Lessons in Summit 2026:

1. 1 The State of the Space by Joe Workman

   Objective: Joe kicks off the 10th annual summit with a look at where we are and where we're headed. You'll get the latest on Total CMS 3, BetterSiteHost, the Stacks ecosystem, and how AI is reshaping the way this community builds for the web. Ten years in, the tools have changed, the landscape has shifted, and the opportunities have never been bigger. Grab your coffee and settle in — this is your roadmap for the weekend.

2. 2 148 Websites, One Contract by Chris Powers

   Objective: What if your next client didn't need one website — but 148? Chris Powers walks through the world of RFPs and how freelancers can tap into a massive, overlooked source of business. Schools, districts, and public organizations put out requests for proposals all the time, and most freelancers don't even know where to find them. Chris covers the full process — from discovering opportunities to crafting a winning response — and makes the case that RFPs could be the business model you didn't know you were missing.

3. 3 I'm Not a Coder — But Now I Don't Have to Be by Gary Wann

   Objective: Gary Wann has been building clean, simple websites for his amateur radio and hobby communities for years. He's not a developer — and he never expected to be writing custom code. But with Total CMS 3's MCP server and ChatGPT, that's exactly what's happening. In this session, Gary shares how AI that actually understands T3 has let him build solutions he never thought were possible — generating HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that drops right into his Stacks sites and just works. If you've ever thought "I wish I could do that, but I'm not a coder," this talk is for you.

4. 4 Navigating the Deck: Building Client-Editable Menus with T3 by Joshua Omilian

   Objective: Josh Omilian is back with a deep dive into one of Total CMS 3's most powerful Pro features — the Deck field. In this session, Josh shows how he uses Decks to build dynamic, fully editable menus that clients can update themselves without touching a single line of code. You'll see how to structure the schema, build the templates, and hand off a menu system your clients will actually enjoy using. A practical, real-world walkthrough for anyone building client sites with T3.

5. 5 The State of Stacks: The Power of Partials by Isaiah Carew

   Objective: Stacks 6 is getting closer — and partials are the last big piece of the puzzle. Isaiah Carew is back with the session every Stacks user waits for, and this year he's pulling back the curtain on how partials integrate into the Stacks UI and what they unlock for the way you build. This is the feature that needed to land before Stacks 6 could cross the finish line, and Isaiah is ready to show you where things stand. If you're excited about the future of Stacks, you don't want to miss this one.

6. 6 The AI-Powered Web Design Studio by Davide Fanchin

   Objective: Davide Fanchin has spent the last year rebuilding how he runs his web design business — and AI is at the center of it. In this session, he walks through the workflows he's built around AI tools to move faster, deliver better work, and spend less time on the parts of the job that used to drain him. From client communication and proposals to design decisions and content, Davide shows you how AI fits into the full lifecycle of a web project. If you're ready to go beyond the basics and actually change how your business operates, this is the session to be in.

7. 7 Building the Company Brain with Total CMS by Matthew Turco

   Objective: Matthew Turco's company had a problem a lot of businesses share — critical product knowledge scattered across people's heads, old documents, and tribal memory. In this session, Matt shares how he's using Total CMS to pull all of that into centralized playbooks for his teams. You'll hear his journey from scattered information to structured, searchable knowledge bases — one for each team — and how Total CMS became the backbone of how his company shares what it knows. A fascinating look at T3 beyond the typical website use case.

8. 8 SEO in the Age of AI: Getting Discovered in 2026 by Chris Powers

   Objective: The way people find websites is changing fast. AI-powered search, answer engines, and shifting algorithms mean the SEO playbook from even a year ago is already outdated. Chris Powers is back with a fresh look at what's actually working right now — from optimizing for AI-driven search results to using AI tools in your own workflow to write better content, research smarter keywords, and stay ahead of the curve. Whether you're trying to get your own site ranking or helping clients get found, Chris will cut through the noise and give you practical strategies you can put to work today.

