Starting a career in WordPress is something that would have seemed impossible a few years ago. But now it is not difficult at all. Now we learn about How to Become A WordPress Developer? Step-by-Step Guide…

With WordPress powering close to 40% of the internet, it has long been a reality for thousands of people. In fact, as of now, WordPress is not only running world-renowned websites and blogs but it is also basing millions of dollars in business. Consequently, these days, working on WordPress has become a legitimate career path.

If you are interested in WordPress as your full-time career, this post will show you how you can turn this dream into a reality. We’ll talk about how to choose from the many ways you can work with WordPress and give you step-by-step instructions to get the skills you need and start getting paid.

WordPress career path

The first thing we need to talk about is that there isn’t a career in WordPress that you can make. Because there are a lot of different things you can do with the platform.

So, as a first step, let’s take a look at the opportunities available to anyone who wants to enter the WordPress sector.

Development/Design

One of the classic ways to start a WordPress career is by building websites. After all, this is what the platform was designed for. Here are your options in this area:

Developer – This can mean many different things. You should generally have HTML, CSS and PHP skills (Javascript doesn’t hurt either). Focus on the back-end or front-end, build custom websites, create and sell your own themes and plugins, work freelance or as part of an agency, and more – it’s your choice.

Web Designer – Comes with the same job description as a developer, however, you’re working exclusively with the design of a website. Designers use design tools to create visuals and sometimes implement their work with HTML and CSS. If the difference isn’t clear, check our list of the differences between developers and designers.

Implementer – Not really a designer or developer, this describes someone who knows how to build WordPress websites with existing themes and plugins but doesn’t have many coding skills. Page builder plugins have given rise to this kind of WordPress career.

Content Marketing

If you are less technologically inclined, you can use WordPress as a marketing tool. This direction also has a lot of career opportunities, like:

Content Writers — Thanks to the success of CMSs, there is a huge demand for people with WordPress skills who also know how to write about the platform. Also, you’re probably going to be working on WordPress as well, so knowing Gutenberg and the rest of the platforms is a must.

Content Manager/Editor — Instead of writing the content, you might as well be taking care of it in the background. This means coordinating with writers, proofreading, and content schedule as well as other administrative tasks.

Content Marketer – Content marketing involves creating a content strategy and planning content campaigns as well as ensuring the right content is created.

SEO Expert — Search Engine Optimization is about making sure that a website and its content make sense and rank well for search engines. This involves technical SEO, keyword research, and the skills to know your way around Google Analytics and Search Console.

Other WordPress career opportunities

Here are a few mixed-use ideas that involve WordPress:

Freelancer –Freelancing is a popular avenue for careers. If you are looking to start an online business, WordPress is a great place to start. Whether you want to run a consulting business, an online shop, sell online courses or create a portfolio, WordPress can help.

Support — There are many WordPress companies that need people with technical skills and who know the platform to help their customers solve problems. However, the number of WordPress support companies is increasing as well. They take care of everything from setting up sites to speed optimization and general site maintenance over recovering hacked websites. You might be one of them.

Hosting – More and more people are using WordPress and they all need their sites hosted somewhere. If you have the technical skills to set up and run a web server, you may be able to charge people for hosting their websites.

Teaching – There are tons of learning resources for WordPress. So, if you know how to use the platform, you can teach it to others. The need is there, the question is how to fulfill it.

Be self-taught

Just like any other job, you need the training to build a career in WordPress.

The good thing about WordPress, however, is that you can get a job even without any formal training. After all, there is no such thing as a WordPress university that you can go to. You can train yourself to actually work on WordPress

Learn about the WordPress platform

If you want a career in WordPress, you have to know the platform inside and out. Regardless of what you’re ultimately doing, you need to know the back end, where to do what, how things fit together, how to use themes and plugins, etc. WordPress is open source, you can get this education absolutely free of cost.

It is also very helpful to be familiar with the underlying architecture such as template hierarchy, the meaning of important files like style.css and functions.php, how to create a child theme, etc.

You can download WordPress and create a local server environment with a program like Local or XAMPP, install the CMS there, and play with it completely risk-free.

Use the help sections within WordPress to learn about the platform:

There are also WordPress Codex, Make WordPress, and WordPress Developer Resources. Also, you can find a lot of free tutorials on the web that tells you how to do different things (like this site).

Pro Tip: If you’ve never worked with WordPress before, it makes sense to start with a more formal course where you’ll see every detail behind WordPress. This will give you a good overview and basis to stand on.

Specialize

In addition to knowing WordPress inside and out, of course, you need to master the skills you plan to apply to the platform.

As a developer, you will want to learn PHP, as a blogger you aim to be a good wordsmith and know SEO, an entrepreneur needs business acumen, etc. Your directions will also tell you about the equipment and tools you need to get started.

Fortunately, on today’s Internet, you can find plenty of free and paid resources to learn just about anything. Here are a couple of good places to start:

Udemy — over 100,000 online courses in business, design, development, marketing, IT, and more. Udemy is a premium offering and pricing varies for courses but signing up is free.

Free Code Camp — Literally free coding lessons, feedback APIs, and quality assurance for everything from HTML and CSS through Bootstrap. FCC issues certificates for the completed course and graduates get jobs in major tech companies.

Skillshare — Similar to Udemy. It’s free to sign up and offers free classes to dip your feet into. For others, you need to sign up for the premium version.

YouTube — YouTube is full of free resources and tutorials on many things. You can create tutorials related to any topic of WordPress and post them on a YouTube channel. Monetization and income can be earned.

Lynda — The OG of the online class. It offers hundreds of classes, including the WordPress courses I mentioned above. Comes with a free trial month, which is usually enough to finish one course.

Smart Blogger — A great blog on all things blogging and content marketing that offers great value for free. For a more systematic approach, they have online courses as well.

There’s more, just a quick Google search away.

Create Self Portfolio

One of the most important things when looking for work is to have a professional web presence, where you can present your work as evidence of your skills.

How to Apply for Jobs

Here’s where you can find ways to test your skills and earn money:

Personal network — At the start of your career, let your friends and family know about your skills. See if they or someone they know is in need It is a good way to start your career.

Build Networking – Networking is an art in itself and connecting with people is a critical soft skill. You can work by building your own networking.

WordPress Jobs — Official job board for WordPress.org. There is everything from part to full-time project-based employment.

WPhired — A job board for all categories of WordPress jobs, including writing and SEO.

Automattic – One of the largest companies based on WordPress. They always have a lot of (remote) job offers that you can find on this page.

Codeable — A great place to hire experienced WordPress developers. If you think you have the skills needed to be part of their pool, you can apply here.

The WordPress sphere has grown incredibly in the relatively short time it has existed. As WordPress continues to grow, the job market grows as well. The platform now provides livelihood to thousands of companies, employees, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.