word press development for non developers

WordPress Development for Non-Developers:An Introductory Tour Under the Hood

Jessica Gardner@jessicacgardner

#WCTO WordCamp Toronto October 3, 2015

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

A little bit about me

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

A little bit about you….?

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

view page source

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

<button id="menu-toggle" class="menu-toggle">Menu</button>

<div id="site-header-menu" class="site-header-menu"> <div class="menu-main-container"> <ul id="menu-main" class="primary-menu"> <li id="menu-item-3930" class= "menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-3930"> <a href="http://btwrx.com/sandy/wpsand/home-2/">Home</a></li>

<li id="menu-item-3929" class= "menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-3929"> <a href="http://btwrx.com/sandy/wpsand/about/">About</a></li>

<li id="menu-item-3928" class= "menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-3928"> <a href="http://btwrx.com/sandy/wpsand/blog/">Blog</a></li> </ul> </div><!-- .main-navigation -->

close-up: code that renders nav menu

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

index.php

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

index.php

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

header.php

sidebar.php

“The Loop”

index.php

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

wp-content wp-content/themes/twentysixteeninstallation root

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

wp-config.php

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

what do all some of these files do?

functions.php: custom PHP that modifies core elements of the theme (i.e. ADDS FUNCTIONS ). • Controls things like widget areas, custom admin panel options, excerpt length• Behaves a little like a pluginstyle.css: main stylesheet for the theme. Also contains metadata about the theme.

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

functions.phpregistering widget areas

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

what do all some of these files do?

readme.txt: with a well-documented theme, contains useful documentation. Read it!

index.php: generic template file. Along with style.css, the only required file in a theme.• Displays when nothing more specific is requested/queried• Is the default home page unless another page is specified• Contains “The Loop”

The Loop: PHP code that displays posts.

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

template-parts/content.php

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

treasure hunt: where does the nav menu come from?

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

header.php

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

style.css

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

style.css

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

wp_options

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

What can you do with this knowledge?

• Add a widget area! (functions.php)• Mess around with styling! (style.css)• Change a user’s password! (phpMyAdmin)• Create some custom hooks and filters (maybe a little

later)• Delete your entire site in one fell swoop! (yikes!)

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

Guidelines for Safe Exploration Use a child theme Duplicate your site and either

Run a local install on your desktop; or Use a spare domain/subdomain to run a sandbox

site

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

Child Themes• inherits functionality and styling of parent theme• changes are not overridden by parent theme

updates• best practice for modifying existing theme!

• style.css – contains any new styling declarations• functions.php – loads along with parent’s functions.php; links child + parent

CSS• screenshot.png (optional)• any other template files you wish to alter – loads in place of parent theme’s

files

Child Theme Folder Contents

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

Making a WordPress Sandbox (Test) Site• MAMP/WAMP/XAMPP – creates website development environment on your local

machine• Fresh install or duplicate live site• LOTS of plugins and free resources to make this easy

• OR duplicate live site to a test account/subfolder (know, though, that the site will still be “out there” for someone to stumble upon or hack into)

@jessicacgardner #wcto 2015

Questions?Thank you!