10+ Excellent & Helpful Resources to Learning WordPress Development
Average WordPress users have at their disposal more to create complex websites than ever. Multipurpose themes come with built-in editors, and there are powerful plugins for creating web pages without writing a single line of code.
In this context, learning WordPress development seems meaningless. Why should you spend hours learning how to code when a web page builder does all the coding work for you? This is a never ending topic, and there are many discussions on Reddit and Quora on this topic.
We, the WPNewsify team, believe that learning WordPress development or any coding language is beneficial. Lots of entrepreneurs, politicians, and artists advocate that coding is the future. What handwriting is today will be coding in the future—in the near future!
I assume that because you are still reading this article, you are interested in learning WordPress development. Most of you feel disarmed because it’s complicated and requires a lot of time to become proficient. It’s true that no one can say that WordPress development is simple. However, if you are patient and work hard, you can learn it.
Apart from willingness and the desire to work, you need some useful resources. We know that it’s daunting to search for the proper courses and tutorials, so we have compiled a list of ten places where you can learn WordPress development, and combined with a proper admin template, the foundation of your developing uprise will be set. These resources are satisfying for everyone—some are for complete beginners while others are for advanced users. So roll up your sleeves and start becoming a WordPress developer. Here is everything you need!
WordPress Codex
WordPress.org offers documented support for people willing to learn how it works. There is no better method of learning to become a WordPress developer than learning from top developers. WordPress Codex explores a vast area of topics. It starts with WordPress basics, such as how to create posts and pages and how to use themes and plugins. However, Codex contains advanced lessons as well, such as creating a plugin or debugging a network.
The information shared is precious and useful, but Codex design isn’t quite welcoming for beginners. The large amounts of texts may frighten such users.
Udemy
Udemy is an extensive library of online courses that cover many areas, including development, design, and WordPress. Some people consider Udemy a collection of useless classes while others praise it. The truth is that some courses are indeed poor, but the majority are useful.
Most of the WordPress courses are targeted for using the platform, but there are some aimed to teach you development. Pay attention to the discounts; now and then, Udemy offers massive price cuts. I recommend testing the waters by checking out the free courses.
Udemy is a good starting point for beginners, but the most advanced users might not be pleased by the courses.
TreeHouse
TreeHouse is a well-known online learning source that is aimed at designers and coders. The catalog library is full of interesting courses teaching everything from HTML to virtual reality. A good WordPress developer should have a solid grasp on HTML, CSS, PHP, and databases. TreeHouse covers all these topics, and there are a few courses specially designed for WordPress lovers. “How to Build a WordPress Plugin,” “WordPress Theme Development,” and “WordPress Customizer API” are just a few provocative courses. These courses are divided into chapters, so you can study the entire course or just a section.
Lynda
Lynda is another famous library of online courses. Here are housed thousands of courses for tons of domains and users. Lynda is a good place to learn photography, marketing, 3D animation, and of course, WordPress development. LinkedIn acquired Lynda in 2015, which should be a clear sign that the courses are professionally made.
“WordPress: Building Themes from Scratch Using Underscores” and “WordPress: Understanding Custom Plugins with PHP” are two courses mandatory for a good WordPress developer. Currently, there are 80+ courses for WordPress users that cover many topics, including coding best practices. No doubt, Lynda is a great resource to sharpen your WordPress skills.
WPMU Dev Academy
WPMU Dev is a talented agency developing WordPress themes and plugins. It has also launched an Academy, a resource consisting of a couple of fantastic courses. You can start learning WordPress development from scratch by enrolling in these courses.
“WordPress Development for Beginners” is the first part of the course, and Daniel Pataki is the teacher. An introduction to PHP and building themes and plugins are the main objectives of it.
“WordPress Development for Intermediate Users” is the second part, and Rachel McCollin is the instructor. She focalizes on plugin development, custom post types, queries, and metadata.
“Advanced WordPress Development” is the last part, and Daniel Pataki is your teacher. He guides you to use the command line and create object-oriented plugins.
Code Tutplus
Tutplus is a huge news magazine for designers and developers, and it has a section dedicated to WordPress. There are books, video courses, and blog posts for WordPress users. I don’t suggest starting your journey to master WordPress with this resource. Instead, this news magazine is practical for finding the latest news and getting an idea of various matters in the WordPress universe.
