1.
BECOMING A RESPECTED
WORDPRESS DEVELOPER
A Primer for WordPress Development

2.
ABOUT YOUR SPEAKER
David Laietta
WordPress Development and Consulting
Custom Theme Development
Teaching and One-on-One Training
david@davidlaietta.com
@davidlaietta
@davidlaietta

3.
WHAT YOU NEED
Power User, Designer
HTML & CSS Fundamentals
PHP & JavaScript basics preferred but not
needed to get started
No specialized hardware
Free versions of all software needs exist
@davidlaietta

4.
MASTER THE LOOP
http://codex.wordpress.org/The_Loop
The instructions in a template file that
pulls content
Tells WordPress what information to
retrieve and display from database
Controlled via WP_Query
Allows custom queries of information
 <?php if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
@davidlaietta

5.
THINK IN TEMPLATE TERMS
http://codex.wordpress.org/Templates
Controls how the site is displayed
Specific files pulled from template
hierarchy for content types
Naming conventions help structure data
http://codex.wordpress.org/File:Template
_Hierarchy.png
@davidlaietta

6.
CUSTOM POST TYPES
http://codex.wordpress.org/Post_Types
Things that aren’t standard pages/posts
Can be registered by user, theme or plugin
Useful for specific content types
Creates new top-level admin menu
Allows top-level slug navigation
http://yoursite.com/portfolio/portfolio-item/
@davidlaietta

7.
HOOKS, ACTIONS AND FILTERS
http://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/A
ction_Reference
Hooks are places to add actions and filters
Controls point of code execution
Actions add code to hooks
Filters change existing actions
@davidlaietta

8.
SAMPLE MANY, COMMIT TO FEW
Try out various web technologies and
development techniques/programs
Determine your productive workflow
Slowly phase out unnecessary
components
Continually refine your toolbox
@davidlaietta

9.
CHOOSE YOUR NICHE AND ATTACK!
Determine your passion in development
Extensively study that passion area
Determine shortcomings in existing
systems and software
Work toward a more enjoyable
experience for users
@davidlaietta

10.
THINK LIKE A CLIENT
Learn to anticipate client needs
Follow up with clients regularly
Manage their expectations early
Under-promise and over-deliver
Demonstrate that they are paying for your
expertise, not your time
@davidlaietta

11.
GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY
Repay in kind as you have been taught
Release GPL licensed code
Contribute to WordPress
Forums, Handbooks, Core, UI, etc.
Earn respect of peers and clients
Attract a higher quality clientele
Share the secret with others!
@davidlaietta