How to Become a WordPress Developer: Complete Career Path

Key highlight

• Learn essential WordPress development fundamentals, including PHP programming, database management and theme customization for building professional-quality websites.
• Discover comprehensive development workflows from local environment setup to advanced deployment strategies that streamline your WordPress project management process.
• Master advanced WordPress skills, including plugin development, custom post types and API integration, to enhance your professional development toolkit.
• Understand career progression paths from beginner developer to certified WordPress professional with proven strategies for skill advancement and specialization.
• Explore practical coding techniques, security best practices and performance optimization methods that separate professional developers from amateur programming enthusiasts.

With over 60 million websites on the Internet using WordPress, it’s clear that this popular content management system dominates the web development space. Its popularity makes WordPress development a sought-after skill, attracting both companies and freelancers.

There’s always a demand for developers who can enhance and customize WordPress sites. Whether you want to monetize your work or share your expertise for free, you can make a significant impact. 

If you want to be a WordPress developer, you must learn the key concepts and skills for the job. This blog will show you the key steps to get started and help you turn your passion for this popular content management system into a rewarding career. 

Who is a WordPress developer? 

A WordPress developer is a technical professional who specializes in the WordPress infrastructure. They deeply understand the core software, coding standards and platform architecture. Their work often involves creating custom themes, plugins and Gutenberg blocks to extend site functionality.

These experts generally fall into two main categories based on their focus. Some contribute directly to the WordPress Core software to improve the platform for everyone. Others work with clients to build, customize and manage specific business websites.

While WordPress is easy to use, developers are vital for advanced technical needs. They handle complex tasks like site security, custom coding and performance optimization. Their expertise helps users overcome challenges that go beyond basic content management.

What do WordPress developers really do? 

WordPress developers play a critical role in building, maintaining and enhancing websites. Their responsibilities vary based on the project scope, client needs and the type of WordPress site they work on. Understanding these responsibilities helps you prepare for a career in WordPress development.

Core responsibilities of WordPress developers:

Creating custom plugins, themes and modules: Developers build tailored features to meet specific client requirements. This includes designing unique themes and developing advanced plugins that extend website functionality beyond standard offerings.

Designing sitemaps and wireframes: As an aspiring WordPress developer, mastering the art of planning is essential, before building a website, developers create sitemaps and wireframes that map out the site’s structure and layout. These blueprints define how the site will look and function, ensuring a logical user experience and setting the foundation for effective WordPress development.

Converting existing websites to WordPress: Developers help clients migrate their websites to WordPress. This process involves transferring content, redesigning templates and ensuring all functionality remains intact during the transition.

Optimizing website performance and SEO: WordPress developers regularly redesign and optimize websites to improve loading speed, search engine rankings and overall user experience. Performance optimization directly impacts visitor engagement and conversion rates.

Conducting code reviews and debugging: Developers routinely inspect website code to identify performance bottlenecks, security vulnerabilities and bugs. They fix issues promptly to maintain site stability and efficiency.

Managing front-end and back-end development: Developers work on both the visible parts of a website (front-end) and the server-side processes that power it (back-end). This ensures seamless integration between design and functionality.

Managing multiple projects simultaneously: WordPress developers often juggle several client projects at once. Strong organizational skills and time management are essential to keep each project on schedule and meet client expectations.

Communicating with clients: Effective communication is crucial for understanding client goals, explaining technical concepts and providing regular project updates. Developers must translate the client’s vision into technical execution.

Consulting on project feasibility: Developers meet with potential clients to discuss project ideas, provide technical insights and outline realistic approaches to achieve their goals. This consultative role helps set proper expectations from the start.

Providing ongoing support and maintenance: After launching a website, developers offer continued support through regular security scans, backups, software updates and troubleshooting. Ongoing maintenance ensures long-term site health and security.

How to become a WordPress developer 

Begin by mastering essential web development languages. You’ll need HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP. These languages form the foundation of WordPress development. They are crucial for building custom themes and plugins. Set up a local development environment on your computer. This lets you practice safely. You can build and test without affecting live websites. Install WordPress locally and start experimenting.

Join the WordPress community for support and networking. You’ll find forums, meetups and online groups. These connections help you learn faster. They also open doors to job opportunities. Build a strong portfolio showcasing your best projects. Include custom themes, plugins and complete websites. Highlight your coding skills and problem-solving abilities. This portfolio attracts clients and employers.

