This course introduces students to using and developing for the WordPress open source project. Students will start by installing WordPress and finish with a custom WordPress plugin that extends WordPress’ core functionality. Through community engagement activities, students will experience the WordPress community first hand as they learn to interactive with an active open source community.
- Overview of course
- Introduction to WordPress, including history, application tour and community
- Installing WordPress
- WordPress file and database structure
Assignments:
- Setup public WordPress site for “usage” credits
- Setup local development site
- Ideas for final project
- Life of a WordPress request
- The main query
- The loop
- The hooks system (i.e., actions and filters) in WordPress
Due:
- Setup public WordPress site for “usage” credits
- Ideas for final project
Assignments:
- Quiz 1 prep
QUIZ 1
- Introduction to WordPress plugins
- Basic WordPress APIs
- Plugin case studies
Assignments:
- Build a plugin
- Intro to themes
- Modifying themes via a child theme
- Theme case studies
Due:
- Build a plugin assignment
Assignments:
- Build a child theme
- Final plugin proposal
- Custom post types and custom taxonomies
- The
wpdbclass - Best practices and code standards
- Plugin security
Due:
- Build a child theme assignment
- Final plugin proposal
Assignment:
- Quiz 2 prep
QUIZ 2
- Plugin compatibility
- Extensibility
- Performance
- Debug tools
Assignment:
- Plugin rewrite
- Work on final project
- Advanced APIs
- Settings API
- The Theme Customizer
- HTTP API
- Solving more complicated problems
Due:
- Plugin rewrite assignment
- First review of plugin
- Seamless WordPress integrations
- Localization
- Preparing a plugin for public release
- Attribution
- Documentation
- Distributing on WordPress.org
- In class work time
No Class – Labor Day
- Plugin presentations
Due:
- Final plugin project