Treehouse: WordPress
WordPress is an open-source content management system. It is one of the most popular content systems online, and it powers a large number of websites. It was first released in 2003, and the latest stable version (4.3.1) was released in September, 2015. A beta release (4.4) came out in the following November. It works with PHP, and is still being developed and altered by those who seek to make it even better than it already is.
The WordPress program allows users to easily customize websites, by means of themes and plugins. WordPress-based websites are easily edited and manipulated, and that is the reason why this particular program draws a huge crowd. WordPress developers around the world have released millions of plugins and themes over the years, and many more are being created.
Treehouse’s WordPress category has 26 courses and 8 workshops. There are courses for beginners, intermediates, and advanced. IT professionals who are interested in learning more about web development will certainly be able to take advantage of this wide range of courses and workshops.
Treehouse has two WordPress learning tracks: WordPress Development, and Learn WordPress. With both of then, students will learn how to build a website which is powered by WordPress. WordPress websites make up almost 20% of the entire internet, and knowing how to use it properly is a must have skill for anyone interested in web development.
Learn WordPress is a beginner’s track. It is relatively short (four hours long), and has just a handful of courses. WordPress Development is a more advanced track, which spans over 20 hours of different courses.
Some examples of WordPress courses: Getting Started with WordPress, Moving from WordPress.com to Self-Hosted WordPress.org, SEO for WordPress, and Custom Menu Development in WordPress.
Course Review: The WordPress Template Hierarchy
This is a course taught by Zac Gordon. In this course, students will learn about the files that make up the WordPress theme template hierarchy. These are essentially a collection of files that let you edit any webpage powered by WordPress. This course is meant for either those who are seeking to begin developing a site from scratch, or for those who are interested in altering and editing a existing theme or website.
The topics covered in this course are:
- An overview of the template hierarchy
- How templates work
- Breakdown of each template
- Common functions used with specific templates
- Theme files
- Template archiving
This course has eight modules, and it runs approximately two hours. These modules include lecture videos, as well as assessment quizzes which appear at the end of each video series.
Course Review: WordPress Theme Development
This course is also taught by Zac Gordon.
WordPress theme development involves using HTML, CSS, PHP and JavaScript to build dynamic WordPress sites. In this course we start with a basic HTML/CSS/JS prototype and walk through all of the steps for converting it into a full WordPress theme. The portfolio theme we build in the course covers responsive navigation, page and blog templates, custom post types and even widget areas. Upon completion of the course students should be able to build their own custom WordPress themes from scratch.
The topics which this covers are:
- The theme template hierarchy
- The loop and common functions
- Setting up widget and menu areas
This course has 10 separate modules, and it runs approximately 3.5 hours. Because it is an intermediate course, Treehouse recommends that before enrolling in it, students enroll in the prerequisite How to Make a Website with WordPress course, which is also taught by Gordon. Without that course, students may find they do not understand all of the terminology and actions that Gordon uses and performs during the course.
WordPress Theme Development has video lectures, and assessment quizzes can be found at the end of each module.
About the Instructor: Zac Gordon
Gordon is Treehouse’s in-house WordPress teacher and specialist. He enjoys helping people learn more about WordPress. Before coming to teach internet Treehouse courses, Gordon taught web design in high school and college.
WordPress is one of the easiest webpage-developing pieces of software out there, which is why it has gained such a huge following. It is popular not only because of the results which it provides, but also due to its friendly interface, its open-source policy, and its countless themes and plugins. Knowing how to use WordPress properly can help you get the job done. Whether you are working for a company, or are busy developing your personal homepage – WordPress is worth checking out.
Treehouse’s in-house WordPress expert, Zac Gordon, will guide you through the process of learning WordPress. Regardless of how experienced or inexperienced you are with WordPress, Treehouse has a course for you. There is always a first step. Start today. Make it now. Climb into the treehouse and start learning!
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