WordPress Development Tutorial

Sadhan Pal

Learn How to Build and Customize WordPress Sites from Scratch

Introduction

WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system (CMS), powering over 40% of all websites. Whether you want to build a blog, portfolio, business site, or custom plugin, WordPress development skills can help you achieve it.

This tutorial is a simple guide for beginners to get started with WordPress development.

1. What You Need to Get Started

Before you start developing with WordPress, you’ll need:

  • A local development environment like XAMPP, MAMP, or LocalWP
  • A code editor like VS Code or Sublime Text
  • Basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript
  • A fresh WordPress installation

2. Understanding WordPress Structure

  • Themes control the design and layout of your site
  • Plugins add extra functionality
  • The wp-content folder is where themes and plugins live
  • The WordPress database stores content, users, settings, etc.

3. Creating a Custom Theme (Basics)

  1. Go to /wp-content/themes/ and create a new folder (e.g., mytheme)
  2. Inside it, create two files:
    • style.css
    • index.php

style.css

cssCopyEdit/*
Theme Name: My Theme
Author: Your Name
Version: 1.0
*/

index.php

phpCopyEdit<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title><?php bloginfo('name'); ?></title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1><?php bloginfo('name'); ?></h1>
  <p><?php bloginfo('description'); ?></p>
</body>
</html>
  1. Go to Appearance → Themes in your dashboard and activate your theme.

4. Creating a Simple Plugin

  1. Go to /wp-content/plugins/ and create a folder (e.g., myplugin)
  2. Inside it, create myplugin.php

myplugin.php

phpCopyEdit<?php
/*
Plugin Name: My Simple Plugin
Description: A basic WordPress plugin.
Version: 1.0
Author: Your Name
*/

function myplugin_message() {
    echo "<p>Hello from My Plugin!</p>";
}
add_action('wp_footer', 'myplugin_message');
  1. Activate your plugin from the WordPress dashboard.

5. Useful Tips

  • Use hooks (actions & filters) to modify WordPress without changing core files.
  • Always use child themes if you are customizing existing themes.
  • Keep security in mind: sanitize and validate user input.
  • Use WP_Query for custom queries and loops.

Conclusion

WordPress development can be easy to learn and very rewarding. Start small—create themes, build simple plugins, and explore the WordPress Codex and Developer Resources. With practice, you can create fully customized WordPress sites for any purpose.