Welcome to the Treehouse Community
Want to collaborate on code errors? Have bugs you need feedback on? Looking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project? Get support with fellow developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels here with the Treehouse Community! While you're at it, check out some resources Treehouse students have shared here.
Looking to learn something new?
Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today.
Start your free trial
Giles Hales-Tooke
1,888 PointsHow long was it until you started asking your friends about building a (WordPress) website for them?
Dear all,
I'm about half way through my WordPress track which I'm really enjoying. I have a history of LAMP development inside Systems Management so I feel very at home with the coding aspects of the framework. I'm attending business school part time so am learning an increasing amount about the social and commercial aspects of web development.
I have an idea that I'd like to try in the phase where folks start working on their Portfolio sites. Can I ask if (in your opinion) this track alone is enough to get you to that point? if so how long did it take you to get to the point where you started asking your friends and family if they wanted a website (week, month? 3 months?), if not ... what else did you need to cover
I'd be interested to hear your opinions Many thanks
1 Answer
Stephen Van Delinder
21,457 PointsIn my opinion it's about your comfort level and mastery of the concepts. Wordpress is designed so that learning code and development is optional. If you are going to build websites for others, you need to be confident that you can build all of the functionality they are looking for. You can find themes that will have most functionality built in for many projects, but if your client wants you to build child themes, widgets, custom menus, customizer features, etc... you need to know how to build all of that.
My recommendation is to find a few themes and build a portfolio of a few sites to show people. It's great practice and there is no shortage of free or paid themes that are fun to mess with. Build child themes. Break stuff and then try to fix it. Incorporate different frameworks and design elements.
If the people you are interested in doing development work for are blown away, then you are ready. If you show them a site and they request several revisions that you are uncertain about, you may not want to keep honing your skills before taking on their projects.
Good luck!
Giles Hales-Tooke
1,888 PointsGiles Hales-Tooke
1,888 Pointsthats great advice and makes sense - thank you