Since WordPress is the most popular content management system, there will always be users looking for developers to improve their websites. By becoming a WordPress developer, you can monetize your work or share your knowledge for free.
Either way, it is essential to first understand the fundamentals of the job. That’s why in this tutorial we explain everything you need to know to become a WordPress developer.
What can be created and developed?
Modifying WordPress involves writing stand-alone code that interacts with the core WordPress code. If you make any mistakes, the core code won’t change, so you can experiment as much as you want without having to .
A developer can change the look and feel of the site, modify the core behavior, modify the admin panels, or create an entirely new user profile page. In other words, what you can do is only limited by your knowledge and willingness to learn.
These are the top five creations of a WordPress developer:
1. Topics
Simply put, themes define the design and style of a WordPress website. It is responsible for the general appearance of the site. A WordPress theme is the combination of multiple elements, including HTML, CSS, PHP, javascript Y JQuery.
With over 31,000 options available, there’s still room to display your creation as there’s a huge demand. Also, creating a free WordPress repository theme can be a great way to raise your name as a developer.
Currently, the is the trend among developers. With the fluidity of grid systems, use of images, and CSS media queries, WordPress sites with responsive themes look great on any device, including mobile phones, tablets, monitors, or large screens.
You can create themes from scratch or use starter themes like , and . They are basically “blank canvases” or themes with minimal designs and basic elements that you can improvise and build on.
2. Plugins
At this time, there are more than in the WordPress directory. It is the most searched and used WordPress function. Take advantage of this advantage and contribute to the sea of plugins yourself.
Plugins allow you to modify the behavior of WordPress without touching the core code. Users can also add tons of extra features to their website with little to no advanced programming knowledge.
PHP hooks are used a lot for . It is the technique that allows an application to execute a function or class automatically. There are two types of hooks: action and filter. You must master both to be a WordPress developer and create a working plugin.
While many popular plugins, like , or , are made with complicated programming and hooks, there are tons of simple WordPress plugins that are very useful, like , and .
3. Widgets
Widgets are web components that are typically added to websites to provide additional content and functionality. They can be used to access certain pages or parts of a website and provide a quick gateway to a particular feature.
WordPress comes with default widgets that can be arranged through the dashboard by clicking appearance -> widgets. You can also get third-party widgets by installing plugins, like or .
Just like creating a plugin, making widgets for WordPress requires sufficient knowledge of PHP. You can start by accessing the functions.php file in your current theme, then using the combinations of functions provided in the .
A custom widget is usually the solution to create the desired feature that you can’t find anywhere. This is especially useful if your goal is to create your own WordPress theme or plugin.
4. Complete WordPress Websites
Designing and developing a complete WordPress site means that you will combine themes, plugins, widgets, and custom code (SASS, , JavaScript, and PHP) to create a unique website based on the client’s needs.
While there are various website builders such as , and , the market demand for creating a custom website by hiring a WordPress developer is still high.
However, complete requires more than just technical skills like writing lines of code: you need to be creative, know the basic principle of UI/UX design, and use reliable resources, like a .
5. Web applications through the Rest API
A web application is functional, dynamic web pages that operate through a web server and can be accessed through a web browser. This program works very well with any operating system or device, as long as the browser is compatible.
Unlike a website, the web application has a more practical function. While the sites are mostly static, the web application works interactively. Some of the most popular web applications that you must have heard before are Gmail, Google Docs and Facebook.
Since 2015, WordPress has integrated its core files with a separate one. This communication architecture works as a “bridge” that connects the WordPress core with any application running on a web server.
By mastering those of the REST API, you will be able to create a web application that works with WordPress.
What do you need to know as a WordPress developer?
The core of WordPress was built using the common web coding languages, PHP and MYSQL. The front-end presentation is a combination of HTML and CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, and AJAX.
Let’s take a look at each of them:
HTML (preferably HTML5)
Implementation of a valid Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is required for a smooth user experience. This ensures that your pages fit in any web browser. If your code is invalid, browsers will misinterpret your code and render part of your page wrong.
HTML5 is currently the latest version of this markup language. It has several significant advantages over its predecessor (HTML4), such as video and audio support, JavaScript support, and tons of new elements, such as footer, header, hint, summary, etc.
Valid HTML is written using the correct syntax, formula that refers to the overall structure of the document, the order of HTML elements, nesting elements, and formatting attributes.
The structure must always start with a declaration DOCTYPEopening tags then a header section with document metadata, such as the title of each page or a body section, and finally a closing tag .
In general, HTML is divided into three elements: stream, metadata, and phrasing. Each of them has different application for what is allowed within it.
For example, paragraph tags can have phrasing (inline) content within them, such as (bold font), (italics), (links) etc However, it is not allowed to include flow elements (blocks) like
- ,
- : to store information such as text strings or numbers.
- (Arrays): collects the information assigned to a variable.
- : Completes tasks and then returns results that can be used later. The result can be assigned to a variable.
- : defines if 1 == 1 is true, the runtime will perform one action, and if 1 == 1 is false, it will perform a different response.
- : Compares values with each other. There is a difference between =, ==, and ===. They affect the result of conditional statements.
Learning how to use the correct HTML tags, structures, and formatting can be intimidating at first. Fortunately, you can download one to help you create a perfectly working line of code, then run it through the W3C HTML Validator to see the result.
CSS (preferably CSS3)
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are used to style the pages and their content. Determines how HTML elements are displayed on a screen. This style sheet language allows you to quickly make significant style changes to your entire site.
CSS has a feature called Media Queries, which allows you to define how each part of a page behaves on a specific screen size. This feature is one of the most important parts of creating a responsive website: a website that adapts to the visitor’s device.
Just like other languages, CSS also has its own syntax. The syntax only consists of two elements: selector and declaration block. The selector block is used to select the part of HTML you want to style, while the declaration block defines the style you use for each selected part.
CSS3 is currently the most up-to-date cascading style sheet available. As the successor to CSS2.1, CSS3 comes with many new benefits, including new layouts, flexible grid, more text effects, and multi-column layout.
Creating custom CSS for the first time can be stressful. Fortunately, we have one (in English) that you can use as a reference.
Also, to better understand this language, you can learn about the .
PHP
(Hypertext Preprocessor) is a powerful scripting language for web development. It works by performing tasks on the server, then sends the requests in the form of HTML. In other words, PHP takes care of the back-end and HTML is used to present the output of the script after the tasks are completed.
The core of WordPress is built on PHP along with MySQL. PHP is very flexible to use as it is compatible with most servers and runs on almost all operating systems.
It has tons of features. The most common ones you will use are:
If you plan to use PHP as a WordPress developer to build (OOP), you will need to know about PHP classes. Classes allow you to neatly group variables and functions that are related to each other in one place.
You can access information on the PHP classes through the WordPress codex page on .
mysql
is a database that is used to store all the information about a WordPress site. Database information is retrieved dynamically with PHP. The actual content of each page and post on a WordPress site is stored in the database.
WordPress provides a set of PHP functions to securely interact with the WordPress database and execute it via the appropriate function. Some functions use standard SQL statements, while others use data arrays.
SQL functions are explained on the Codex page for WordPress developers –
javascript
is a web scripting language for website development. It allows you to change the behavior of content on a page. For example, if you want to display only text after a user presses a button, you can…
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