WordPress Theme Development

WordPress Theme Development is a specialized discipline within web development that focuses on creating the visual design, layout, and front-end functionality for websites built on the WordPress Content Management System. This practice involves a blend of front-end technologies—HTML for structure, CSS for styling, and JavaScript for interactivity—with the back-end scripting language PHP to create a collection of template files. These templates interface with the WordPress core to dynamically pull content like posts, pages, and custom data from the database, ultimately defining the entire user-facing experience and appearance of a site while allowing administrators to manage content separately from the presentation layer.

1. Introduction to WordPress Theme Development
   1. Overview of WordPress Themes
      1. Definition and Purpose
      2. Role in Separating Content and Presentation
      3. Relationship with the WordPress Core
      4. Classic Themes vs Block Themes
      5. Parent Themes and Child Themes
   2. Core Technologies Used in Theme Development
      1. HTML for Structure
         1. Semantic HTML Elements
         2. Accessibility Considerations
         3. HTML5 Document Structure
      2. CSS for Styling
         1. CSS Selectors and Specificity
         2. Responsive Design Principles
         3. CSS Grid and Flexbox
         4. CSS Custom Properties
         5. CSS Preprocessors
            1. Sass
            2. LESS
      3. JavaScript for Interactivity
         1. DOM Manipulation
         2. Event Handling
         3. ES6+ Features
         4. JavaScript Libraries
            1. jQuery
            2. Vanilla JavaScript
      4. PHP for Server-Side Logic
         1. PHP Syntax Basics
         2. Object-Oriented PHP
         3. WordPress-Specific PHP Functions
         4. Template Tags and Hooks
   3. Essential Development Tools
      1. Code Editors
         1. Features to Look For
         2. Popular Choices
            1. Visual Studio Code
            2. Sublime Text
            3. PhpStorm
      2. Local Development Environments
         1. MAMP
         2. WAMP
         3. XAMPP
         4. Docker-based Solutions
            1. Local by Flywheel
            2. Lando
            3. DevKinsta
      3. Version Control Systems
         1. Git Basics
         2. Repository Structure
         3. Branching and Merging
         4. GitHub and GitLab
      4. Browser Developer Tools
         1. Inspecting HTML and CSS
         2. Debugging JavaScript
         3. Performance Profiling
         4. Responsive Design Testing