WordPress is open source software that finds applications in the systems of content management. It is accessible by all kinds of users since it is an open – source computer software. It purely relies on the two primary computer languages including MYSQL and PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor). It is used primarily for the purpose of blogging. It can be operated on operating systems like Windows, Unix, and Linux. It is the most widely used website management framework all across the World and it contains a template system and a plugin architecture. As per the year of 2018, it has a user base of around 10 million websites. It was established by Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg in the year of 2003.
WordPress requires only a host working environment and a domain and its functioning is initiated by a web server installation. In simple words, WordPress is a web page factory that performs the activity of content storage. We can describe a top WordPress developer as a person, who is responsible for the creation and maintenance of innovative WordPress based websites. In order for the enhancement of functionalities and features of a particular blog or website, the developers used to go for certain WordPress plugins.
Reasons for taking a deep Dive into WordPress Technologies:
The technologies used in WordPress can be learned easily. Anyone having a strong passion for WordPress development can become a successful WordPress developer. The only requirement here is that the person needs to learn the WordPress technologies in an enthusiastic manner, in order to apply them in the developmental part of websites. Learning WordPress hardly needs a proper methodological approach towards concerned technologies. It involves a focus on aspects like niche selection, talent identification, and learning ability. A professional WordPress learner can be able to gain support from the community of WordPress developers.
The following are some of the major reasons for developers to choose WordPress technologies among the different technologies available in the market:
WordPress is one among the developmental professions with greater demands. Such increasing demands lead to plenty of opportunities in the IT sector today.
WordPress developers can enjoy the freedom of being freelancers. They can huge make money by developing websites from their home itself. They can also work from any other location, as per their wish and convenience.
The WordPress language skills might help a developer in different niches and industries. They can grow and shine with such talents and skills, wherever they go.
Avid WordPress usage:
A person, who wants to become a top-notch WordPress developer should learn the various technologies as much as he can and also should be an avid user of WordPress. Then only, the person can be able to meet the business requirements efficiently by developing error free and perfect websites. They should learn always, whenever they have free time.
Software required for WordPress Development:
The following are some of the essential tools or software needed for WordPress developers:
Desktop Server: It is a simple and easily usable WordPress tool that is responsible for the creation of various local WordPress websites. It is free – to use the tool, but its registration involves paying a small amount.
MAMP: It is somewhat the same as that of XAMPP. It is simply a stack of software used for the creation of WordPress websites. It is accessible only on the operating systems including MacOS and Windows.
XAMPP: The abbreviation stands for Apache, MariaDB, Perl, and PHP. It is a complete package of tools needed for developing WordPress websites. Its advanced version is termed as XAMPP – VM, which requires a Linux virtual machine for usage.
Flywheel: It contains an easily usable and accessible interface and it supports Mac OS operating systems. It involves only a few clicks and configurations for website creation.
Vagrant: It is a slightly different but unique tool used for the development of WordPress websites. It facilitates the user to make executions of multiple virtual machines on a single computer system.
How to become a WordPress developer:
Generally, professional interest varies from person to person and it might not be the same for all. But still, there are some common aspects that drive everyone towards their profession. Let us take the profession of WordPress development and consider the following basic steps for becoming a successful WordPress developer:
Step 1: Understanding the basic languages: A WordPress developer should be very much familiar with all the basic concepts needed for development. This means that they should have a clear understanding of the essential languages required for the creation and development of WordPress platforms. Let us discuss the four most important language skills needed to become proficient in WordPress:
PHP: Abbreviated as Hypertext preprocessor acts as a backbone for WordPress development.
JavaScript: A dynamic computer language used for the creation of web page elements.
CSS: Abbreviated as Cascading Style Sheets is a language used for the design of content style, font, and color of websites.
HTML: Abbreviated as Hypertext markup language shows the page look of various websites on the internet browser.
Step 2: Designing the list of necessary resources: Generally WordPress development needs a lot of resources on its side. Some of them are listed below:
Codex of WordPress: Codex is a site that contains a variety of developer focussed documents, which need to be gone through and addressed by the WordPress developers, in case of development.
Developer website of WordPress: It assists the developers in choosing the perfect plugins and themes needed for WordPress development.
Efficient courses of WordPress: A better option for learning all the fundamentals of WordPress is taking a WordPress course. The users can either take any premium (paid) course or free course, as per their convenience.
Make the website of WordPress: It creates a connection or link between the developers, testers, translators, and designers, by acting as a hub among them.
Step 3: Deciding the correct aspect for showing interest and involvement: Since WordPress is a quite vast field to lean, the thing is that we need to decide which will be the best place for us to start and involve ourselves into it. We can jump or skip directly into the point, where we feel the better level of comfort. Some of the best ways of deciding the starting point are shown below:
Establishing a new plugin or theme: It is always better for the developers to go for the creation of their own WordPress themes or plugins.
Adopting a plugin or theme of WordPress: In case of not enough knowledge about the creation of new plugins, the developers can adopt and alter any plugin or theme, that is already available.
Showing interest in the core concepts of WordPress: Getting into the core concepts of WordPress will make us highly informative and knowledgeable in the field of WordPress development.
Step 4: Learning the concepts of WordPress to an unlimited extent: We all know that learning is a never-ending process. Likewise a WordPress professional should learn as much as possible for him to become an efficient developer. We can be able to do more, only if we know more about the platform of WordPress. The unlimited number of resources are available nowadays on both online and offline to learn WordPress development. People can either learn by taking any course (by making investments) or else can learn by self – learning. One of the most notable resources for learning WordPress is the WordPress codex (WordPress wiki).
Step 5: Placing focus on the perfect area of development: WordPress is highly popular for its versatility and vast technical concepts. The developers of WordPress to are notable for their strong and immense technical knowledge, talents and skill sets. In addition to the technical skills, the developers should also possess creativity, in order to survive successfully in the WordPress domain. Apart from all the above-mentioned qualities, a perfect developer should also have a clear focus on the following three primary concepts of WordPress:
- WordPress plugins
- WordPress themes and
- Core concepts.
Step 6: Preparing ourselves for developmental issues: Problems are common in the process of WordPress development. Such problems might happen at any instant of time unexpectedly. But a most common and expected issue is system bug, which happens on a periodic basis. System bugs might vary from small level (formatting errors) to a large level (System crashes). A good developer should have the confidence to face and solve the issues. Otherwise, he will be prone to various problems like client loss. For solving the issues, the only requirement is that the developer should know all sorts of WordPress debugging concepts.
Step 7: Creating a local environment for WordPress development: Development of plugins and themes hardly require a local environment, where all kinds of troubleshooting and testing can be done. Such local environment setup is not that much complex. Instead, it is a simpler and easy process, that anyone can do. A greater benefit of using a local environment for development is the abolition of catastrophic issues, which might be raised while using a client’s environment. The creation of local environment requires a server stack software, which acts as an infrastructure for all types of code executions.
Step 8: Getting linked to the community of WordPress: Instead of being an isolated developer, it is always better to be a part of the wider development community of WordPress. The reason is that working along with a team will make a developer to enhance his skill set, thereby making him highly progressive in the field of WordPress. In addition, the developer will gain a variety of support in the developmental part. The developers will become smarter when they engage themselves periodically in various WordPress forums.
Conclusion:
As a whole, becoming a WordPress developer is not easy. It requires time, a lot of hard work and proper dedication. We need to face huge trial and errors and we have to go through numerous guides, blogs, articles and whitepapers related to WordPress development, in order to initiate and maintain a WordPress developer career.
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