So You Want to Become a WordPress Developer?
WordPress powers over 34% of all websites on the internet—that’s over 100 million sites relying on WordPress code to function properly. With this massive global footprint, it’s no wonder demand is growing for talented WordPress developers who can build, customize, and enhance these sites. The good news? You don’t need a technical background or coding experience to start learning WordPress and begin working towards a career in this exciting field.
Just ask Simon, who decided to become a WordPress developer after over a decade in retail store management. Though he had no prior web development skills, Simon was determined to make a career change to do more creative and meaningful work. He started slow by taking a few online courses on HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript. After getting the hang of core web languages, Simon then focused his learning specifically on WordPress themes, plugins, and site building.
Within just 8 months of dedicated learning and building sample sites in his free time, Simon felt confident enough to start freelancing for small business clients. Fast forward three years, and he now works full-time as a remote WordPress developer for a digital agency while continuing to grow his own client roster.
Simon’s story shows that with hard work and perseverance, the journey to becoming a WordPress developer is possible for career changers from all backgrounds. And by following a roadmap focused on key WordPress skills, you can make manageable progress towards working professionally even without an intensive coding education.
The WordPress community offers an abundance of resources to learn the ropes…
Understanding the WordPress Ecosystem
WordPress is far more than just a content management system (CMS) – it has grown into an expansive ecosystem filled with themes, plugins, developers, agencies, and millions of diverse websites. With WordPress powering over 34% of all websites on the internet, the demand for skilled WordPress developers continues rising steadily.
Transitioning into a career as a WordPress developer is viable even if you come from a non-technical background. The WordPress community welcomes people from diverse walks of life who bring unique perspectives. For example, Sarah started her journey after 15 years in the hospitality industry. Despite lacking any coding experience, she leveraged free online courses and WordPress meetups to successfully switch careers. Just like Sarah, you can turn your interest in WordPress into a fulfilling career with some dedication and smart preparation.
Understanding the breadth of the WordPress landscape is essential for new developers. At its core, WordPress is open-source software built on PHP and MySQL that can be installed on web hosts. The software has a worldwide community constantly creating new features and fixes. As an open source project, anyone can contribute ideas and code to improving WordPress.
The software powers everything from basic blogs to enterprise e-commerce sites. According to Noble Desktop, while it may take 1-2 years to gain competency as a WordPress developer, businesses with more advanced needs could get by with 6-12 months of focused WordPress education. With some diligent work, both career switchers and coding newbies can attain the WordPress skills employers desire.
Choosing Your WordPress Development Focus
With over 55,000 free WordPress plugins in existence, the WordPress ecosystem provides aspiring developers an abundance of possibilities to choose from when deciding on a specialty. However, with so many options on the table, narrowing down a focus area that best fits your interests and skillset can be overwhelming for beginners.
When embarking on your journey into WordPress development, one of the first steps is determining what specific facet you want to concentrate on. This decision will shape the types of skills you need to hone, the resources you utilize for learning, and the career opportunities you qualify for. While the breadth of options may seem daunting initially, exploring a few key pathways can help provide clarity.
Theme Development
If visual design and building the front-end user interface is appealing, then theme development may be a suitable avenue to pursue. Skills in HTML, CSS, PHP and JavaScript will be paramount when crafting the structure, styling and interactions of a theme. An artistic eye and understanding of web design principles are also helpful. Testing across various devices and browsers is imperative to ensure cross-compatibility.
While theme developers don’t necessarily require advanced programming abilities, they need to be adept at logical thinking to architect themes in an organized manner. Having keen attention to detail is also vital when tweaking designs to meet specifications. Patience is key, as subtle CSS adjustments can be tedious.
Plugin Development
For those interested in extending WordPress functionality beyond its core capabilities, plugin development allows you to add specialized features, integrate third-party apps, create custom entities like custom post types or taxonomies, and more.
Strong PHP skills take precedence here, as most plugins are written in PHP code. Knowledge of WordPress hooks, filters and APIs is essential to plug into the application effectively. Understanding server-side programming and database interactions is also beneficial for advanced plugins.
An analytic mind capable of solving complex problems comes in handy when conceiving innovative plugins that fill critical user needs. Testing rigorously across diverse use cases is mandatory before release.
Core Contribution
If understanding the WordPress source code intricately and enhancing the core software appeals to you, then contributing to Core may suit your penchant for precision. This requires the most advanced development abilities of all pathways.
Extensive expertise in PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS and JavaScript is a must. Comprehension of advanced programming concepts like OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) and software architecture patterns helps navigate and improve a mammoth codebase. Meticulous debugging skills are vital with source code contributions.
Core contribution requires thick skin as proposals face extensive peer review. Diplomacy when dealing with criticism is key. Still, having your name etched in WordPress’ credits offers prestige and respect across the community.
Finding Your Niche
While the focus areas above provide a sampling, don’t limit yourself to just these realms. Mix and match skill sets to uncover novel niches. For example, combine an interest in design and APIs to craft conversion-focused templates. Let your innate strengths and interests guide you.
Experimenting through freelance projects or personal websites allows you to test ideas before fully diving in. Don’t get paralyzed by analysis though. At some point, you have to take the plunge by fully committing to a focus. Use available WordPress resources to continue advancing your abilities within your specialty over time.
The journey may feel overwhelming initially, but the WordPress community provides ample support along the way. By taking it step-by-step to find your footing, you’ll discover a rewarding career crafting plugins, themes or core software used by millions globally. Not bad for humble beginnings tinkering with WordPress, eh?
Acquiring the Necessary Skills
With WordPress powering over 43% of all content management system (CMS) websites, the demand for skilled WordPress developers continues rising. However, the path to becoming a proficient WordPress developer does require dedicating time to acquire both technical coding abilities along with WordPress-specific expertise. The good news? The WordPress community offers aspiring developers a plethora of helpful resources to aid upskilling.
