Best Courses to Learn WordPress Plugin Coding

WordPress is an excellent platform for anyone to use as a blogging tool, a CMS, or even an e-commerce store. Users will use WordPress because of the immense support network and friendly community.

The ability to create plugins further extends the platform’s usefulness. Learning WordPress plugin development is crucial for enhancing website functionalities and opening up various career opportunities in web development. Many resources exist to help one learn WordPress plugin development, but not all resources are equal. Free WordPress plugin development courses are particularly accessible for beginners, offering comprehensive and valuable instruction despite the lack of certification. These courses often guide users in creating their plugins, providing a step-by-step approach used by industry experts.

Some resources teach outdated coding techniques, and others do not teach you to think about your code before writing it down properly.

Introduction to WordPress Plugin Development

WordPress plugin development is a valuable skill for WordPress professionals. It allows them to tailor websites to specific requirements, increase functionality, and create unique features. Plugins are essentially pieces of software that can be added to a WordPress site to extend its capabilities. Whether you want to add a custom post type, integrate third-party services, or enhance site security, plugins make it possible. Additionally, learning to create your plugin can significantly strengthen your development skills.

Learning plugin development empowers you to create custom solutions for your projects and opens up various career opportunities. As a proficient WordPress plugin developer, you can offer specialized services, contribute to the WordPress repository, or sell your plugins. With the ever-evolving nature of WordPress, staying updated with the latest development practices ensures you remain competitive in the field.

What is WordPress Plugin Development?

WordPress plugin development creates software components that add specific functionality to a WordPress website. These plugins can range from simple tools that perform a single task to complex applications that integrate with other systems. Plugin development involves writing code in programming languages such as PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. By leveraging the WordPress Plugin API, developers can interact with the WordPress core, enabling them to extend and customize the platform’s capabilities. Whether you’re looking to add a custom post type, enhance site security, or integrate third-party services, mastering plugin development is vital to unlocking the full potential of WordPress.

Benefits of Learning WordPress Plugin Development

Learning WordPress plugin development can bring numerous benefits, including:

Increased earning potential: You can earn a significant income by developing and selling plugins. The demand for high-quality plugins is ever-growing, providing ample opportunities for monetization.
Improved employability: Knowing how to develop WordPress plugins makes you a more attractive candidate to potential employers. Companies value developers who can create custom solutions and enhance their WordPress sites.
Enhanced skills: Learning plugin development can improve your programming skills, problem-solving abilities, and understanding of web development. It’s a great way to deepen your knowledge of PHP, JavaScript, and other web technologies.
Community recognition: Contributing to the WordPress community through plugin development can earn you recognition and respect among your peers. Sharing your work and collaborating with others can lead to valuable connections and opportunities.
Personal satisfaction: Creating something that helps others can be a rewarding experience. Seeing your plugins used on various websites and receiving positive feedback can be incredibly fulfilling.

Career Opportunities for WordPress Developers

WordPress developers, especially those with expertise in plugin development, are in high demand. Here are some career opportunities you can explore:

WordPress plugin developer: This role involves creating and selling plugins on marketplaces like WordPress.org or through your website. It involves designing, coding, and maintaining plugins that solve specific problems or add new features to WordPress sites.
WordPress theme developer: Design and develop custom client themes or sell them on marketplaces. This role requires a strong understanding of both design principles and coding.
WordPress consultant: Offer consulting services to clients who need help with their WordPress websites. This can include everything from site setup and customization to performance optimization and security enhancements.
WordPress support specialist: This role involves providing technical support to clients who use WordPress plugins or themes. It involves troubleshooting issues, providing solutions, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
WordPress educator: Through online courses or workshops, teach others how to use WordPress and develop plugins. Sharing your knowledge can be rewarding to contribute to the community and help others succeed.

Preparing for WordPress Plugin Development

Before diving into WordPress plugin development, it’s essential to have a solid understanding of web development languages like HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript. These languages form the backbone of WordPress and are crucial for writing effective plugin code. Additionally, familiarizing yourself with WordPress coding standards ensures that your plugins are compatible with the platform and adhere to best practices.

Understanding the General Public License (GPL) is also essential, as it governs the distribution and modification of WordPress and its plugins. The GPL ensures that WordPress remains an open-source project, allowing developers to use, modify, and distribute their code freely. By adhering to these standards, you contribute to the integrity and sustainability of the WordPress ecosystem.