9. 9 Find the Needle in the Stamp Stack by Bill Burden

   Objective: Bill Burden built one of the most data-rich sites in the Total CMS 3 community — a searchable catalog for stamp collectors. In this session, he'll show you how he combined Foundation 6 forms with Total CMS 3's filtering to let users drill down through thousands of stamps to find exactly what they're looking for. You'll see how to build search forms, wire up filters, and give your visitors a fast, intuitive way to explore large collections of content.

10. 10 Stacks 6 Themes: Under the Hood by Isaiah Carew

    Objective: Isaiah Carew goes deep on one of the most ambitious parts of Stacks 6 — themes. Building on last year's introduction, this session digs further into how the theming system works and what it means for developers and designers. Isaiah says he could spend an entire day on this topic and still only scratch the surface — so expect a packed session that moves fast and covers a lot of ground. If you want to understand where Stacks 6 is headed from a technical standpoint, this is the talk to be in.

11. 11 Why Clients Will Still Choose You Over AI by Bret Carmichael

    Objective: AI can write copy, generate layouts, and spit out code — so what exactly are you selling now? Bret Carmichael is back with a talk every freelance web designer needs to hear. In this session, Bret breaks down how to identify and articulate the value that AI simply can't replicate, and how to position your services so clients see you as irreplaceable rather than replaceable. If you've been wondering how to compete in a world where the tools keep getting smarter, Bret has some answers.

12. 12 The Freelancer Panel: Real Talk for 2026

    Objective: The freelancer panel is back. Join a group of experienced web design freelancers for a live Q&A covering the stuff that actually matters — landing clients, pricing your work, managing projects, dealing with scope creep, and keeping the business sustainable. The landscape keeps shifting, and this panel keeps it honest. Bring your questions, get real answers from people who are living it every day.

13. 13 Dynamic Layouts 2.0: Taking the Training Wheels Off Total CMS 3 by Joshua Omilian

    Objective: Five years ago at the Weaver's Space Summit, Joshua Omilian showed the community how to break free from rigid grids and build truly dynamic layouts. For the 10th anniversary, he's back to completely rewrite that playbook for the Total CMS 3 era. This session goes far beyond standard text and image swaps. Josh will show you how to use T3 as a macro layout engine — leveraging advanced conditional logic, dynamic class injection, and template switching to build sites that completely morph their layout, design, and structure based on the content driving them. If you want to see how a seasoned pro bends the full power of T3 to build complex, high-ticket client sites, this is the session you won't want to miss.

14. 14 From T1 to T3: The Migration Playbook by Joe Workman

    Objective: Migrating from Total CMS 1 to Total CMS 3 is easier than you think — but there's more to it than just moving data. In this session, Joe covers the built-in migration tool that handles the heavy lifting, then digs into the mindset shifts and best practices that will set you up for success on v3. You'll learn what's changed, what's better, and how to approach the upgrade so your sites come out stronger on the other side.

Lessons in Summit 2025:

1. 1 Total CMS 3: Your New Best Friend by Bill Burden

2. 2 A Web Wizard’s Guide to Managing Projects by Martin Waring

3. 3 Real Talk from Real Freelancers

4. 4 40 Years of Indie Dev: A Conversation with Jim Rea

5. 5 Meet Stacks 6: Your New Favorite Website Builder by Isaiah Carew

6. 6 From Foundry to Foundation: One User’s Journey by Adam Jackson

7. 7 Beyond SEO Helper: Meta Tags Are Just the Beginning by Geoff Taylor

8. 8 How to Win Friends and Influence Customers by Joe Workman

9. 9 Canned Potatoes & CSS: Confessions of a Reluctant Web Designer by Mila Banerjee

10. 10 Creating Themes with Stacks 6 by Isaiah Carew

11. 11 Design Systems: The Dos and Don’ts by Bret Carmichael

12. 12 Next Level Magic with Total CMS 3 by Davide Fanchin

13. 13 Newsletters That Work (and Don’t Drive You Crazy) by Mari Pfeiffer

14. 14 Let AI Be Your SEO Sidekick by Chris Powers

15. 15 Top Tools Every Stacks Web Designer Should Know by Joshua Omilian

Lessons in Summit 2024:

