We’ll begin by quickly examining how WordPress functions to comprehend what it is and how WordPress development functions. The core, themes, and plugins are the three main parts. The default features of the WordPress content management system are contained in the core code. This covers everything from the admin backend to features like scheduling postings, determining the strength of passwords, enabling user creation, and so forth.
Themes are in charge of a website’s front end and how it feels and looks, whereas the website’s core is in order of how it functions and looks on the backend. We utilize the WordPress admin to generate posts, pages, and other site content, but the theme determines how our articles and pages are shown to visitors. You now have a lot of control over your website. Pre-built themes can be installed and activated, or you can entirely step outside the box and use original designs.
Areas of Development
About WordPress development, you may create independent applications in addition to any of the three aforementioned main parts using the new REST API; however, more on that in a moment. Whatever you want to accomplish with WordPress, I would advise sticking to a predetermined course of study. Before learning more about your field of interest, you should become acquainted with the systems listed below:
- Themes
- Plugins
- REST API
- Core
Themes
You may make websites and design single-page sites, dynamic websites with plenty of content, and everything in between by learning how themes function and how to develop them. If that’s what you want to do, it will also enable you to get better/more client work or perhaps start your own theme sale company.
Even though not all theme developers make nearly that much money, and you might not produce themes that instantly make you wealthy, you can still earn a comfortable living if you do it well.
Look out for the markets I listed above or the free WordPress Theme Directory to view some outstanding examples of themes. Many inexperienced theme developers also publish their work in the directory.
Plugins
With the click of a button, plugins may turn WordPress into various things, including forums, social networks, eCommerce solutions, and much more. Thanks to plugins, you have complete control over every element of the WordPress system so that you can change anything to your liking. This may be of great assistance in turning WordPress into a white label for consumers. Constantly adding the one extra feature you require, and essentially transforming WordPress into your own.
There are other marketplaces for plugins, most of which are controlled by the same businesses that also manage those for themes. CodeCanyon is the biggest, offering more than 900 plugins for sale. WordPress also includes a free Plugin Directory, with an inventory quickly increasing to 60,000 plugins. Sales tend to be lower than with themes, but it may still be quite profitable if you find the perfect niche. It’s a fantastic resource for tools, ideas, and excellent programming examples.
REST API
Though theoretically, you might be able to use it if you know another language very well, like Java or Ruby. Using the REST API will come a little later in your career after you have mastered themes and plugin development.
Thanks to the REST API, a relatively new technology, you can build real applications based on WordPress. This includes applications for the iPhone, Android, and even televisions, if you are familiar with other programming languages.
Comparing this feature to something like Twitter or Instagram is the best way to describe it. You’ve probably noticed that someone displays their Twitter feed on their website. You only need a small piece of code that says, “please retrieve my latest five tweets” to add this functionality to your website. You don’t even need to understand how Twitter’s core programming operates. The actual retrieval is handled by Twitter, which returns the information for the five tweets you requested. The data can then be displayed using HTML and CSS.
The REST API for WordPress does precisely for eCommerce solutions. Any website you connect to can be asked for your five most recent posts. However, you have many more options: you may alter categories, add people, delete users, and more (all of which require authenticating yourself, of course). This implies that you can create the front end and back end using a completely different system. And also utilize WordPress as a repository for information.
Core
A global community of tens of thousands of volunteers creates WordPress. The strenuous effort of 624 kind volunteer contributors, in addition to the internal WordPress team led by Matt Mullenweg, was reflected in WordPress’s most recent stable version, 5.9. Not to mention the several additional individuals that contributed to other WordPress features like accessibility and support.
Conclusion:
You are always welcome to participate yourself if you are interested. While you require a lot of experience to contribute code to WordPress core. You can submit ideas or work in various other essential areas through WordPress. Get Involved page, including design, support, accessibility, translation, and more for eCommerce solutions.
A plugin may change a website’s front end or back end to do this. An illustration would be a plugin that includes a Tweet button for Twitter. It would likely add itself to the front end of a website, most likely appearing under a post. Presumably, create a new settings page in the admin menu on the back end. Where you could configure some default options for a user’s tweet.