Essential Skills for WordPress Plugin Development

To become a successful WordPress plugin developer, you need to possess the following essential skills:

Programming languages: Proficiency in PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is crucial. These languages form the foundation of WordPress and are essential for writing effective plugin code.
WordPress Plugin API: Understanding how to use the API to interact with the WordPress core is vital. This knowledge allows you to extend and customize WordPress functionalities.
Database management: It is important to know how to work with databases, including MySQL, to store and retrieve data within your plugins.
Security: Writing secure code and protecting against common vulnerabilities is essential to ensure your plugins are safe and reliable.
Debugging: The ability to debug your code and troubleshoot issues is crucial for maintaining the quality and functionality of your plugins.
Version control: Understanding how to use version control systems like Git can help you manage your codebase and collaborate effectively with other developers.

Choosing the Right WordPress Plugin Development Course

Choosing the right one can be overwhelming, with numerous online courses and tutorials available for WordPress plugin development. To make an informed decision, consider course content, skill level, price, update frequency, and trainer reputation. Look for courses that offer comprehensive coverage of plugin development topics, from basic concepts to advanced techniques. Some classes even teach you how to create your plugin, providing a step-by-step approach for beginners and intermediates.

Choosing courses that provide practical examples and hands-on projects is also beneficial, as these will help you apply what you’ve learned. Additionally, consider the course format—whether video-based, text-based, or a combination of both—and ensure it fits your learning style. Some top recommendations include free and paid options, catering to different budgets and learning preferences.

Free vs. Paid Courses: Pros and Cons

When it comes to learning WordPress plugin development, you have the option to choose between free and paid courses. Here are some pros and cons of each:

Free Courses:

Pros:

Cost-effective: Free courses can be a great way to get started without spending money.
Accessible: Free courses are often available online, making it easy to access them from anywhere.

Cons:

Limited content: Free courses may not cover all the topics you need to learn.
Lack of support: Free courses often don’t offer support or instructor feedback.

Paid Courses:

Pros:

Comprehensive content: Paid courses often cover various topics and provide in-depth instruction.
Support: Paid courses usually offer instructor support, which can be helpful when you’re stuck.

Cons:

Cost: Paid courses can be expensive, especially on a tight budget.
Time commitment: Paid courses often require a significant time commitment, which can be challenging if you have other responsibilities.

Factors to Consider When Selecting a Course

When selecting a course to learn WordPress plugin development, consider the following factors:

Course content: Ensure the course covers the topics you want to learn. Look for comprehensive coverage that includes both basic and advanced concepts.
Instructor expertise: Check the instructor’s experience and reputation in the field. An experienced instructor can provide valuable insights and practical tips.
Course format: Choose a course that fits your learning style, whether video-based, text-based, or interactive. The suitable format can enhance your learning experience.
Support: Look for courses that offer support from instructors or a community of learners. Having access to help when you need it can make a big difference.
Reviews: Read reviews from other learners to get an idea of the course’s quality and effectiveness. Feedback from past students can provide valuable insights.
Price: Consider the cost of the course and whether it fits within your budget. Balance the price with the value you expect to gain from the course.

Considering these factors, you can choose a WordPress plugin development course that best suits your needs and helps you achieve your learning goals.

Top WordPress Plugin Development Courses

This section will provide an in-depth review of top WordPress plugin development courses, including their content, features, and benefits. Some of the reviewed courses teach you how to create your plugin.

WordPress Plugin Development – Udemy: This course offers a comprehensive introduction to plugin development, covering everything from basic setup to advanced features like custom post types and plugin security. It includes video tutorials, downloadable resources, and practical projects.
Introduction to WordPress Plugin Development—Envato Tuts+: This course is perfect for beginners. It provides a step-by-step guide to creating your first plugin. It covers essential topics like plugin architecture, hooks, and filters, with clear explanations and examples.
Plugin Development 101 – Pippin Williamson: Created by a renowned WordPress developer, this course delves into the intricacies of plugin development. It covers advanced topics like creating admin pages, handling data, and debugging, making it ideal for those looking to deepen their knowledge.
WordPress Plugin Developer Handbook – WordPress.org: This free resource is an invaluable guide for anyone serious about plugin development. It covers everything from the basics to advanced techniques, with detailed documentation and code examples.

Each of these courses has pros and cons, so consider your skill level, learning style, and budget when choosing.

The following are some of the best WordPress plugin development courses.

WP Pusher’s Beginner’s Guide to Plugin Development Course

This step-by-step tutorial covers everything you need about plugin development, from how it works at the core level to using AJAX in your plugins. The course was created by WP Pusher, who has built various tools for developers. It is one of the best courses to learn.

WordPress plugin coding, as the developers know what they are talking about. The course includes videos, downloadable resources, and support if you get stuck. It guides learners through developing their plugins using industry-standard methods, making it suitable for beginners and intermediates.

It is suitable for people with no coding experience who want to learn how to code. It aims to help those with existing development knowledge see how their skills can be used in WordPress.

How to Make a WordPress Plugin Course

This course was created by Brian Richards, one of the most experienced developers working with WordPress today. It starts with basic concepts and gradually gets more advanced.

