If you’re a designer, experienced WordPress user, or web developer who understands HTML, CSS, and some PHP and want to transition to a web professional who can build and administer WordPress sites, WordPress for Web Developers by Stephanie Leary is for you.
About the Author
Stephanie Leary is a writer and freelance WordPress developer in Texas. She worked in higher education for over ten years at Texas A & M University.
Leary is the author of Beginning WordPress 3 and founder of Women of WordPress.
About the Book
The 300+ page book is organized into three sections: an introduction to WordPress, advanced administrative functions, and introduction to WordPress theme and plugin development.
The first seven chapters of the book provide a great introduction to WordPress, how to install it, the Dashboard, and how to work with themes, plugins, and users—all those things you want to know when you first learn a new system.
Chapters 8-10 is where you’ll learn about the administrative functions for configuring servers, improving performance, keeping your site secure, importing content and migrating sites.
In the last four chapters, Leary walks you through theme and plugin development as well as custom post types. This is where you’ll get deeper into code, learning about the Loop, functions, template tags, shortcodes, and widgets.
What I Liked
Leary knows WordPress and shares her knowledge in a writing style that I enjoyed. She includes plenty of screenshots and code examples throughout the book, making it simpler for you to understand.
Each chapter is filled with links to resources for further reading (remember this is an introductory book and can’t go into a lot of depth).
I’ve been working with WordPress for several years, but discovered a lot of new information. I liked how Leary balances explanations, code examples, and tips throughout the book.
Wish I had read her information about setting up multisite networks before our team set it up at the college!
WordPress for Web Developers is helpful for anyone who wants to learn how to develop with WordPress, or those who have already started developing with WordPress and want to expand their knowledge.
Whether you’re just starting out with WordPress development or you’ve been using it for a few years like me, there’s something for you in Leary’s book.
Note: the book was published in the summer of 2013 and uses WordPress version 3.5.1 screenshots.
You’ll notice some WordPress interface changes in the book screenshots compared to your current WordPress installation.
Book Chapters
- Chapter 1: Getting Started
- Chapter 2: Installing and Upgrading WordPress
- Chapter 3: Dashboard and Settings
- Chapter 4: Working with Content
- Chapter 5: Working with Themes
- Chapter 6: Working with Plugins
- Chapter 7: Working with Users
- Chapter 8: Setting up Multisite Networks
- Chapter 9: Performance and Security
- Chapter 10: Importing Content and Migrating Sites
- Chapter 11: Beginning Theme and Plugin Development
- Chapter 12: Creating a Theme
- Chapter 13: Creating Plugin
- Chapter 14: Custom Post Types, Taxonomies, and Fields
