How To Become A WordPress Developer 2021

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Chanuka Wijesundara

I am Chanuka Wijesundara, a professional web developer in Canada based in Toronto. I was always fascinated with technology, how the system sets work, and how technology evolves every day around us.

Thanks to the incredible popularity of WordPress, there are plenty of development opportunities. Whether you wish to create useful plugins, weave beautiful themes or improve the primary mechanism of WordPress, you can enter the field with little time and effort. Google will offer you an exciting way to choose “How to Become a WordPress Developer.” To simplify your journey of becoming a WordPress developer, you need to access it systematically. It includes increasing your focus, recognizing your skills, finding a place, and learning as much as you can about the stage. Fortunately, a large community out there is willing and willing to assist you in your quest. Now we will clarify that what a WordPress developer does. We explore six essential steps you need to take to become a WordPress specialist and a talented developer for the platform.

Understand the Primary Skill Sets Required

You must have prior knowledge that can enhance your development journey and areas where you do not know. The most important thing any WordPress developer needs to understand is the languages the platform uses. Let’s look at one by one:

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): This base language is powerful and relatively easy to master. It consists of element codes that specify how different elements of a page should display. These elements can include page titles, headings, paragraphs, data tables, and more. As a very basic example, the use of HTML code <title> Learning HTML </title> will form the title of a “Learn HTML” page.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): HTML web pages consist of building blocks, and CSS is used to determine elements’ appearance. CSS controls font and color, page layout, click effects, and other stylistic elements. For example, the HTML element for somebody’s text may include the CSS code, which color the text should display (e.g., background-color: dark green;).

PHP: PHP is a somewhat misleading acronym. Over the years, it seems to be best suited for hypertext professors. Mainly, it applies not only to your homepage but also to all areas of a website. It can use for automatically generating files, accessing databases, encrypting data, and much more. Fortunately, there are plenty of online guidelines for mastering PHP, which can help you learn How To Become A WordPress Developer…

MySQL (My Sequel): Finally, MySQL is an open-source contact database management system. In short, WordPress uses PHP to retrieve and store data from MySQL databases. Important site administration features such as user roles can be performed in WordPress using MySQL. For that reason, a developer must at least have a basic knowledge of its capabilities.

Besides, you do not necessarily have to be proficient in all these languages. However, it is best to be at least a little proficient before learning how to be a WordPress developer. It will help you to do better business in the field and address client expectations more easily. Once you have decided that you understand the basics, you need to learn how to apply them to the WordPress platform. To do this, you need to be no less than a WordPress expert (at least in terms of principles).

Learn All You Can About WordPress

Before solving the question of becoming a WordPress developer, you should learn as much as possible about the platform. After all, the more you know, and the more you can do. The happiest news is, you’re a resourceful person and have enough resources to take you to a WordPress specialist. As the first step, you need to take is to set up a WordPress sandbox. It allows you to quickly feel the dashboard and play with the platform functions in a safe environment. By using Sandbox, you can follow along with the tutorials provided in many online WordPress WordPress series. Although it requires a financial investment, taking a WordPress course will help you find your learning progress faster. Most WordPress courses offer series information in a well-structured and start-up-friendly format that can easily reference later. Of course, an overview of WordPress learning resources is not complete without referring to the WordPress Codex – the official WordPress wiki. It is an invaluable resource for searching terms and finding officially approved explanations and tutorials. It can be a useful reference when coding or contributing to the platform. Finally, it’s wise to subscribe to various WordPress blogs and YouTube channels. So it is a great way to keep up to date with WordPress trends and find ways to use the platform more efficiently. Once you have a solid foundation of WordPress elements, you will be better able to solve how to become a WordPress developer.

Choose The Area of Development You Will Focus On

WordPress Core: For the core, WordPress development involves several tasks (default files that create the backend functionality for the platform). These include troubleshooting and troubleshooting, addressing user query tickets, improving translations, and making suggestions for improvements to the WordPress track. Although primarily a voluntary area (since WordPress is open-source), basic development is a great way to develop knowledge applicable to other areas. If you are a complete beginner in development or do not yet know the major WordPress languages, this is an opportunity to learn. The initial contributor’s manual is a great place to find out more.

Themes: Focusing on developing themes is an excellent way to attract clients (providing that you adapt to best practices). As themes serve as a graphic front design for a WordPress website, this area may be of interest to future developers interested in background or graphic design. Understanding HTML and CSS is vital for developing themes, as these languages are using to define the theme’s elements. If you are interested in this area, the Theme Developer Guide can tell you a lot you need to know.

Plugins: Without plugins (software that enhances the CMS’s functionality without affecting the core files), WordPress will not achieve its current priority. If you are passionate about modifying WordPress to perform a specific goal and have some foundation in HTML and PHP, this is the area for you. While plugin development is generally not as cost-effective as theme development, the market is not saturated. Once you have learned the basics and developing a plugin that you feel has an audience, you can consider selling it on websites like CodeCanyon. Your first step in learning how to be a WordPress Developer for Plugins is to read through the Plugin Developer Manual.

Prepare Yourself For Potential Pitfalls

As a WordPress developer, no matter what area you want to focus on, you will have problems from time to time. However, failing to address these issues can mean hours of idle time and even clients’ loss. System errors are one recurring problem. They can cause everything from minor formatting problems to significant system crashes. It’s vital to learn WordPress debugging practices to save you from even bigger headaches. WordPress plugins like DebugThis allow you to identify and resolve errors quickly. In addition to bugs, you need to pay close attention to potential security issues. Although WordPress core is very secure by default, it is a good idea to make sure that the installation you are using for development is as safe as possible. When you put what you have developed into the world, it can be subject to various attacks if you are not careful. Familiarizing yourself with proven WordPress developer security practices can move you forward with greater confidence. Finally, to avoid wasting working time (or even more dangerously endangering client data), you should make it a habit to back up your WordPress development projects regularly.

Set Up A Local Development Environment

If you focus on theme or plugin development, it is best to conduct your work locally. It is to ensure that the tests and troubleshooting you do during development are limited to your system. Working in a live environment can be disastrous, primarily if you work with a client’s website. Fortunately, WordPress makes it relatively easy to create a local development environment. The first thing you need is a stock of servers. It is the software that builds the operating infrastructure for the development of your computer. Fortunately, there are stocks of well-documented bundles of servers you can download and use with little experience. When you have a stock that facilitates local development, you need an area to work on your code. Although you can use any standard editor (such as Notepad), it recommends using a more advanced system. If you need a startup, there are several WordPress tools and plugins to help you implement development tasks, including troubleshooting and thematic data testing.

Join The WordPress Community

While learning how to be a WordPress developer, it is easy to fall into the habit of working on your projects individually. However, to truly make progress in your chosen field of development, it is essential to engage with the broader WordPress community. In addition to your skills set, it will help you gain access to additional development support and better anticipate WordPress trends. By joining the WordPress community, you can increase your chances of having better relationships. Moreover, starting a new development project when you start is not always the best course of action. By joining an existing project, you can first understand the development practices used by others. You can use this knowledge to inform your strategies better.

Conclusion

Becoming a WordPress Developer can be cheap and fun! Education and experimentation require time and resources to invest in, and WordPress development can give you the income and flexibility you need. Although learning how to be a WordPress developer is relatively simple, being a natural person is another matter. It takes hard work, time to read blogs and guides, and a lot of trial and error. However, you can take good comfort in knowing that you can quickly learn skills relevant to key clients in various industries.