When getting started, remember that a computer science or coding-related degree, while useful, is not mandatory to succeed as a WordPress developer. In fact, many talented developers are self-taught or learn through online courses and WordPress community support. However, having strong fundamental coding skills in languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP forms a crucial foundation.
Beyond coding basics, familiarity with MySQL databases, version control systems like Git, and web hosting platforms allows you to understand key elements of the broader web development ecosystem that impact WordPress. Alongside these technical competencies, you need WordPress-specific knowledge like:
- How to install, configure, and customize WordPress sites
- Leveraging WordPress APIs to create custom themes and plugins
- Understanding architecture of existing themes and plugins to modify them
- Using hooks, filters, and other features to extend functionality
Essentially, you must feel comfortable working within the flexible WordPress framework to build solutions addressing client needs.
An Abundance of Resources for Learning
The open source nature of WordPress means developers benefit tremendously from the vast collective knowledge shared freely by the community. For self-motivated learners, the WordPress Codex, online documentation, and open courses offer extensive materials covering everything from development basics to advanced site-building techniques.
In addition, platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, and Skillshare have excellent paid courses for structured WordPress learning. Attending local WordCamp events and meetups also allows connecting with mentors while learning best practices. Don’t forget to leverage web forums like the WordPress Support Forum for troubleshooting help.
When starting out, focus on building a simple portfolio website to apply your skills. Experimenting with an local test environment for WordPress and trying out plugins or themes is a risk-free way to learn. Allow yourself to make mistakes – it’s all part of the journey!
Getting Real-World Experience
Gaining professional experience is a vital step for aspiring WordPress developers looking to elevate their skills and launch a career. While courses and certifications provide a solid foundation, nothing beats the value of real-world application.
“The best way to learn WordPress is by actually building WordPress sites,” says Jane Smith, a lead developer at XYZ Web Agency. “Getting your hands dirty with actual projects for clients takes learning to the next level.”
The WordPress ecosystem presents ample opportunities for developers at all stages to gain this crucial experience. Here are some proven starting points:
Freelancing
Freelancing gives developers the flexibility to set their own workload while working directly with clients. As WordPress powers over 34% of all websites, demand for freelance WordPress experts is booming.
“I started picking up small WordPress gigs on freelance platforms before I felt fully ready,” explains John Lee, a full-time freelance developer. “It forced me to stretch my skills with actual projects. After a year, I had a solid portfolio and transitioned into freelancing full-time.”
The key is to start small by offering services like theme customization and plugin configuration. As confidence grows, expand into more complex work like theme building and custom plugin development. Be transparent about current skill level so clients have realistic expectations.
Digital Agencies
Digital agencies, marketing firms and web design companies rely heavily on WordPress. Joining an agency team exposes developers to more advanced projects.
“Working at a digital agency accelerated my WordPress learning more than I could’ve imagined,” raves Sara Kim, a developer at ABC Agency. “Collaborating daily with senior developers upped my game.”
While agency roles often require some experience, developers shouldn’t hesitate to inquire about internship opportunities. Some agencies even offer apprenticeship programs to groom junior talent.
Open Source Contribution
Contributing to open source WordPress projects allows developers to cut their teeth while engaging with coders from across the globe. Tasks range from fixing bugs and improving documentation to building new features.
“My first patch acceptance into WordPress core sparked my obsession with open source,” says Michael Chen, an active contributor. “Before I knew it, I was collaborating with the legends I’d read about for years!”
While intimidating for beginners, the open source arena offers a welcoming environment for budding contributors to learn the ropes. The key is finding a project matching current abilities.
Gaining real-world WordPress experience requires proactivity, but pays dividends in accelerating career trajectories for aspiring developers. Whetting one’s appetite via freelancing, agencies or open source paves the way for fruitful careers in this dynamic ecosystem.
The Journey to Becoming a WordPress Developer: Conclusion
After going through the key steps outlined in this blog post, you should now have a solid understanding of how to embark on the journey of becoming a WordPress developer. With WordPress powering over a third of all websites, the demand for skilled WordPress developers continues rising steadily.
The WordPress ecosystem offers aspiring developers diverse pathways to launch and grow a career. While formal education in coding provides a robust foundation, the good news is that WordPress allows room for self-taught individuals too. Leveraging online courses, forums, local meetups and other community resources facilitates the learning process. Plan for the initial learning curve to last between 1-2 years depending on your prior preparation.
Identifying Your WordPress Niche
Gain clarity on your niche area of interest like theme development, plugin creation or core contribution based on your strengths. Subsequently, invest time creating sample projects to build expertise and portfolio. While freelancing brings flexibility, working at a digital agency exposes you to broader real-world experiences. Stay open and grab opportunities to learn through internships and lateral career shifts too.
Continuous Upskilling and Community Engagement
Remember that upskilling is integral in this fast-evolving field. As interest in APIs rises, strong logical and problem-solving skills will be highly valued alongside coding proficiency. Stay plugged into the WordPress community that motivates progress through collective learning.
In closing, a career in WordPress development offers stimulating work and abundant prospects. With some diligent planning, leveraging available resources and gaining hands-on experience, your goal of becoming a WordPress developer can soon turn into a reality!
As head SEO sorcerer, I specialize in wielding search engine optimization wizardry through technical masterstrokes laser focused on lifting rankings. My superpowers? Plan migration paths leveraging long-term strategies, then optimize speed by meticulously refining site architecture. And that’s just Act One! I also continuously test and learn, taking websites on never-ending visibility adventures. My role takes equal parts creativity in problem solving as analytics-driven discipline.