WordPress Plugin Development Course
Learn how I create modern, scale-able WordPress plugins from scratch.
In this course, I’m going to teach you how to build a modern-day WordPress plugin from the ground up. We will use the Underpin framework to build a plugin that can display an archive of different beers on your website, and we will customize the block editor to make working with this post type a breeze.
What This Course Covers
The basics of the Underpin framework
This course will teach you how to use Underpin, a powerful WordPress PHP framework that will help you build scale-able WordPress plugins faster.
How to build a Gutenberg block
This course covers how to build a block editor (Gutenberg) block, from scratch. We will use modern practices to do this the WordPress way, using official WordPress libraries that minimize script sizes, and time spent tinkering with Webpack.
How to customize the edit beer screen
Learn how to add custom meta fields in the sidebar of the Gutenberg editor. In this course we will add custom fields to set different beer meta fields, including ABV, IBU, On-tap, and SRM.
How to build a WP CLI command to generate, and test data quickly
One of the first things we do in this course is create a WP CLI command that will handle generating a bunch of fake beers for us. We then use this generated data for the remainder of the course.
How to set up a local WordPress environment
We’re going to go over how I set up my local development environment. This includes the steps I take to set up XDebug, as well as the plugins I install for local testing.
Methods to debug your WordPress plugin – both on a live site, and on a local site
I believe one of the best ways for someone to learn is by watching someone work through problems. This course doesn’t cut out when I run into a problem – I usually leave the video running so you can see how I debug the problem, and figure out how to solve it.
How to work with Underpin’s template’s API
This course also touches on how to use Underpin’s template’s API. This API provides a simple, secure way to setup rendered HTML content in your plugin. These templates can be configured to make it possible for a theme to override the template, making your distributed plugin extendable.
How to set up Webpack the WordPress way
For me, one of the biggest barriers to entry for Gutenberg was figuring out how to make Webpack work. There are a lot of resources online that teach how to-do this, but it is very inconsistent, and often more complicated than it needs to be. This course walks you through how to-do it the WordPress way.
How to compile Underpin so it can be safely distributed
A key problem many WordPress frameworks have is that they do not have a way to safely compile a plugin so it can be distributed. This course will touch on how you can compile your plugin so it can be distributed, and safely work alongside other plugins that may be also using a version of Underpin.
This course is intended for developers who want to learn how to build custom WordPress plugins. No WordPress experience is required to follow-along, but you should know PHP, JavaScript, and React before you try to tackle this course. If you want to learn how to quickly build WordPress plugins that are easy to debug, scale well, and are easy to extend, this is the course for you.
What Others are Saying
Alex’s straightforward, absolutely no bullshit way of teaching is a breath of fresh air.
The course content is great. I Feel like I’m getting WP super powers.
Suggested Prerequisites
- A fundamental understanding of React
- A fundamental understanding of PHP
- A fundamental understanding of modern JavaScript