Are you interested in becoming a WordPress developer? Then you have come to the right place. To be a WordPress developer, you don’t need to have super skills, just the right guidance and access to the right resources will help you develop your talent. Today, we’re going to share the ultimate WordPress developer roadmap you need to follow.
Currently, being a developer is not only a job for people with IT backgrounds. As a result of the availability of endless resources, and advanced digital facilities, almost anyone can become a developer. In addition, being a WordPress developer is considered an accessible career path since you can get started without any prior coding experience. Let’s explore the WordPress developer roadmap.
Opportunities For WordPress Developers In Recent Times
Let’s take a look at why you should consider a career in WordPress before diving into the WordPress developer roadmap. One more concern for newbies is: what are the present and future scopes of a WordPress developer? Is it worthwhile to devote time to WordPress development?
To make up your mind, check out the below statistics.
📈 At present, the world’s 35% of websites are running in WordPress.
📊 Within the top 1 million websites, WordPress powers 33.72% of them.
📈 Currently WordPress market share is 62% in the field of website development.
This amazing data proves that WordPress is getting more and more popular day by day. So, if you pursue WordPress development as a career, you won’t have to worry about the future, nor will you have to look back.
Next, let’s take a look at what sectors you can explore as a WordPress developer and what career paths you can take. We’ve listed down a few based on popularity.
- Front-end WordPress developer
- Back-end WordPress developer
- PHP developer
- React developer
- Elementor developer
- Site administrator
- Website customizer
- Website designer
- Web engineer
- Plugin developer
- Theme developer
- Full-stack WordPress developer
- Webmaster
- Support engineer
- Web interface developer
Apart from these 15 scopes, there are endless opportunities in WordPress. All you have to do is get started, find your interested field, and start working on it.
Basic Responsibilities Of A WordPress Developer
In order to become a proficient WordPress developer, you must know what your basic responsibilities would be. This will help you understand which particular skills you need to hone and what others may expect from you if you are thinking of applying to a WordPress agency. Let’s go over some of the most basic job responsibilities of a WordPress developer.
It’s important to note that we’re only covering a broad overview of the job responsibilities of a WordPress developer; ultimately, your actual responsibilities will depend on the nature of the project you are involved with, your level of expertise and other determining factors.
Responsible For Back-End Or Front-End Development
As a WordPress developer, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you might be asked to do back-end development, front-end development, or perhaps both. Often, this might even require you to create custom themes or plugins or develop other resources.
Maintain, Migrate Or Redesign Existing WordPress Websites
Besides building sitemaps or wireframes for new WordPress websites, you may also be asked to focus on support or website maintenance as a WordPress developer. You may even be asked to migrate existing WordPress websites or redesign them for better performance.
Build Sitemaps Or Wireframe WordPress Websites
In addition to the above, you may also be required to create sitemaps for WordPress websites or create wireframes for a new website.
Research, Design & Develop New Features Or Products
Coming up with ideas for new features, functionalities, or products, and then designing and developing them is also one of the many responsibilities of a WordPress developer. As such you should also focus on your research skills and creative problem-solving abilities. Being innovative and having the ability to bring your ideas into real solutions are talents that every WordPress developer should possess.
Guide For Beginners: How To Become A WordPress Developer?
Time to hop on WordPress developer roadmap. The roadmap has been designed in a way that everyone, from beginners to experts, can follow along and learn to become a successful WordPress developer. Start to follow step 1.
Step 1: Pick Your Target Wisely & Plan According To It
Before starting to execute any task, it is important to research, set strategies, and create action plans. The same thing is applicable if you want to be a WordPress developer. You have to find out the sector or scope where you want to shine and then start planning.
For example, if you want to be a frontend WordPress developer, then find out which type of companies or organizations need them, what are their responsibilities, what skill sets are needed, etc. Also, you can create a checklist and keep track of your goal setting.
Step 2: Learn All About Coding & WordPress Framework
The next and most important step to follow is to start learning coding and the WordPress framework. Basically, WordPress is one of the popular PHP frameworks. In some places, you will find that coding is not required to be a WordPress developer. But that’s not exactly the case everywhere. You have to learn basic coding to be a WordPress developer.
→ What To Learn As A WordPress Developer?
Let’s check out first what things you have to learn. You need to gather basic knowledge of coding, which can be started with the C language or any primary programming language. To be a front-end WordPress developer, you have to learn HTML, CSS, etc. As the WordPress platform is developed in PHP, so you need to learn the basics of this language also. Moreover, you will need Advanced PHP knowledge to be a backend developer.
By introducing Gutenberg block editor, javascript language also started widely practiced. You can also learn JavaScript language for dynamic WordPress development to become the next desired developer.