1. 1 Influence of AI on SEO: Navigating the Future of Search

2. 2 Local Powerhouse: Enhancing Web Design Workflows with MAMP

3. 3 Stacks Pro: First Glimpse into our Future

4. 4 Freelancer's Journey: From Novice to Pro Panel Discussion

5. 5 Turbo Web Performance: From Past Pitfalls to Future Solutions

6. 6 Protect and Prosper: Mastering Backup and Versioning for Stacks Projects

7. 7 Breaking Boundaries: Supercharging Foundry with Foundation 6 Swatches

8. 8 Foundations of Accessibility: Building a Web for All

9. 9 Digital Defenses: Advanced Password Management Strategies

10. 10 Semantic HTML: Crafting Accessible & SEO-Friendly Web Pages

11. 11 Developer Panel: Jannis, Mike, Joe, Greg, Adam, Josh, Scott

12. 12 Elevating Websites: Journey with Databases

13. 13 Stacks Storefronts: Navigating eCommerce Solutions

14. 14 Bionic Determination: My Journey with Stacks Pro

15. 15 New Stacks Era: The Next Chapter Starts Now

Lessons in Summit 2022:

1. 1 Automating Email Generation by Joshua Omilian

2. 2 Agile Project Management with Kanban - by Bret Carmichael

3. 3 Freelancer Panel

4. 4 First Look at Total CMS 2 by Joe Workman

5. 5 Feeds Deep Dive by Scott Williams

6. 6 Hear Your Client by Chris Powers

7. 7 How to Monetize Your Blog by Davide Fanchin

8. 8 Is Copywriting More Important Than Design by Mari Pfeiffer

9. 9 New Privacy & AI Laws. Are You Ready by Angelo Narciso

10. 10 SEO Guide for 2023 by Joe Workman

11. 11 Stacks 5 and Beyond by Isaiah Carew

12. 12 Web Usability/ Don't Make People Think by Joe Workman

Lessons in Summit 2021:

1. 1 Progressive Web Apps - Taking Performance to New Levels

2. 2 Freelancer Panel By Aaron Marquez , Scott Williams , Bret Carmichael , Davide Fanchin And Joe Workman

3. 3 Scoring 100s in Google Page Speed By Bret Carmichael

4. 4 Increasing your MRR Workshop By Aaron Marquez

5. 5 Getting the Most Out of Partials By Joe Workman

6. 6 Powerful Dynamic Layouts with Total CMS By Joshua Omilian

7. 7 Making Project Templates Your Own By Davide Fanchin

8. 8 From iWeb to Stacks + F6 + Total CMS By Bill Burden

9. 9 Powerful Websites with F6 and Total CMS By Gaston Melis

10. 10 Write Great Website Content with Ease (and fun!) By Mari Pfeiffer

11. 11 Let's Build a Stack By Isaiah Carew

12. 12 Tools to Inspire Better Email Copy By Jason Resnick

13. 13 Automations for Solopreneurs By Davide Fanchin

14. 14 Refactoring Projects By Chris Powers

15. 15 Nutrition & Wellness By Krista Watkins

Lessons in Summit 2020:

1. 1 Weaver's Space, State of the Union By Joe Workman

2. 2 Freelancers Panel By Scott Williams , Mari Pfeiffer , Eric Vaughn And Joe Workman

3. 3 Email Marketing By Greg Barchard

4. 4 Hobby or Business? Financing & Accounting for Small Business By Pam Prior

5. 5 Web Workflows: Design vs Build By Joshua Omilian

6. 6 Printing Webpages and Formatting Markdown Tables By Gary Wann

7. 7 Creating niche websites with F6 and Total CMS By Chris Powers

8. 8 Getting the Most out of Foundation 6 By Davide Fanchin

9. 9 The 5 Things You Must Know to Troubleshoot Your Websites and Your Marriage By Brad & Tami Miller

10. 10 Accessibility Testing Tools

11. 11 Accessibility, Screen Readers and the Law By John-Paul Andersen And Guy Woodland

