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Praveen Selvasekaran
9,847 PointsCompleted WordPress Developer Track, What next ?
Hi I just completed the WP developer track and planning to develop WP themes, any ideas and what to do next . How do I sharpen my skills to become a better WP developer ? Thanks Praveen
8 Answers
Kahlil Calavas
9,238 PointsMy first theme was mediocre at best. But I continue to build my own snippet library in sublime text and add to my themes as I improve. The only way to get good is to start building. Starting with Bootstrap is a good way to go then piecing together the theme files. You could even use wp bootstrap starter theme for the business portal and get a feel for what other developers are doing. Good artists are original, great artist duplicate and adapt! We are in an era where we are collectively creating the masterpiece we call the internet. Jump in and taste the rainbow :)
Matt Campbell
9,767 PointsStart developing...that simple. Get out there and put the skills to use.
Praveen Selvasekaran
9,847 PointsThanks Mathew , can you be more specific . I have one customer now for whom I am building a Business portal with WP , I am tempted to use existing themes , what would you recommend.
Matt Campbell
9,767 PointsI can't really recommend anything. It's all down to what you feel comfortable with. Are your PHP and jQuery skills at a level where you're sure you'll be able to create all the functionality the site needs? Are your design skills fitting of the 21st century and today's standards? If the answers are no, then use an off-the-shelf theme. If you can do the functionality but not comfortable with the design side of things, hire a designer. Nothing worse then delivering a site that doesn't look good. It's online and works isn't enough in my opinion, a website should wow the world and stand out from the crowd and dross that's out there.
Praveen Selvasekaran
9,847 Pointsgood, I feel it is time make the jump. I have never created my own Wp theme but I am comfortable with HTML/CSS/JS/PHP . Can you tell me How should I go about to create my own theme for the first time.
p.s. Sorry if it sounds too newbie.
Matt Campbell
9,767 PointsDo the create a WordPress theme track!
Praveen Selvasekaran
9,847 PointsI have completed that track , my question is what to do to create my own theme after that track. Thanks.
Kevin Korte
28,149 PointsIf you're up to snuff on the HTML, CSS, WP, and some JS wouldn't hurt, start building. You'll learn even more building an actual project.
Personally, I'm a fan of building my theme from scratch. It doesn't seem that hard, and I feel like I spend more time editing a child theme, or building on a skeleton theme then I do just starting from scratch.
Matt Campbell
9,767 PointsLikewise...if you're using something from someone else, you will ALWAYS run into a restriction somewhere that'll cause you to either spend as much time hacking it around to work how you want as it would take to build it yourself, or you'll end up just building your own thing.