Your educational background can vary widely. Formal computer science degrees help, but aren’t required. Self-learning through online courses works equally well. What matters most is your skill level and dedication. Focus on understanding WordPress core functions and hooks. Learn how themes and plugins interact with WordPress. Study best practices for security and performance. These skills separate good developers from great ones.

Learn what you can build and customize in WordPress 

When developing in WordPress, you’re writing custom code that interacts with the core system. The great thing is, if you make a mistake, the core WordPress software stays intact. So, you can test and experiment freely without needing to reinstall it. 

As a WordPress developer, you can modify almost anything. You can change the site’s design and feel. Also, can tweak admin settings. You can even create new user profile pages. Essentially, the only limit is your knowledge and eagerness to learn. 

Here are the five main things a WordPress developer can create: 

1. Themes 

Themes control the layout and style of a WordPress site, giving it its overall look and “feel.” A theme is made up of several components like HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript and JQuery. With over 31,000 themes available, there’s still a demand for unique designs, making it a great opportunity to create custom themes and showcase your creativity. Developing a free theme for the WordPress repository can also help you build your reputation as a developer. 

Currently, the trend is creating responsive WordPress themes. These custom themes use flexible grids, smart images and CSS media queries to ensure that WordPress sites look great on all devices: smartphones, tablets and large desktops. 

2. Plugins 

For aspiring WordPress developers, understanding plugins is essential, with over 54,000 available in the WordPress directory. These powerful tools extend website functionality without altering core code. Learning how to become a WordPress developer means mastering plugin integration and customization, skills that allow you to build dynamic sites efficiently while accommodating clients with varying technical backgrounds. 

Plugin development relies heavily on PHP hooks, which allow specific functions or classes to run automatically in WordPress. There are two main types of hooks: actions and filters and mastering both is essential if you want to build effective plugins. 

A simple yet powerful example of plugin development is Easy Google Fonts, which allows users to easily customize their site’s typography. More advanced WordPress plugins, like WooCommerce and Yoast SEO, involve complex coding and heavy use of hooks. Google Analytics Dashboard is similar, but many simpler plugins, like Search & Filter, offer great features with less complexity. 

3. Entire WordPress websites 

Building a complete WordPress website involves more than just selecting themes and plugins. As a web developer, you’ll integrate themes, plugins and widgets, along with custom code (SASS, CSS, JavaScript and PHP) to create a unique web page tailored to specific needs, whether for a client or your own project. This process is a key part of website development, requiring both technical and design expertise. 

While website builders simplify site creation, aspiring WordPress developers can capitalize on the strong demand for custom web design and development solutions that deliver fully personalized, professional-grade websites tailored to unique business needs.

WonderSuite’s WordPress site builder can simplify designing a stunning user interface, but creating a site requires more than just coding skills. You must be creative, understand UI/UX design and work with template files to achieve a professional look. Additionally, using fast, secure WordPress managed hosting ensures a smooth and polished result. 

4. Web applications using the REST API 

A web application is dynamic software that operates on a web server and is accessed through a browser, making it compatible across devices and operating systems. For aspiring WordPress developers, understanding web applications is essential. WordPress itself functions as a powerful web app framework. Unlike static websites, web apps like WordPress are interactive and functional, offering features similar to popular platforms such as Gmail, Google Docs and Facebook. Learning how to become a WordPress developer involves mastering how these dynamic applications work, from server-side processing to browser-based user interactions, which forms the foundation of building custom WordPress themes, plugins and solutions.

In 2015, WordPress introduced its REST API. It is a framework for communication. It lets WordPress interact with other web server applications. Think of it as a “bridge” that connects the WordPress core to external systems. 

Master the REST API’s core concepts. Then, use WordPress to build web apps. They will be more dynamic and interactive than a standard website. 

Learn a programming language 

The WordPress core uses key web languages: PHP and MySQL. Its front-end relies on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery and AJAX. To become a proficient WordPress developer, you’ll need to understand these languages. Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll need to learn: 

1. HTML (especially HTML5) 

HTML or HyperText Markup Language, is essential for creating a smooth user experience. It ensures your website displays correctly across all browsers. If your HTML isn’t valid, browsers might misinterpret your code, causing parts of your page to display incorrectly. 

HTML5 is the latest version. It has advantages over HTML4. It supports video and audio, has better JavaScript compatibility and adds new elements. 

Valid HTML means following the correct syntax. It requires a proper document structure, with elements in the right order and correctly nested. Every HTML document should start with a DOCTYPE declaration. Then, add opening `<html>` tags, a head section (with metadata like page titles) and a body section. Finally, close with the `</html>` tag. 

