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WordPress

Dani Ivanov
Dani Ivanov
10,732 Points
Posted by Dani Ivanov
Dani Ivanov
10,732 Points

PHP for WordPress Themes

I am curious to know (and the answer will probably be a positive one) whether you need to know PHP to create WordPress themes? If yes, then how deep do you need to know PHP? I already have knowledge in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and I am wondering whether this is enough to create a good theme in WordPress.

2 Answers

Marko Rapaic
Marko Rapaic
13,871 Points
Marko Rapaic
Marko Rapaic
13,871 Points

I think it helps to have experience with PHP syntax (so that it's not completely foreign to you) - but its not absolutely necessary to be a PHP master, as transplanting a static site into WordPress isn't very PHP intensive; much of the functionality is already taken care of by WordPress, you just need to plug said functionality (such as the loop, or the_title(); or the_permalink(); and other such tags) in the right place, and hey presto, things work.

I believe It's when you want to add features and functionality beyond the scope of default WordPress functionality that advanced PHP knowledge becomes a requirement.

Sue Dough
Sue Dough
35,800 Points
Sue Dough
Sue Dough
35,800 Points

You should know PHP if you want to do theme development.