wearedevelopers.com Reviews 

I'm sorry to say that this event has turned into a software product sales event instead of a developer conference.

What I see as a clear pattern is that the descriptions of the talks and workshops sound generic and interesting.
Then in 90% of the cases it simply results in a sales presentation of a software product. In most cases the technical aspects were so high-level that, after watching a 10-min video ad within the presentation, the feeling of disappointment turns into anger.

This has become much worse over the years. I for sure will not attend again next year as it is simply not OK to charge hundreds of Euros as an entrance fee for this.

The content of most talks could have been compressed into 5-10 mins or simply having a look at the description of the presented product.

If you would remove all trivial product presentations from the full list of keynotes and talks then there is almost nothing left. Two interesting talks this year....

I don't support the criticism of the venue. I like the atmosphere and that it never feels cramped. The headphones were a good solution for the sound issues of the stages located in the exhibition areas. Food is indeed overpriced...

I have attended many conferences in my career, so I have a good comparison to other events like this.
Venue:
I think because of the size the venue was fine it was a bit spread out but the app offered a good navigating function to find the sessions and floors.
- My biggest issue was that many of the sessions were inside the marketplace with all the exhibitors with no sound protection. The background noise was very irritating while somebody on the stage was doing their presentation. The worst was the Amazon stage 3. It was very small. The session was overcrowded. They offered headphones for some people but many people didn’t have a seat but had headphones. Other people had a seat but could not understand anything because the sound was so bad. Since this is not the first event, I don’t think this is acceptable.

- The pre-booking of the workshops was fine. It seemed like none of the workshops were actually video streamed so there was no chance to at least see some of the workshops that one wasn’t able to attend through the streaming. Since it was only possible to reserve two workshops slots, this seemed to be a messed opportunity to see as much as possible.

- The vendors and food options were in my opinion very expensive not everyone is coming with a big company budget I personally paid for my ticket out-of-pocket. 6 € for a flat white €15 for a burrito seems way overpriced.

- why are the organisers not asking for feedback?
to carry out an evaluation after the event? Every major conference I’ve been to you would get a feedback link several times after the event so that the event can be made better for the people who are attending. That’s wild to me. How do you know you’re serving your customers if you don’t ask for feedback?
- The conference app I felt was a bit buggy and slow. It was also not very intuitive and useful. To find what you were looking for when choosing sessions. This could be way better to use experience here is lacking especially because this is a developers conference. One would assume the conference technology and use experience would be amazing.

It seems also that if you don’t pay for the expense, more expensive ticket you do not have access to the conference sessions afterwards. Why?

- i’m not sure I would come back.

The venue is horrible, spread across 3 separate buildings and 4 floors. I've spent 3 hours in 2 days just commuting between them. Almost all the talks are by sponsors, so the content is very thin.
700 euros for a two-day ticket, and I was expecting at least lunch and/or free soft drinks, but everything is paid. 6 euros for a cappuccino (or you need to line up for 20 minutes at the 3 free coffee stations). A cappuccino at the San Francisco airport is cheaper.
Additionally, it's impossible to hear any talk because all of them are held right next to the crowds, only a few had dedicated rooms.

WeAreDevelopers is an good event for networking and socializing, and that's its biggest strength. However, after attending the conference for the second time, I was disappointed to see that many of the issues I noticed previously still exist. Unfortunately, this experience has convinced me that I probably won't attend again unless significant improvements are made.

Venue & Stage Layout

The biggest issue was the venue layout.

The Expo area and conference stages should be completely separated. Talks require quiet, focused environments, while expo areas naturally generate noise from conversations, demos, and music. Combining both in the same open space negatively impacts the conference experience.

I would recommend:

- Moving Stages 2–6 to the area currently occupied by Stages 7–11, where enclosed rooms provide much better sound isolation.
- Moving the Expo to the current Stage 2–6 area.
- Designing future venues so that presentation rooms and exhibition halls are physically separated.

Audio Quality

The audio quality at Stages 2–6 was poor because of the surrounding noise. During many talks it was difficult to hear the speakers over conversations and activity from nearby areas.

Stage Capacity

The stages were too small for the number of attendees. Many popular talks became overcrowded, with people standing in aisles or unable to enter.

I would recommend having fewer but larger stages with higher seating capacity instead of many small stages.

Conference Program

The conference tries to accommodate a very large number of talks, but this seems to come at the expense of overall quality. Fewer talks with a stronger selection process would likely improve the average quality of the program.

It would also be valuable to include more 30- and 50-minute sessions. While shorter presentations work well for introductions, longer sessions allow speakers to explore technical topics in much greater depth.

Breaks Between Talks

Please consider increasing the breaks between sessions to 15 minutes. This would allow attendees enough time to move between stages, visit the expo, network, grab a coffee, and arrive before the next session without disrupting presentations.

Food & Coffee

The food truck concept worked reasonably well because vendors were available throughout the day, which helped avoid long lunch queues.

That said, I personally prefer a catered lunch included with the conference ticket, as it creates a better attendee experience and encourages networking during meals. If food trucks remain the preferred option, consider providing a meal voucher or QR code that attendees can redeem over a 3-hour window.

The biggest issue was coffee. Coffee queues were consistently long throughout the day, and attendees spent a significant portion of their breaks waiting in line instead of networking, visiting the expo, or preparing for the next session. Increasing the number of coffee stations or serving points would make a noticeable difference.

Crowd Management

The venue frequently felt overcrowded, particularly around the expo, coffee stations, food areas, and the most popular talks.

Better crowd management, larger stages, improved attendee flow, and physically separating the expo from the conference stages would significantly improve the overall experience.

Learn from Other Conferences

It may be worth looking at conferences such as PGConf or Devoxx Poland. They demonstrate how thoughtful venue layouts, dedicated presentation rooms, longer technical sessions, and smoother attendee logistics can create an excellent conference experience while still offering outstanding networking opportunities.

Acting on Feedback

One thing I found surprising is that many of these issues have been raised by attendees in previous years, yet there appears to have been little improvement. I hope the organizers take community feedback seriously, because addressing these points would have a significant positive impact on the overall experience.

Overall Rating

- Networking & socializing: 8/10
- Talks, stage organization, food, coffee, and logistics: 3/10

Networking remains the strongest aspect of WeAreDevelopers, and it's the main reason I would recommend attending. However, after attending twice, I expected to see improvements in areas that have been repeatedly highlighted by attendees. Unfortunately, I did not. Unless these issues are addressed, I don't plan to attend future editions.

Attended the congress in Berlin in July. It was my first time, and it was amazing. Great talks with lots of insights, an awesome community! In general, it's a good combination of sharpening your skills and networking, exploring new areas and sharing ideas. Will definitely come back!

THEY ARE SCAMMERS. I bought a congress pass to attend workshops during the world congress. They specified on the selling ticket page that the pass grants me access to workshops. I have not been able to join any of them because it was already full when I tried to join. I never get any information on how to join these workshops after paying the pass. I had to visit the website regularly to check if the registration for workshops were opened or not. I sent email with questions they never answered. They basically take your money and don't offer what you are paying for, that's the definition of a scam company.

Thrilled to attend the WeAreDevelopers World Congress on 17-19 July 2024. Greatest opportunity for developers, especially for those who are newby in programming and app developing just like me!!!