Code Academy
Code Academy is a mix of online courses suitable for a complex coder. It consists of thorough courses to teach you HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. It’s true that there is no course specifically for WordPress, but those offered are relevant and helpful to becoming a WordPress coder. I strongly recommend checking out these courses because they are all created with the idea of active participation. Your advancement is dependent on resolving small tasks for each lesson. You can also learn many languages like Python, SQL, jQuery, and Ruby.
Free Code Camp
Free Code Camp isn’t a resource targeted especially for WordPress users. However, there are tons of reasons to add it to this list. First, many WordPress users don’t know coding, and they are frightened by the idea of learning it. There is no better way of learning the basics of HTML and CSS than Free Code Camp. It’s a five-hour course for HTML and CSS that takes you from zero to hero.
Second, each lesson from each chapter is meticulously presented, and you have examples to understand the concepts better. You need to complete small tasks for each lesson to mark these being passed.
Third, there are many sections for other languages. For instance, you can learn jQuery, JavaScript, basic algorithm scripts, Node.js, React.js, and many other interesting languages.
WPMarmite
WPMarmite helps anybody understand and use WordPress to make the most of what the tool has to offer. The company helps anyone working on WordPress choose themes, plugins, secure their websites, improve their SEO and launch their online stores as well as providing educational content and specialist training.
SitePoint
SitePoint is a reference for web designers and developers. It started in 1999 as online help for website crafters; nowadays, it’s a brand selling books and courses, and the blog has been visited by millions of people. It has a rich section for WordPress where you can find video courses, books, and blog posts. These are all created by talented WordPress developers. Give it a try!
WP-Snippets
WP-Snippets isn’t a typical place to learn WordPress. It’s a collection of 200+ snippets suitable for enhancing a WordPress-powered website. There is no guide for beginners or pieces of advice to code better and faster. Instead, you can check each snippet and study how it works. Of course, you can modify and customize them as well. Learning by doing is a great method, and testing the snippets from WP-Snippets is a smart idea. I believe that you should have a decent grasp on WordPress before heading to WP Snippets.
WP Turbo
WP Turbo is a WordPress development tool that provides web developers with tips and knowledge to help them create amazing WordPress websites. It also released 40+ WordPress code generators that you can use for free. You can also check snippets saved by WPTurbo users. We also produce blogs that help developers to learn other ways to customize WordPress websites.
In Conclusion
These are our suggestions. If we missed your favorite resource, let us know and add it in a comment. But keep in mind a paramount tip: there is no tool to replace your strong will and hard work. Practice makes you better! Work hard, and you will surely become a WordPress wizard!
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July 3, 2017 @ 10:00 pm
Learning how to code is one of my next big goals! I never though I would end up in this position in my life – a writer of all things WordPress…but here I am. Thank you for sharing this great roundup for people like me that have no idea where to start.
I would also love to recommend to those that have access – join a WordPress meetup group. I know in my area there is one specifically for WooCommerce, one for blogging, one for WordPress basics, and of course, one that is all about web development. The community is so friendly and helpful, anyone looking to boost their skills is sure to learn something!
January 16, 2018 @ 7:45 am
Thank-you for sharing these best resources with the audience to learn WordPress. I have seen that you haven’t mentioned WPblog.com as it is one of the best resources that keep update audience about the latest trends in the world of WordPress.
January 16, 2018 @ 8:07 am
Hi Alexander,
thanks for reading the post. WPblog.com is a genuinely useful resource for anyone loving WordPress. I will keep in mind when updating the post.
September 16, 2018 @ 3:42 pm
Hey, Daniel thank you so much for this great informative post. I personally used “Udemy” which is great from my experience I’ve learned a lot of things about WordPress customization and development. However, There is thousands, of course, that based on different category Not only WordPress.
Also, I’ve found some other informative website from this post.
June 2, 2020 @ 7:44 am
Good article for Beginner. This article helps to know courses available for WordPress.
March 15, 2021 @ 4:35 am
Udemy is my pick from the list. I learned many things from this great learning space. Thanks for suggesting other websites as well.Thanks, Daniel for writing this helpful post.