Upgrading Legacy WordPress Projects: Modernize Workflows and Codebase

Course details

In this course, developer and WordPress enthusiast Daisy Olsen highlights essential strategies and techniques for modernizing legacy WordPress projects. Learn how to assess existing codebases, use Git-based version control and branching strategies, and implement automated testing. Find out how to refactor for improved maintainability, integrate modern frameworks, and optimize performance. Explore technical debt management, stakeholder reporting, and Agile project management methodologies. Plus, gain hands-on experience in applying these concepts to real-world scenarios, ensuring that you can confidently approach legacy project retrofitting in your own work. When you complete this course, you'll have a comprehensive toolkit for breathing new life into older WordPress projects.

Learning objectives
Assess the current state of a legacy project and identify areas for improvement.
Apply modern development practices to legacy codebases, including implementing automated testing and continuous integration.
Refactor legacy code to improve maintainability and performance while minimizing risk.
Integrate modern frameworks and libraries into existing legacy projects.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Intro
02 - What you should know

1. Asessment, Audit, and Goal Setting

03 - What is modernization, and why is it important
04 - Auditing and assessing your project
05 - Setting modernization goals
06 - Roadmap and implementation planning
07 - Selling the value and overcoming objections

2. Version Control and Git Workflows

08 - Introduction to version control
09 - Understanding branching models
10 - Trunk-based development
11 - GitHub Flow
12 - Handling changes, reviews, and merges

3. Deployment Strategies

13 - Manual deployment with RSYNC SFTP
14 - CI CD tools for WordPress
15 - Deploying with GitHub Actions
16 - Zero-downtime deployment strategies
17 - Rollback strategies and version control in Deployment

4. Development Environments

18 - Why individual development environments matter
19 - Using WordPress Playground as a development environment
20 - Managing staging and production environments
21 - Setting up Codespaces for WordPress development
22 - Optimizing VS Code for WordPress development

5. Maintenance and Updates

23 - Introduction to package managers - Composer and NPM
24 - Core, theme, and plugin updates
25 - Working with WP-CLI
26 - Composer-based updates

6. Testing and Code Quality

27 - Understanding WordPress coding standards
28 - Getting started with WPCS (PHP, JS, CSS, HTML)
29 - Catching and fixing problems early
30 - Automated vs. manual testing
31 - End-to-end testing in WordPress

7. Modernizing a Legacy Codebase

32 - Refactoring strategies for legacy code
33 - Documenting your codebase for future developers
34 - Modularizing code and keeping it DRY
35 - Deprecating before deleting

8. Identifying and Debugging Performance Issues

36 - Identifying and debugging performance issues
37 - Implementing caching strategies
38 - Optimizing database queries and structure
39 - Enhancing security measures
40 - Implementing automated security audits and monitoring

9. Extras and Best Practices

41 - Enhancing team collaboration in WordPress projects
42 - Managing bugs and feature requests
43 - Planning your modernization project
44 - Presenting and defending your modernization strategy

Conclusion and Application

45 - Conclusion