Custom WordPress Plugins: Design, Develop, and Distribute

Course details

This course is designed to take you from a casual WordPress user to a capable plugin developer, guiding you through the creation of three distinct types of plugins: a custom post type plugin, a simple contact form plugin, and a basic social media sharing plugin. Through hands-on, step-by-step instruction, learn vital skills like registering custom post types, handling form submissions securely, and integrating popular social media sites. Take this course to not only create and customize your own plugins but also understand how to prepare them for submission to the WordPress Plugin Directory, empowering you to enhance WordPress sites with unique, functional tools–and possibly start your own plugin business.

Learning objectives
Create custom WordPress plugins from scratch.
Implement and register custom post types and taxonomies.
Handle form submissions and user input securely.
Prepare and submit plugins to the WordPress plugin directory.

Concepts

Introduction

Overview of WordPress Plugins
What you should know
Using the course exercise files

Custom Post Type Plugin (Content Management)

Project management custom post type plugin
Setting up the custom post type plugin structure
Registering the custom post type plugin
Creating meta boxes for additional information
Displaying custom post type data in the frontend
Testing and debugging your custom post type plugin

Contact Form Plugin (Utility Integration)

Introduction to contact forms
Creating a contact form with shortcodes
Creating fields for our contact form
Integrating with email services and storing data
Testing and debugging your contact form plugin

Social Media Sharing Plugin (Design and Layout Integration)

Introduction to social media sharing plugin
Creating a social media sharing plugin
Customizing styles and scripts for social media buttons
Testing and debugging the social media sharing functionality

Accessibility and The WordPress Plugin Directory

Preparing your plugin for the WordPress Plugin Directory

Conclusion

Next steps for plugin development