Track 04 — The Builder's Yard
WordPress Development
WordPress still runs a large share of the web, which means steady, well-paid client work for people who can do more than drag blocks around. This track takes you from how WordPress actually works internally to delivering a finished site a client signs off on.
( What you'll learn )
How WordPress really works
The request lifecycle, the database schema, hooks and filters, and the template hierarchy that decides which file renders.
PHP for WordPress
Enough PHP to be dangerous: syntax, arrays, functions and the WordPress coding patterns you will read everywhere.
Custom theme development
Taking a static design and turning it into a working classic theme — templates, loops, menus, widgets, customiser options.
Block themes & the Site Editor
theme.json, block templates, patterns and style variations — the modern way WordPress expects themes to be built.
Custom blocks
Building your own blocks so clients get exactly the editing experience the design needs.
Plugin development
Custom post types, taxonomies, meta boxes, settings pages, shortcodes and REST endpoints — packaged as a real plugin.
WooCommerce
Products, variations, checkout, payment gateways, shipping and template overrides for a store that fits the brand.
Performance & Core Web Vitals
Caching layers, image strategy, query debugging, asset loading — turning a slow build into a fast one.
Security & maintenance
Hardening, user roles, backups, staging, safe updates and what to do when a site is compromised.
SEO for WordPress
Site structure, metadata, schema, sitemaps and the technical basics that stop a good site being invisible.
Client work as a business
Quoting, scoping, contracts, revisions, handover documentation and retainers — the part nobody teaches.
Capstone delivery
A complete client-style site built to a brief and handed over the way a professional would.
( Curriculum — 9 weeks )
Foundations
Local environments, PHP basics, and understanding WordPress from the inside rather than the dashboard.
- Local development with LocalWP
- WordPress file and database structure
- The request lifecycle
- Hooks: actions and filters
- PHP syntax and arrays
- Template hierarchy
- The Loop and WP_Query
- Debugging with Query Monitor
Themes & blocks
Design file in, working theme out — both the classic way and the modern block way.
- Classic theme from scratch
- Enqueuing assets properly
- Menus, widgets, customiser
- theme.json and global styles
- Block templates and patterns
- Building custom blocks
- Advanced Custom Fields
- Converting a Figma design to a theme
Plugins & WooCommerce
Extending WordPress, then building a store that does not look like every other store.
- Plugin structure and standards
- Custom post types and taxonomies
- Meta boxes and settings APIs
- Shortcodes and REST endpoints
- WooCommerce setup and products
- Checkout and payment gateways
- Template overrides and hooks
- Store performance
Delivery & business
Making it fast, making it safe, and getting paid for it.
- Caching and CDN strategy
- Image and asset optimisation
- Hardening and backups
- Migration and staging workflow
- On-page SEO setup
- Quoting and scoping work
- Handover documentation
- Capstone delivery and review
( Tools you'll master )
( Projects you'll build )
Custom theme from a design
A pixel-accurate, responsive theme built from a Figma file — no page builder, no shortcuts.
Your own plugin
A working plugin with a custom post type, an admin settings page and a front-end display block.
WooCommerce store
A complete store with custom product templates, working checkout, and a tuned Core Web Vitals score.
Client-style delivery
A full site built to a written brief, optimised, hardened and handed over with documentation.
( Where this leads )
( Is this you? )
A good fit if
- You want paid work relatively quickly rather than a long computer-science route
- You like finishing things and handing them over
- You are interested in freelancing or agency work
- You are happy to learn just enough PHP to be effective
Probably not yet if
- You want to build large custom applications — take Full Stack instead
- You are only interested in drag-and-drop page builders
- You dislike client communication, which is a real part of this work
- You expect to avoid code entirely
Fastest route to paid work.
Of all the tracks, this is the one where students most often earn before they finish. The demand is constant, the projects are small enough to complete solo, and clients need someone reliable more than they need someone brilliant. The business module matters as much as the code module — knowing how to quote and scope is what separates a developer who is busy from one who is profitable.
You will finish with four deliverable pieces of work plus a scoping and quoting template you can reuse on your first real enquiry.
( Reading on this track )
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