12. 12 Timeless Design By Wolf Ademeit

13. 13 Migrate to a Subscription Business By Eric Vaughn

14. 14 Transform your website from a quiet brochure into a productive member of your biz team! By Mari Pfeiffer

15. 15 Organize Your Foundation Project By Bret Carmichael

16. 16 Introduction to User Research Methods By Michele Ronsen

17. 17 Ecommerce with Ecwid and RapidWeaver By Ricardo Ruggiero

18. 18 Quick and Easy SEO Wins By Andy Allen

Lessons in Summit 2019:

1. 1 Advanced Stacks By Isaiah Carew

2. 2 Image Workflows for Beginners By Jody Joy

3. 3 Websites that Convert By Mari Pfeiffer

4. 4 Surface Pattern Design for the Web By Anne LaFollette

5. 5 Becoming a Designpreneur By Philip VanDusen

6. 6 Using Affinity for the Web By Paul Russam

7. 7 More with Foundation 6 By Joe Workman

8. 8 Using Stacks 4 By Isaiah Carew

9. 9 Tips And Tricks To Increase Your Sales in many channels By Elizabeth Martinez

10. 10 Burnout: Simple Strategies to Prevent You From Getting Fried By Sherry Walling

11. 11 Building Multi-Language Websites By Davide Fanchin

12. 12 Learning to Learn By Alix Martin

13. 13 Getting Started with Foundation 6 By Joe Workman

Lessons in Summit 2018:

1. 1 Facebook Marketing 101 By Andy Bengel

2. 2 Applying Systems Thinking to Web Design By Bret Carmichael

3. 3 The Legal Side of Websites By David Sparks

4. 4 Thinking Outside of the Box with Total CMS By Davide Fanchin

5. 5 Architecture Principles in Web & Logo Design By Elizabeth Martinez

6. 6 Freelancer Panel

7. 7 New Features in RapidWeaver 8 By Isaiah Carew

8. 8 Stacks: Edit like a Pro By Isaiah Carew

9. 9 How to Find Your Niche By Jason Resnick

10. 10 Better Fitness, Better Business By Jeff McMahon

11. 11 The Future of Design with RapidWeaver By Joe Workman

12. 12 Best Practices for Running a Web Design Business By Justin Easthall

13. 13 Handling Subscriptions on your Website By Nick Cates

14. 14 A to Z of Setting up your Website Domain By Paul Russam

15. 15 Black Art of Designing Email By Steve Baskerville

Lessons in Summit 2017:

1. 1 Modern Web Imagery By Greg Barchard

2. 2 Building an Online Course By Mathew Mitchell

3. 3 Common Sense & Pragmatism By Andrew Tavenor

4. 4 Email Design By Joe Workman

5. 5 Managing Project Resources By Paul Russam

6. 6 Creative Insights with Nick Cates

7. 7 Professional Clients Area By Jon Hawkins

8. 8 Stacks - Pro to Developer By Isaiah Carew

9. 9 A to Z of Building Foundation Forms By Joe Workman

10. 10 Stacks - Novice to Pro By Isaiah Carew

11. 11 Forms with MachForms By Dave Hidding

12. 12 Artful Web Design By Elizabeth Martinez

13. 13 Design Every Element By Marten Claridge

14. 14 SEO & Meta Data By Bret Carmichael

Lessons in Summit 2016:

1. 1 Managing Online Media By Robb Ziebol

2. 2 Inside Stacks By Isaiah Carew

3. 3 Site from the Ground Up By Jon Hawkins

4. 4 eCommerce with Cartloom 4 By Nick Cates

5. 5 How to get More Clients By Jason Resnick

6. 6 Editing Sites Online By Joe Workman

7. 7 Managing Your Project By Geoff Taylor

8. 8 SEO & Hosting By Greg Barchard

9. 9 Building Animations By Paul Russam

10. 10 Creating a Successful User Experience By Ryan Smith

11. 11 Big Picture Brand Design By Philip VanDusen

12. 12 Typography By Geoff Taylor

13. 13 Troubleshooting 101 By Andrew Tavenor

14. 14 Web Performance By Bret Carmichael

15. 15 CSS & Dev Tools By Joe Workman