Level Up Your WordPress Development Skills

@tommcfarlin

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8BIT.io —  @8BIT

Plugins and Applications For Fun & Profit

Blog About WordPress Development

My Two Ladies

My Ladies & Me

Enough About Me

Let’s Talk About You

Level Up!

But Wait ... How?1. The WordPress Codex2. The WordPress API3. Coding Standards4. Finding Your Niche5. Educating Yourself

The WordPress Codex

What is it?

The WordPress ManualWritten for...

•Bloggers•Designers•Developers

Why It Matters• A Living Manual• Go here first (not Google!)• Do not settle for getting something working• The Codex helps you do it right!

How To Use It1. Search for what you’re looking for2. Reading how to do it “the WordPress way”3. Implement your solution

The WordPress APIs

What Are They?• APIs are a way to make something happen • They allow us to make WordPress do stuff• Functions that make development easier

How To Find Them• Bookmark the Codex • Identify what you’re trying to do• Find the associated APIs• Read, Practice, Implement

How To Use Them1. The function’s description2. The arguments it accepts3. What the function returns

Don’t Miss These!• WordPress Hooks• Plugin API• Widgets API• Settings API

Coding Standards

What Are They?• How code should be written for WordPress• Core• Plugins• Themes

Follow Them!• All code is GPL - let’s make it look good :)• Expectations for us and others• Create a cohesive experience

Finding Your Niche

Know Your MarketThe intersection of what you love doing and what you’re best at doing.

Strategy of Pursuit• I avoid theme development• I pursue plugin development It’s at the intersection of what I love and what I’m good at doing.

On ThemesIf you’re into:

• Design• Front-end Development (and Maybe Backend)

You’re more into presentation than functionality.

On PluginsIf you’re into:

• Server-side Development• Application-like Functionality• Extending WordPress

You’re more into functionality than presentation.

On BloggingIf you’re into:

• Education• Writing• Documentation

Sharing knowledge, information, or seeding discussion.

That’s Not All!

Educate Yourself

You’re Never Done• Several releases per year• New blogs, technologies, & practices emerge• Someone is more capable than you

Practical Tips• Follow those aligned with your niche• Read the comprehensive blogs• Design, code, or blog frequently• Don’t stop!

Questions?