Inspiration
Many tech communities in Kenya lack a centralized platform for discovering events, connecting with groups, and staying informed. Most event information is scattered across WhatsApp, Twitter, and small websites — making it difficult for developers, students, and organizers to find and share opportunities. TGK Events was created to unify Kenya’s tech ecosystem with a fast, modern, and secure WordPress theme designed specifically for events and communities.
What it does
TGK Events is a fully-featured WordPress theme that provides:
A powerful event management system A searchable community directory Custom-built email newsletter tools Real-time analytics and admin dashboards High-performance search and recommendations Advanced security features out of the box
It is designed for organizations, tech hubs, universities, and developers who want a professional, centralized hub for events in Kenya.
How we built it
TGK Events is built entirely on top of WordPress standards:
Custom Post Types: Events, Communities, Subscribers Custom Taxonomies: Event Categories, Community Categories, Counties Custom REST API Endpoints: For search, subscriptions, analytics, and admin tools Theme Development: PHP, WP Hooks, Templates, Customizer Options Frontend: TailwindCSS, for dynamic UI Database Layer: WordPress tables with optimized queries and prepared statements Security: Nonces, sanitization, capability checks, rate-limiting Email System Built using wp_mail() + custom templates + HMAC-secured tokens
Challenges we ran into
Implementing secure unsubscribe tokens that cannot be forged Ensuring high performance even with thousands of events and subscribers Designing a flexible email campaign manager within WordPress constraints Handling advanced filtering (county, category, date, mode) without slow queries Maintaining WordPress compatibility while adding advanced features normally found in full applications
Accomplishments that we're proud of
A fully functional, production-ready WordPress theme built from scratch
Seamless event and community management tools
A fast search engine
Built-in analytics dashboard for events and campaigns
A secure and scalable email digest system
Professional UI optimized for Kenyan tech communities
Strong security protections rarely found in typical WordPress themes
What we learned
How to optimize WordPress beyond basic themes Secure token generation with HMAC and proper nonce workflows Designing scalable systems within the WP environment Building custom dashboards and admin UIs for non-technical users Importance of UX for community-driven platforms
What’s next for TGK EVENTS
WooCommerce ticketing integration Mobile App (API-powered) for event discovery Push notifications (web + mobile) Organizer accounts and team roles AI-powered recommendations based on user behavior Automated community verification Open API access for developers in Kenya Theme Marketplace submission (WordPress.org)
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