In HTML, there are three main types of elements: 

Flow elements: These are block-level elements that form the structure of the page, such as `<div>`, `<ul>` and <footer>. 

Phrasing elements: These are inline elements, like `<b>` (bold), `<i>` (italics) and `<a>` (links), which can be used inside flow elements such as paragraphs. 

Metadata elements: These provide information about the document, such as the `<meta>` tags in the head section. 

For instance, a paragraph tag (`<p>`) can include inline elements like bold or italic text, but it can’t contain block-level elements like lists or divs. 

If you’re unsure if your HTML is valid, tools like the W3C HTML Validator can help. You can also use HTML cheat sheets to quickly look up correct syntax and tags as you practice. With time and patience, mastering HTML becomes much easier. 

2. CSS (preferably CSS3) 

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) define your webpage’s look and layout. They control how HTML elements display on screen. With CSS, you can quickly apply consistent styles across your entire website. 

A key feature of CSS is media queries. They let you customize your site’s look on different screen sizes. This is essential for building a responsive website that adapts smoothly to devices like phones, tablets and desktops. 

CSS uses a simple syntax made up of two components: selectors and declaration blocks. A selector targets the HTML element you want to style. The declaration block contains the styles to apply, like colors, fonts or layout tweaks. 

The latest version, CSS3, adds several new features to the language. It adds flexible layouts, better text effects and multi-column support, among other improvements. These updates make it easier to create modern, visually appealing websites. 

If you’re new to CSS, writing custom styles might seem intimidating at first. Luckily, you can reference a CSS Cheat Sheet to help guide you as you practice. 

To build a solid foundation, explore CSS basics on sites like BitDegree. They can teach you this essential language quickly. 

3. PHP 

For aspiring WordPress developers, mastering PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is essential. This powerful scripting language drives WordPress’s server-side functionality, processing dynamic content and database interactions before delivering HTML to users’ browsers. Understanding how PHP manages back-end operations while HTML displays the front-end results is a fundamental skill in your WordPress developer journey, enabling you to customize themes, build plugins and create dynamic website experiences. 

The WordPress core is built on PHP, along with MySQL for database management. PHP is flexible and compatible with most servers. It can run on nearly all operating systems. This makes it a popular choice for developers. 

Here are some key PHP features you’ll frequently use: 

• Variables: These are used to store information, such as strings of text or numbers. 
• Arrays: These collect data that’s assigned to a variable, allowing you to store multiple values in one place. 
• Functions: These perform tasks and return results, which can be reused or stored in variables for later use. 
• Conditionals: These allow you to define actions based on certain conditions. For example, if a statement like 1 == 1 is true, one action will occur; if false, a different response will be triggered. 
• Comparison operators: compare values. Each operator (=, == or ===) affects how conditionals are evaluated and what results they produce. 

To build complex, OOP systems in PHP, learn about PHP classes. Classes help organize related variables and functions in a tidy and structured way. 

For more detailed information about PHP classes, you can explore the WordPress Codex page on Class Reference/WP Object Cache. 

4. MySQL 

MySQL is the database that stores all the content and information on a WordPress site, including posts, pages, user data and more. Whenever content is needed, PHP retrieves it from the MySQL databases dynamically. Essentially, MySQL holds the content, while PHP acts as the bridge to display that content on your site. 

WordPress provides a set of PHP functions to safely interact with MySQL, ensuring smooth data retrieval and updates. Some of these functions use standard SQL statements, while others rely on arrays to process information. 

For more details on how WordPress interacts with MySQL databases, you can refer to the wpdb Class on the WordPress Developer Codex. 

5. JavaScript 

JavaScript is a key scripting language used to enhance website interactivity. It enables you to change how content behaves on a page, such as showing text only after a user clicks a button. JavaScript transforms static HTML into an interactive web experience. 

As you learn how to become a WordPress developer, mastering JavaScript is essential. You can embed it directly within HTML files, where it runs automatically on page load and it integrates seamlessly with CSS to give you complete control over your site’s appearance and interactive functionality. 

JavaScript mainly runs in web browsers, but it can run outside them using Node.js. This tool lets you use JavaScript for tasks like database management, mobile apps and robotics. 

For WordPress developers, learning JavaScript is essential. Understanding how to add JavaScript correctly to WordPress is crucial, as improper use can lead to conflicts that affect the site’s performance. You can find more details on this topic in the Using JavaScript section of the WordPress Codex. 

6. jQuery & AJAX 

jQuery is a widely-used JavaScript library that simplifies tasks like manipulating web pages, creating animations and managing CSS with cleaner, easier-to-read code. By learning jQuery, you can streamline large JavaScript projects and speed up development. It offers handy features like hiding HTML elements, creating sliding effects and more.  

