To become a WordPress developer requires traversing a challenging journey. WordPress is a widely used content management system (CMS) for building a website, especially a blogging site. WordPress has over 12,080 free website themes and over 59,488 plugins. These help you build a website without coding. That’s why you might think WordPress development is easy, but I would say no. Building a website using WordPress is easy, but development is not. When you think about WordPress development, you have to know how to build custom themes and plugins, as well as use page builders. I don’t discourage you from being a WordPress developer. I also encourage you to be a WordPress developer, but in the right way and to know the detailed path.

Today, I will discuss my own WordPress development journey here so that you can also follow this path to becoming a WordPress developer. Although everyone has a different lifestyle, routine, and comprehension. When I learned about WordPress development from a senior brother, he told me that if I learned about 6 months in development, then I could start earning from there. However, he was completely wrong. But the truth is, I am still learning, although I haven’t tried to get a job yet with my current skills. Last year, I was trying a little at the Upwork freelance market and successfully completed a few projects. However, I decided not to continue with it anymore. And I started learning WordPress development again. Now I can build WordPress blog sites, e-commerce sites, real estate sites, restaurant websites, and so on. So, let’s start the learning path.

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Start learning HTML and CSS

Become a WordPress developer and also learn other CMS or frameworks. You have to start with HTML. Almost every developer starts their programming or coding journey with HTML, even though HTML is not a programming language but a markup language. Make your HTML page colorful and designed by writing CSS code. You can say that CSS is the wife of HTML just for fun. Don’t take it seriously. When you write HTML code, you may wonder how click events and scroll events occur. Then you will feel that you have to learn JavaScript code to understand those types of events.

Learn Javascript and jQuery

If you want to become a WordPress expert, you must know JavaScript. JavaScript is an essential programming language for modern web technologies. More or less, most web developers use JavaScript to build dynamic web pages. Currently, JavaScript is also used for web backend development with Node.js. So now, if you have a question, why should I learn jQuery? jQuery is the most popular JavaScript library. It helps you write JS code more efficiently.

Learn PHP to Become a WordPress Developer

PHP is the most popular programming language for web backend technology. Currently, around 70% of websites worldwide are built with PHP. At one point, it was 90%. WordPress is also built with PHP. That’s why, if you want to become a WordPress developer, you have to learn PHP. Otherwise, you can’t say I am a WordPress developer myself. you say you are a WordPress expert but not a developer. I think you can understand that to become a WordPress developer, you have to know PHP.

Learn WordPress theme development

WordPress website means a WordPress theme. so as a WordPress developer, you have to know how to convert a static HTML page to a WordPress theme. when you know WordPress theme development you can build a custom WordPress website. As a WordPress developer, you can add and remove functions and pages without third-party plugins.

Learn WordPress plugin development

To add custom features and functions, you should learn WordPress plugin development. Sometimes, you may want to add a specific feature for which you search for a plugin. However, you may not always find the exact plugin you are looking for. It can be time-consuming to search for such a plugin, and even if you do find one, it may not fully meet your requirements. So, here you will get an extra advantage if you know WordPress plugin development. Even if you know plugin development, you can edit the plugins to meet your project requirements. so to become a WordPress developer you should learn WordPress theme development.

Learn WooCommerce development

WooCommerce is the most popular WordPress plugin. To build an e-commerce website, you should learn WooCommerce development. If you can configure the WooCommerce settings, then you can build an e-commerce website through an e-commerce-supported theme within a few hours. but when you think about custom themes and functions then you have to know WooCommerce development. To become a WordPress theme developer you should learn WordPress theme development.

Learn Elementor development

To become a WordPress developer, you should learn Elementor development. Elementor is the most widely used WordPress page builder plugin. Actually, WordPress is the most popular CMS for building websites without coding, and here the page builders play this role. Elementor is the most used page builder that’s why you should learn Elementor development. if you know Elementor development then you will get an extra advantage. When you build a web page through Elementor, most of the time you can’t find widgets as you wish. That’s why you have to choose the default widget. Sometimes, you can find widgets that you like or there are premium options available.
So, if you know Elementor development, then you can create widgets according to your project requirements.

Learning resources

I am sharing a few learning resources to start for a completely free beginner.

  • Start learning HTML and CSS at w3schools
  • Start learning JavaScript & jQuery from W3Schools, and you can also read this book for jQuery.
  • Start learning PHP from W3Schools and the PHP main website

In this stage, you can choose a few courses from Udemy or continue with YouTube’s free WordPress theme and plugin development. However, I would suggest purchasing a few premium courses from Udemy.

To become a pro WordPress custom theme developer, you have to continuously learn WordPress development. Do not stop your learning process, but rather, gradually enhance your skills and gain experience. As well as finding WordPress-related jobs and reading the job requirements, you can learn about the necessary skills and what you need to acquire to become a successful WordPress developer. Additionally, you can try to get an internship using your current skills and portfolios.

Start creer becoming a WordPress freelancer

If you want to start freelancing, then WordPress is the best opportunity for you. There are many WordPress-related works available on freelance marketplaces, so you can join there and start bidding as a WordPress developer. If you don’t know WordPress development but are thinking about it, then don’t be late anymore. Start learning today and build a career by becoming a WordPress freelancer.