/learn
What I wish someone had told me in 2013.
A path for getting from “I can install a theme” to “I understand how WordPress actually works”. It isn’t a course and there’s nothing to buy. These are the steps that worked for me, in the order I’d do them again.
01
Learn hooks properly
Actions and filters are 80% of WordPress development. Pick a hook you use every day, like the_content, find where core calls apply_filters for it, and read the code around it. You’ll learn more from that than from ten tutorials.
02
Ship one small plugin
Pick something tiny that you actually need. Run Plugin Check and PHPCS with the WordPress standards against it. Your first plugin won’t be great. Publish it anyway. The review feedback teaches you more than writing the code did.
03
Get friendly with blocks
Learn block.json and theme.json. The theme running this site is a dozen HTML templates, one JSON file and a single stylesheet. You don’t need a build step to start.
04
Make your first contribution
Translate 20 strings on translate.wordpress.org, answer one forum thread, or test a patch on Trac. Join Make WordPress Slack and just read for a week.
05
Look after a real site
Building a site is the easy part. Keeping it fast, updated and backed up for three years teaches you the rest. Every plugin you add is something you now have to maintain.
06
Show up
Go to a local meetup. Go to a WordCamp, and go to Contributor Day too. Ask the question you think is stupid. One day, give a five-minute talk. People there will help you much faster than search results.
Guides I’ve written
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How I maintain a WordPress site: a checklist
The weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly checklist I follow for WordPress sites I look after. Take it and make it yours.
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I found a backdoor on my own site. Security habits I actually follow
A hidden plugin folder with PHP files pretending to be JavaScript. How I found it, what I did, and the habits I keep now.
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Making WordPress fast without a pile of plugins
I rebuilt this site and went from 16 plugins to 1, and from 109 database tables to 21. What I found, what I removed,…
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Your first WordPress contribution
You don’t need to write PHP to contribute to WordPress. The shortest path I know from zero to your first credited contribution.
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How to Automate Your macOS and Linux Development Setup in Minutes
I got tired of setting up new machines by hand, so I wrote a script that installs what you choose and sets up Git…
Where I learn from
- developer.wordpress.org: the handbooks are better than most people think. Start with the Plugin and Block Editor handbooks.
- Make WordPress Core: dev notes before every release. Reading them is the cheapest way to stay current.
- wordpress-develop on GitHub: when the docs and the code disagree, the code wins.
- learn.wordpress.org: free workshops and online meetups, made by the community.
Stuck on something? Ask in the WordPress Slack, or write to me. I can’t answer everything, but I read everything, and if I can’t help I’ll usually know someone who can.