Additionally, AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a technique that enables data transfer without reloading a page, making sites more interactive. For example, AJAX allows live search results to appear instantly without refreshing the page.  

WordPress uses AJAX for auto-saving drafts in the admin panel to prevent data loss. While both JavaScript and jQuery can run AJAX, jQuery is often preferred for its simplicity. Together, these tools help create more responsive and user-friendly websites. 

Setting up your development environment 

A well-organized development environment is crucial for efficient coding and testing. It helps speed up your workflow and ensures a smoother process when building and debugging your projects, especially when working with WordPress features like themes and plugins. 

Choosing the right code editor or IDE 

The right code editor can greatly enhance your productivity. Some popular options include: 

• VS Code: A lightweight and highly customizable editor. 
• Sublime Text: A fast and versatile editor that supports multiple languages. 
• PHPStorm: An IDE built specifically for PHP development, with WordPress support. 

Installing a local server environment 

To build and test WordPress sites, you need a local server environment. Here are some great options: 

• XAMPP: A free, cross-platform web server solution. 
• MAMP: A local server for macOS users. 
• Local by Flywheel: Tailored specifically for WordPress development. 

Utilizing debugging tools: Debugging is a critical part of development. Tools like Xdebug and WordPress’s built-in debugging features can help you quickly identify and fix issues, streamlining your workflow and enhancing website security. 

Setting up a local development environment is essential for any developer. It allows you to store and test your WordPress theme, plugin and core files directly on your computer. While it looks like a regular website in your browser, the files are pulled from your local setup rather than a hosting server.  

This is beneficial when installing WordPress, making changes, collaborating with other developers and debugging issues before releasing your work. You can either set up this environment manually or use a tool like Bluehost WonderSuite to automate the process and streamline development. 

Join the WordPress community 

One of the biggest strengths of WordPress is its large, active global community. Unlike other content management systems, WordPress has millions of dedicated members working to improve the platform. You can connect with these members via support forums, Slack, WordPress meetups or in person at WordCamp events and other gatherings worldwide. 

Being part of this community offers numerous benefits. You can get help with troubleshooting issues, stay informed about updates and new releases and build valuable connections with other developers and users. Engaging with the WordPress community, including attending WordPress meetups, is a great way to grow your development skills and stay connected. 

Create a portfolio

When applying for any job, showcasing your skills is key and this is especially important in WordPress development. One of the best ways to “show, not tell” is by building a professional portfolio. A strong portfolio that highlights your personal projects and development process can boost your chances of landing a full-time job or freelance gigs. 

A good professional portfolio might showcase a range of WordPress projects, like custom themes, eCommerce sites and review sites, allowing you to display your varied work to potential clients or employers. 

That said, a portfolio isn’t always needed, especially if you’ve contributed to open-source projects like the WordPress Core. In back-end development, personal projects or contributions to larger projects can sometimes matter more than a polished portfolio. 

Continuing education and resources 

Recommended books and courses 

Professional WordPress: Design and Development” and online courses from platforms like Udemy and LinkedIn Learning are excellent for learning WordPress and building your technical skills. These resources cover key areas needed to master WordPress development, including design, coding and troubleshooting.  

Another great option is the WordPress Academy from Bluehost, which provides in-depth training tailored to help you build and manage WordPress websites efficiently. With practical lessons and expert guidance, the academy equips you with the knowledge to enhance your skills and streamline your website creation process. 

Official WordPress documentation 

The WordPress Codex and developer handbooks are the best resources for mastering the technical aspects of WordPress. They serve as official, go-to guides for understanding everything from basic setup to complex development. 

To stay updated and improve your essential skill, follow blogs like WPBeginner and check out online tutorials on YouTube channels like WPCrafter. Additionally, listening to podcasts like WP Tavern can help you stay informed about the latest trends in WordPress. For more hands-on learning, consider online courses that dive deep into various blog post writing strategies and advanced development topics. 

Final thoughts 

Becoming a proficient WordPress developer doesn’t happen overnight. It requires dedication, continuous learning and a passion for problem-solving. But the effort is well worth it. Not only will you have the skills to build and customize powerful websites, but you’ll also join a global community of developers making a significant impact on the web. 

Now is the perfect time to take the first step. Dive into learning, start experimenting with code and don’t hesitate to reach out to the community for support. With the right resources, you can achieve your dreams. You can build a rewarding career in WordPress development. 

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