, I’ll be introducing a number of simple tips that will make your site more attractive to Google which will, hopefully, improve your search ranking. If you make it easier for Google to understand the contents and structure of your site, then Google is more likely to want to send visitors to your site. (Other search engines are, of course, available but if you keep Google happy, you’ll be keeping them happy too.)

I ran a short version of this course at the London Perl Workshop last year. This version will be twice as long (and twice as detailed).

The Professional Programmer

Some people seem surprised that being really good at programming isn’t the only skill you need in order to have a successful career in software development.

I’ve been working in this industry for thirty years and I like to think I’ve been pretty successful. In this half-day course, I’ll look at some of the other skills that you need in order to do well in this industry. We’ll look at a range of skills from more technical areas like source code control and devops, to softer areas like software development methodologies and just working well with others.

I ran a two-hour version of this course at a London Perl Workshop in the dim and distant past. This version will be updated and expanded.

Both courses will be taking place on the same day. I’m not sure where they will be held, but I’ll let you know as soon as I have that information. Each half-day session costs £75 and you can book places on the conference web site. Places on the courses will be limited, so I recommend booking as soon as possible.

Do these courses sound interesting? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments.