It is not only about skills required to become a WordPress developer; it is everything else that goes along with it. You can learn technical skills, but how you implement them and put them to use in your career will make you successful. Before we take a quick look at how to become a successful WordPress developer, let us get the basics right.  

What is WordPress? 

WordPress is the easiest way for anyone to start their blog or create their website. Millions of bloggers across the world use WordPress to run their blogs successfully. Nearly 65% of all websites with a known content management system use WordPress; this is almost 40% of all the websites on the Internet that WordPress powers. It is much more than Drupal or Joomla in its entirety. You may likely visit one in four websites powered by this giant platform.  

It may interest you that WordPress is an open-source content management system licensed under GPlv2. It simply means that anyone can use and modify the WordPress software for free! 

What does a WordPress developer do? 

A WordPress developer is adept with infrastructure development and basic coding on the platform. You are either part of revamping an existing website or creating new products online or improving the platforms’ efficacy. 

Your responsibilities will hover around plugins creation, theme customization, designing and building client WordPress sites, troubleshooting or code development, site maintenance and upgrade, accessibility improvement of WordPress websites. 

How to become a successful WordPress developer? 

Technical Skills 

A lot is happening under the umbrella of web development across the world. You must understand different skills and have hands-on practical training to learn web development to build WordPress sites quickly.  

• CSS and HTML – As a web developer, you must be aware of HTML and CSS. HTML is a markup language that quickly outlines and displays all the content on the screen. CSS is Cascading Style Sheets that controls the design and theme elements of a webpage.  
• PHP – PHP is a recursive acronym and stands for PHP Hypertext Processor- a server-side scripting language. WordPress is a platform built using PHP and is best suited for web development. It allows you to easily manage websites’ content and communicate with the database while controlling third-party integrations, plugins, etc. 
• JavaScript– One of the most common and popular client-side scripting languages, JavaScript makes any website more interactive and dynamic. It adds more weightage to the front-end development and has other libraries and frameworks used for back-end development.

Clear Area of Focus  

While learning technical skills is excellent, you also need to make sure that you become a successful WordPress developer. There is no shortage of opportunities in WordPress development; however, understand what you want to undertake.  

If you become a Core WordPress developer and apply your knowledge in troubleshooting almost every problem. You can also choose the design side by becoming a Theme developer or a Plugin developer that is vital in enhancing the look and feel of a website. You get to explore your creative side and also create a marketplace for your designs. API development is another exciting and lucrative field to explore. 

Prepare for Challenges 

The only way you can become a successful WP developer is by embracing the challenges that come your way. It is an evolving field, and there are several modifications/updates carried out frequently on WordPress. Equip yourself with an understanding of handling cybersecurity issues, debugging the site, and resolving problems quickly to help you become more adept and more desirable. 

WordPress Community 

Interact and learn from fellow WordPress developers to hone your technical and interpersonal skills. Join WordPress communities to understand their challenges and pitfalls and get the latest information regarding emerging trends in the industry. It will help you keep abreast of all developments and form a strong presence as a WordPress developer. It also allows you to collaborate with fellow developers on projects. 

Build a Portfolio 

While we are building our skills and upgrading ourselves, we all need to present it to a broader audience and not restrict it to ourselves only. We need to provide as much evidence of our skills as possible, especially as designers or WordPress developers. 

A great way to build a portfolio is to follow a mantra – ‘Don’t Tell Me, Show Me’. A portfolio showcasing all the work you have done as a developer can improve your chances of landing that high-ticket client or working with a fantastic company. Showcase all your current or dummy projects here. 

Create a portfolio on WordPress with a personalized theme, colour scheme, testimonials (if any), and use it to publicize on various networking platforms. It will improve your chance of getting noticed and building the correct traction, audience, and community. 

Build a resume 

Yes, it’s your resume. You have the skills, the portfolio, the knowledge, and everything under the umbrella, but there is still something missing. To be more precise, your technical skill sets that aren’t mentioned anywhere.  

A resume, even today, plays a significant role in a company’s selection process. There is a lot of information that is scattered everywhere over the internet about you. But there is only one place where they can get everything they want- the resume. 

Make sure you highlight all your technical skills, soft skills, professional experience, education, etc., to start getting noticed. You need to structure it as a document that can be easily read and does not have jargon. It’s your resume; create it with the exact thought that you learned all your skills with. 

Before we sign off… 

While there is no fixed formula to become a successful WordPress developer, it is vital to understand the basics and learn from your surroundings. Being part of different WordPress communities, public forums, upskilling, etc., will go a long way in honing your career. You must invest sufficient time and energy to learn new ways to be a great developer and make the most of the growing WordPress user base.  

Begin learning with a credible institute or mentor, and you can build a very successful career for yourself.