WordPress

The world's most popular CMS — powers 43% of all websites and is the primary platform for content-driven sites, blogs, and small-to-mid e-commerce.

WordPress is the dominant content management system on the internet, powering over 43% of all websites including major publishers, corporate sites, and e-commerce stores (via WooCommerce). It serves two distinct audiences: business users who manage content through the admin dashboard, and developers who build custom themes and plugins using PHP, JavaScript, and the WordPress REST API and block editor (Gutenberg). WordPress skills appear in enormous volumes of job postings — from digital marketing managers who need to update pages, to WordPress developers building bespoke themes from scratch.

Typical time to job-readiness: ~3 weeks.

Learning WordPress

Beginner

Set up a WordPress site on a local environment (LocalWP is the easiest) or a cheap hosting plan. Learn the admin dashboard: creating pages, posts, menus, and widgets. Understand themes vs plugins and how to install and configure both. Get comfortable with the Gutenberg block editor.

Intermediate

Child themes for customization without breaking updates, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) for flexible content models, WooCommerce for e-commerce, and performance basics (caching plugins like WP Rocket, image optimization). Learn enough PHP to read and modify theme templates.

Advanced

Custom block development with React and the Gutenberg block API, headless WordPress with the REST API or WPGraphQL feeding a Next.js or Gatsby frontend, multisite networks, and WordPress security hardening. Developer interviews often include a theme or plugin customization exercise.

Key concepts

  • Themes control visual design; plugins add functionality — never modify core files directly
  • Gutenberg block editor: block-based page building that replaced the classic TinyMCE editor
  • Child themes: override parent theme templates and styles without losing changes on update
  • The Loop: WordPress's core PHP construct for fetching and displaying posts
  • Custom post types and taxonomies: extend WordPress beyond blog posts (e.g., portfolio items, products)
  • WooCommerce: the dominant e-commerce plugin; turns WordPress into a full online store

Common interview topics

  • What is the difference between a theme and a plugin in WordPress
  • Why would you use a child theme and how do you create one
  • How would you optimize a slow WordPress site
  • What is the WordPress loop and how does it work
  • How do you secure a WordPress installation

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