This week, I’m going to explain how you can set up Composer for WordPress plugins. Plugins can be as simple as a single PHP file with a few functions. But over time they can grow with new features that span several files and lots of different folders with several dependencies. WordPress itself has hundreds of […]
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SWPD #006: Use Modern PHP in Your WordPress Plugins
Today, I’m going to show you that plugins should be elegant PHP applications that interface with WordPress. PHP is still a vibrant and powerful language—even if the discussions on social media & reddit don’t make it sound like it. It powers roughly 8 out of every 10 sites that use server-side languages, according to W3Tech’s usage […]
SWPD #005: Easily Zip WordPress Plugins with WP-CLI dist-archive
This week, I’m going to walk you through setting up WP-CLI’s dist-archive so you can easily zip up new versions of your plugin. Over the last year, I’ve built a handful of plugins that need to be run through manual testing before new versions are officially released. Typically I would manually “right-click” and “compress” the folder on my […]
SWPD #004: Effectively Planning New Development
In this issue, I’m going to explain why planning should always be your first step when working on a new plugin or feature. When you start a new plugin or feature, planning will save you a tremendous amount of time. Some of the worst mistakes of my career can be attributed to how much time […]
SWPD #003: Setting up a local development environment with Lando
Recently, I’ve been working with a new tool for local WordPress development called Lando. Running WordPress on your local machine is essential to being a productive plugin developer. Your computer provides all the tools you need to develop, debug, and test out your plugin efficiently. However, there are so many different ways to set up […]
SWPD#002: Improve Your Code Quality With Static Analysis
In this week’s issue, I’m going to explain why you should be using static analysis in your development process. Static Analysis is a process of evaluating code without actually running it. It scans code for bugs that could easily be missed by peer code reviews or other manual checks. With static analysis, you can catch […]
SWPD#001: How to add a Github Action to your WordPress plugin
In this issue, I’m going to walk you through adding a Github Action to your WordPress Plugin. Github actions are tools to help you automate parts of your development process. Actions help automate repetitive tasks so you can focus on more important development. Unfortunately, a lot of plugin developers don’t know how to automate the […]