This makes it one of the best courses for learning WordPress plugin coding for all user levels. The course includes three separate modules that cover different aspects of plugin development. These are overviews that cover getting started with plugin development. A key topic covered in the course is plugin template creation, which is essential for beginners and intermediates to understand the practical steps involved in creating their plugins.

The theory discusses vital concepts related to plugins. The third part is a practice that takes what you have learned in theory and shows you how to do it.

It entails using practical examples you can download and use in your projects. The goal is that at the end of the course, you will have a firm understanding of plugin development and be in the perfect position to start building your plugins.

WP101 Beginner’s Guide to Plugin Development Course

This is also considered one of the best courses to learn WordPress plugin coding, created by WP101. The course aims to help WordPress developers learn new skills quickly by examining different coding concepts in the WordPress space, including how to make their plugins.

This course includes two hours of video tutorials covering everything from how plugins work under the hood to creating an AJAX request with WordPress. It also comes with downloadable resources and code examples. The course price varies depending on currency conversion.

Building WordPress Plugins with Pippin Williamson Course

This course was created by Pippin Williamson, also known as Pippins Plugins. It includes three modules containing videos and downloadable resources covering everything from essential plugin development to more advanced topics like debugging, creating admin pages, creating routes, and handling taxonomies.

The goal of the course is to give you enough knowledge about plugin development so that you will be able to build your plugins or modify existing ones as needed. The course also covers essential plugin debug techniques for creating scalable and error-free plugins.

Build a WordPress Plugin Video Series Course

As the title suggests, this video series has been put together by Chris Coyier, a well-known developer in the WordPress community. The videos are hosted via Think Vitamin Membership, a platform that hosts video courses aimed at developers, designers, and other professionals who need access to up-to-date industry knowledge.

Some of the most popular methods involve learning to code from scratch and focusing on plugin development instead. The series includes nine videos that can be watched for free. However, you will have to pay to access higher-quality downloadable versions and the ability to leave comments. This course is particularly beneficial for those looking to create their plugins, as it provides a step-by-step approach used by industry experts aimed primarily at beginners and intermediates.

Learning Object-Oriented Programming with WordPress Course

This book was written by Tim Nash, a software engineer and experienced blogger. It discusses topics related to WordPress plugin development. It starts with a brief overview of WordPress and its work and then introduces object-oriented programming (OOP).

Next, the course focuses on applying OOP to your plugin development using techniques like creating classes, designing for an inheritance, and reusing code. It also teaches you how to make your plugin, providing a step-by-step approach for beginners and intermediates. Finally, the book ends with resources that will help you continue learning about OOP outside of the book itself.

Plugin Development Course

This course, created by WPVu, is among the best methods for learning WordPress plugin coding. It aims to provide high-quality video courses for developers looking to learn new skills quickly through watching video tutorials.

It contains over three hours of content covering everything from plugin development basics to debugging and handling data. The course also guides learners through the creation of their own plugin, offering a step-by-step approach used by industry experts.

Free Unofficial WP101 Beginner’s Course

This beginner’s guide to WordPress plugin development has been put together in a simple step-by-step format. It aims to help students who know nothing about plugins understand how they work and what they can do. The course provides a comprehensive guide to developing WordPress plugins, including best practices for effective development.

The course is also rated as one of the best for learning WordPress plugin coding, as it covers many different topics. Some course topics include creating your first plugin, adding meta boxes, creating admin pages, using actions and filters, submitting your plugins to the plugin directory, and much more. It explicitly helps learners develop their plugins, providing methods used by industry experts. You can read it online for free or purchase an e-book copy.

The Complete Web Developer Course

This three-course bundle was put together by Andrew Mead, who claims that you will be able to learn how to code just like him by following his guides despite not knowing any programming beforehand. The courses are aimed at students who have no prior coding experience.

It is one of the best courses to learn WordPress plugin coding for people who want to build websites professionally by learning WordPress development, HTML5 & CSS3 basics, back-end programming with PHP, and MySQL database management. Engaging with the WordPress project and contributing to the ecosystem can provide personal and professional growth opportunities.

The list above contains some of the best courses for learning WordPress plugin coding. Most web admins seek the biggest bang for the least effort when adding plugins to their sites.

This is fine if you do not plan to update your website or write buggy code. Many professional sites use WP as part of a content management system that they must maintain over time, adding or removing new features as needed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, WordPress plugin development is a valuable skill for WordPress professionals, offering numerous career opportunities and advancement possibilities. You can elevate your skills and become a proficient WordPress developer by preparing for plugin development, choosing the right course, and learning from top classes and tutorials. Remember to keep practicing, and don’t hesitate to contact the WordPress community for support and guidance. With dedication and hard work, you can unlock the full potential of WordPress plugin development and take your career to the next level.