Last updated - June 29, 2023
So, you want to be a WordPress developer. Thanks to the templated nature of WordPress websites, you can bank on being able to design attractive and high-functioning websites in much less time than starting a website from scratch.
But there are still some skills you need to learn. The three main areas of expertise you’ll need to master in order to start your new career as a WordPress developer include web development, web design and web content.
Below is a how-to guide for everything you will need to learn and where you can learn it so you can launch your exciting new career as a WordPress developer.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a templated, open source, content management hosting service. This is tech industry language. More simply put, WordPress is:
- Templated: a collection of websites that are formatted in a structure that have been designed for WordPress.
- Open Source: anyone who wants to build and create a new website on WordPress can do so by first choosing a WordPress template and then modifying that template’s code.
- Content management hosting service: this essentially means that WordPress is a large collection of individual blogs which pay a fee to use WordPress servers.
Now let’s look at what it takes to become a WordPress developer.
Coding
First and foremost, you will need to know how to code. Even though WordPress is templated, you will still need to know code so you can build your client’s websites to suit their specific needs.
You will need to know the programming language of PHP. Knowing PHP will allow you to modify WordPress templates so you can design the perfect site for your client.
We will later discuss how WordPress developers build and design sites, but you should know it is done through writing or rewriting existing code within WordPress templates. Things as simple as choosing color schemes and placing photos, as well as determining how page links function, are all accomplished through coding.
But don’t sweat if you’re not a coding pro. If you are new to coding, take comfort in knowing that you will not need a computer science degree to be a WordPress developer or manipulate template code.
Rather, you can quickly learn everything you need to know through short-term, intensive bootcamps. Coding bootcamps will take you from no coding experience to being a well-qualified WordPress developer in just a few months.
Coding Bootcamps
If you are unfamiliar with the growing trend of Coding Bootcamps, it you may find this market report published by Career Karma beneficial as a way to see just how great the impact of these hyper focused, short term Coding School programs have had on the tech industry career switcher job market, and even the greater tech industry as a whole. With Coding Bootcamps rising to high popularity in cities outside the two main cities – New York and San Francisco – typically considered to be the central tech hubs of the United States, and even the world for that matter, secondary tech hubs have started to sprout in areas like Austin, Atalanta, Chicago, Denver, and Seattle.
While the cost of living is still fairly high in all of these secondary tech hubs, they are greatly reduced compared to that of the Silicon Valley, or New York City. This lower cost of living and growing popularity of remote-based Web Development teams for both start ups, and large enterprises alike, have led to too many tech companies, as well as companies from a wide array of industries hiring remotely in the greater metropolitan areas of these secondary tech hubs.
So in the process of kick starting your career in WordPress Development, you should seriously consider learning your new coding skills from one of these Bootcamps. These programs will teach you everything you need to know to become a successful WordPress Developer, as well as the programming skills to succeed in other tech specialities. Even better, is that many of the schools that host Coding Bootcamps, like Kenzie Academy, offer online, and self-paced options allowing you to complete your bootcamp from the comfort of your own homes, and on the time schedule that works for you.
Moreover, Coding Bootcamp tuition is much cheaper than traditional tech education routes through a four year university, or even a two year program at your local city, community, or technical college. Many bootcamps also offer flexible tuition financing options like Deferred Tuition Payments, and Income Sharing Agreements (ISA), which will allow you to apply, enroll, and knock out your bootcamp without having to take on a large amount of burdensome student debt. By electing for an ISA, you will be able to repay the affordable bootcamp tuition at a later date, after you found your first job as a WordPress Developer.
Web Developer
Once you master the coding skills you need, you will be able to build more effective WordPress sites. Great web development is all about framing how the website will function.
This will vary depending on what your client needs the site to accomplish. Generally, most WordPress sites will have several different pages and quite often will have a “request more info” or “click here to set an appointment” button.
These links need to take the user to the correct page so they can fill out the necessary information to generate a new lead for your client’s business. Ensuring the functionality of a website is called User Experience, or UX for short.
Luckily, WordPress templates often have the framework already completed for you, meaning you generally won’t have to build an entirely new website for your client. Instead, a WordPress developer spends the majority of their time on customization for the specific needs of their client.
Bootcamps are also a great way to get up to speed on your Web Development skills. Often, these bootcamps will allow you to build upon your coding skills while teaching practices specifically aimed at web development.
Web Design
The other major component of WordPress development is the actual visual design of the site. A good WordPress site is one that both functions well and is visually appealing.
The goal is to make the website pop using attractive color schemes, thought-provoking and informative text, and engaging graphics. This is called User Interface Designing, or UI for short.
The design process will also vary based on your client’s needs, but typically, using WordPress should be less time consuming than if you were creating a website from scratch. Again, this is another great aspect of the templated nature of WordPress.
Bootcamps can also be attended to become a skilled Web Designer.
Web Content
Once you have your WordPress site built with a customized template for optimal User Experience, as well as a visually appealing User Interface, the next step is to fill it with content.
This should include well-written text, or copy as it is often called, that informs the user. Your content should include informative and attention-grabbing graphics and videos as well.
To be a skilled content specialist, you will need the ability to create high quality content for the specific needs of clients. This content will keep users on the WordPress site you have built.