List of best resources for learning the above languages:
- For HTML, CSS go to W3Schools Online Web Tutorials
- For PHP go to Learn PHP – Free Interactive PHP Tutorial
- For JavaScript go to Learn JavaScript
Apart from these resources, you can also check Codecademy, HackerRank, freeCodeCamp, GeeksforGeeks, Codementor, HackerEarth, etc.
→ How Much Time Does It Take To Learn WordPress?
Now another important concern, how much time should you invest in learning the above WordPress coding languages? The answer is straightforward.
With every resource listed above, you get a precise idea of how much time is required for each task, you will get the exact idea of how much time will need to finish them.
If you are determined, then 3 to 6 months is enough to get the overall idea of coding.
Step 3: Decide Which Area You Want To Focus On
While you are choosing the coding language to be an expert on, you can also decide the area where you want to focus at the same time.
For example, front-end developers should start with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc. Furthermore, you need to remember that a WordPress developer will have to be familiar with all sectors as he or she has to collaborate with other members of the team.
Moreover, when you are preparing yourself as a WordPress UI engineer, it’s not that you only have to know about the best design principles, you also need to have an idea about codes and the outcome. Unless the designs aren’t realistic and also hard to implement.
Step 4: Enroll Yourself In WordPress Online Tutorials
There is no end to learning, and as a WordPress developer, you should therefore have the drive, enthusiasm, and initiative to test your limits and learn new things.
You can find tons of great resources online for learning WordPress development, but perhaps the most obvious and helpful place to start would be Learn WordPress. You can search for any kind of learning resource and will find valuable tutorials to help you hone your skills.
You can choose between Workshops, Lesson Plans, and Courses; workshops are best for a hands-on experience, while lesson plans and courses are designed to help you gain more knowledge on any specific topic.
Moreover, you can also filter these courses and tutorials by topic, experience level, and more. Whatever your skill level might be, there are helpful resources for every WordPress developer at Learn WordPress.
Step 5: Select A WordPress Project For Practicing
In order to make the most out of your lessons and training, you should definitely practice and test your WordPress development skills. The easiest way to do this is by creating a local website or staging website. There are tons of available solutions to help you easily set up a staging site, such as Local by Flywheel, XAMPP, etc.
Besides this, you can also come up with several WordPress projects on your own to practice your skills. For example, you could challenge yourself by creating an eCommerce website, online portfolio, child themes, etc, depending on which area you want to focus on.
Step 6: Get Involved In The WordPress Community
The WordPress open source project is a very inclusive and welcoming community where you will be able to learn new things and interact with talented people from all over the world. So if you really want to become a WordPress developer, make sure to dedicate some time to getting to know the community.
The best way to do this is by getting involved with the WordPress project. You can contribute to the WordPress open source community as a plugin developer, theme developer, tester, translator, and much more. Just click on the Get Involved tab and visit the Make WordPress page to learn how you can get involved with the WordPress community.
Step 7: Build An Attractive Developer Portfolio
The more projects you get involved with, the more courses you complete, and the easier it will be for you to build an attractive WordPress developer portfolio. If you are a freelancer or if you want to work for an agency, then creating a stellar technical resume is also a good idea.
To do this, you must add your key skills, experience, and a list of the projects you have worked on. As a beginner, you may find it difficult to find new things to add to your resume, and that’s okay. The end goal is to highlight your strengths in the best possible way in your portfolio or resume.
💡 Not sure what the difference is between a CV and a resume? Check out this guide here to learn more.
💡 Want to prepare for job interviews? Then you should review these 50+ popular interview questions as part of your preparation.
Recommended: Complete Guide To Starting A WordPress Agency
✨ Bonus: 20+ Best Job Boards To Follow As WordPress Developer
If you have followed the roadmap step by step then the next task is to start looking for jobs. You should start applying for jobs as soon as you have an idea of where to apply. As an alternative, if you are interested in finding all the opportunities available to you, then following an online job board is the best way to do this.
As a general guideline: Professionals use Indeed, SimplyHired, etc., and Freelancers use Upwork, Fiverr, etc. Keeping this in mind, we’ve listed down the best online job boards so you can compare all of them at a glance and decide which one suits you best.
Find Out All Job Boards Listed Here
Time To Flourish Your Career As WordPress Developer
Being a WordPress developer can be extremely prosperous, as well as a fun career choice. Even if it requires a significant amount of time and resources for education and experimentation, WordPress development can provide the income and flexibility you’re looking for.
Here’s the end of the guideline. If you enjoyed this post, then share your thoughts with us in the comments below or join our Facebook community. Also, subscribe to our blog to stay up-to-date with the latest blogs, tutorials, guidelines, insights, etc.
