Basic Plugin Development¶

Learn to create custom WordPress plugins from scratch, understanding hooks, actions, filters, and plugin architecture.

WordPress Plugin Development Study Plan¶

This comprehensive 6-week study plan is based on the official WordPress Plugin Developer Handbook. Follow this structured approach to master plugin development.

Week 1: Plugin Fundamentals¶

Day 1-2: Introduction & Setup¶

Introduction to Plugin Development
What is a Plugin?
Set up local development environment (Local, XAMPP, or Docker)
Practice: Create your first "Hello World" plugin

Day 3-4: Plugin Basics¶

Header Requirements
Best Practices
Determining Plugin and Content Directories
Practice: Create a plugin with proper structure and header

Day 5: Activation & Deactivation¶

Activation / Deactivation Hooks
Uninstall Methods
Practice: Add activation hook that creates options, deactivation that cleans up

Day 6-7: Weekend Project¶

Create a "Site Maintenance Mode" plugin
Include activation, deactivation, and uninstall functionality
Add basic admin settings page

Week 2: Hooks & Security¶

Day 1-2: Understanding Hooks¶

Hooks Overview
Actions
Filters
Practice: Create plugins using 5 different action hooks and 5 filter hooks

Day 3: Custom Hooks¶

Custom Hooks
Advanced Hook Topics
Practice: Create a plugin with custom action and filter hooks

Day 4-5: Plugin Security¶

Checking User Capabilities
Data Validation
Nonces
Securing Output (Escaping)
Securing Input (Sanitizing)
Practice: Refactor previous plugins to add security measures

Day 6-7: Weekend Project¶

Create a "Custom Login Message" plugin with settings page
Implement all security best practices (nonces, sanitization, escaping, capabilities)
Add proper validation and error handling

Week 3: Administration & Content¶

Day 1-2: Administration Menus¶

Administration Menus
Top-Level Menus
Sub-Menus
Practice: Create plugin with custom admin menu and multiple sub-pages

Day 3: Shortcodes¶

Shortcodes Overview
Basic Shortcodes
Enclosing Shortcodes
Shortcodes with Parameters
Practice: Create 3 different types of shortcodes (simple, with attributes, enclosing)

Day 4-5: Settings & Options¶

Settings Overview
Options API
Settings API
Using Settings API
Practice: Create a plugin with comprehensive settings using Settings API

Day 6-7: Weekend Project¶

Create a "Team Members" plugin with:
Admin menu with settings page
Multiple shortcodes for display
Settings API for configuration
Display options (grid, list, slider)

Week 4: Custom Content Types¶

Day 1-2: Metadata¶

Metadata Overview
Managing Post Metadata
Custom Meta Boxes
Rendering Post Metadata
Practice: Add custom meta boxes to posts with various field types

Day 3-4: Custom Post Types¶

Custom Post Types
Registering Custom Post Types
Working with Custom Post Types
Practice: Create "Portfolio" and "FAQ" custom post types with meta boxes

Day 5: Taxonomies¶

Taxonomies Overview
Working with Custom Taxonomies
Practice: Add custom taxonomies to your custom post types

Day 6-7: Weekend Project¶

Create a complete "Book Library" plugin:
Custom post type "Books"
Custom taxonomies: "Genre", "Author"
Meta boxes: ISBN, Publisher, Year, Rating
Admin columns showing custom data
Shortcode to display book collection

Week 5: Advanced Functionality¶

Day 1-2: Users & Roles¶

Users Overview
Roles and Capabilities
Working with Users
Working with User Metadata
Practice: Create plugin that adds custom user roles and capabilities

Day 3: HTTP API¶

HTTP API
Practice: Create plugin that fetches data from external API

Day 4-5: JavaScript & AJAX¶

JavaScript Overview
jQuery
AJAX
Server Side PHP and Enqueuing
Practice: Create plugin with AJAX functionality (live search, form submission)

Day 6-7: Weekend Project¶

Create a "Weather Widget" plugin:
Fetch weather data from API
AJAX-powered location search
Custom widget
Admin settings with Settings API
Shortcode for display

Week 6: REST API, Cron & Distribution¶

Day 1-3: REST API¶

REST API Overview
Routes & Endpoints
Requests
Responses
Schema
Controller Classes
Practice: Add REST API endpoints to your custom post type plugin

Day 4: WP-Cron¶

Cron Overview
Scheduling WP Cron Events
Understanding WP-Cron Scheduling
Practice: Create plugin with scheduled daily task

Day 5: Internationalization¶

Internationalization
How to Internationalize Your Plugin
Localization
Practice: Make all your previous plugins translation-ready

Day 6: Privacy & Database¶

Privacy Overview
Creating Tables with Plugins
Practice: Add privacy exporters/erasers to user data plugins

Day 7: Publishing & Maintenance¶

The WordPress.org Plugin Directory
Detailed Plugin Guidelines
Plugin Readmes
How Your Plugin Assets Work
Practice: Prepare one of your plugins for WordPress.org submission

Final Project (Week 7 - Optional)¶

Create a complete, production-ready plugin that combines everything learned:

Project Ideas: 1. Event Management System - Custom post type for events - Custom fields for date, time, location, capacity - Frontend event registration with AJAX - Admin dashboard for managing registrations - Email notifications using WP-Cron - REST API endpoints - Export functionality

Review & Rating System
Add reviews to any post type
Star rating system
AJAX submission
Moderation capabilities
Email notifications
REST API for retrieving reviews
Review widgets and shortcodes
Custom Form Builder
Admin interface to create forms
Multiple field types
Form submissions storage
Email notifications
Export submissions to CSV
AJAX form submission
Shortcode for displaying forms

Additional Resources¶

Official Documentation¶

Developer Tools¶

Testing & Best Practices¶

Learning Path¶

Follow the structured study plan above and refer to the official WordPress Plugin Developer Handbook for detailed documentation, code examples, and best practices for each topic.