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12 Useful Self-Help WordPress Resources for Developers & Site Owners

One of the reasons we decided to specialise only in WordPress is because of how easy it is for our clients to update their website independently to a webmaster. This is because:

  1. The CMS is user-friendly, making it easy to use for all experience levels, and;
  2. There is a huge amount of resources available to website owners on updating and improving their WordPress website.

Although we always offer WordPress training with every website or new feature we build, by accessing these available resources online and in person, clients can easily carry on developing their WordPress website management skills so they can continue getting the most out of their website.

The majority of our team are self-taught in using and developing WordPress with the help of resources they’ve found online or by attending local workshops or conferences. Whether they’re one of our developers toning their web development skills, or our internal team improving their knowledge of using the WordPress CMS to improve our own WordPress website, we’ve found there are training resources available for all experience levels.

The resources and support available dedicated to showing people of all experience levels how to use and improve their WordPress knowledge is invaluable. We’ve compiled this list of our favourite training resources we’ve gathered over the years that we recommend to clients and our team.

For online training we recommend:

For developers:

Code School

Code School

We recommend Code School for developers who like to learn by doing. Code School offer interactive code and programming learning, with courses categorised by technology such as JavaScript, HTML, Git etc.

I’ve used Code School to refresh my knowledge and learn the basics of particular web development tools. I’ve taken a total of 8 of their courses so far ranging across CSS (SASS), JavaScript, HTML and Git. I’ve enjoyed every course, and they’ve successfully helped me improve my skills I use in WordPress development.

Tom Barrett

WPSessions

WPSessions

WPSessions is aimed at developers wanting to build a new WordPress website. They offer courses on BuddyPress, WP-CLI, unit tests, building a membership site, optimising your site, Boilerplate, SASS and building your own plugin.

Codecademy

Codecademy

Codecademy is brilliant for the interactive aspect and the fun tone.

Sam Lay

Codecademy is an interactive learning resource for developers helping you learn skills in HTML & CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, Python, Ruby, and APIs. On each course they offer a couple of lessons for free, with their more advanced lessons being reserved only for their Codecademy Pro-Subscribers. Pro-Subscribers have more of a personalised learning plan that includes interactive lessons, quizzes at the end of each lesson unit, and real-world projects so you can apply what you’re learning.

I’ve used Codeacademy for learning the basics of several languages, including Javascript, HTML, CSS and PHP. All of which are useful for WordPress development. Codeacademy is great for it’s interactivity, and it introduces you to new concepts with helpful examples and ‘easy-to-understand’ copy.

Adam Hollister

The Lodge

The Lodge

The Lodge is a training resource by CSS-focused blog: CSS-Tricks. They offer 4 different free courses on web design and development covering SVG, learning jQuery from scratch, redesigning a website, and building a mobile-first website.

Treehouse

Treehouse

Treehouse provide in-depth training courses on WordPress basics and WordPress development. Their lessons are divided into beginner, immediate and advance skill levels. Each course lets you know how long it will take to complete, and they also offer a trailer so you know what to expect before you commit to the lessons.

I often use Treehouse to delve more deeply into a specific subject. They have a massive library of content ranging from topics like ‘WordPress Customizer API’ to things like ‘Video Game Development’. The course teachers are great and the combination of videos, tasks and quizzes make learning with Treehouse easier for me than with some of the other online training tools. – Adam Hollister

Sadly Treehouse no longer support WordPress and will not be uploading any new or updating existing content to their site. You can find out more about their decision on WP Tavern. However, we’re pleased to announce Zac from Treehouse’s new venture: Javascript for WordPress. This course won’t be released until April, but we’re eagerly anticipating it’s arrival.

For users:

WordPress 101

WordPress 101

WordPress 101 boosts the fastest and easiest way to learn WordPress. They offer courses on getting started and the basics, to tutorials on the Yoast SEO plugin. Their easy-to-follow screencasts are best suited to beginners who want to learn how to use the WordPress CMS.

They also have a plugin that offers their WordPress training videos for easy access within the WordPress admin dashboard.

Lynda

Lynda

Lynda is an online video tutorial website by LinkedIn. They offer 89 WordPress courses which are broken down into a total of 2,178 video tutorials. In their WordPress courses they show you the stages of building a website with the CMS from start to finish. Beyond the build they also offer optimisation advice and training on adding and editing content.

You have to be a member to view their courses, but once you’re signed up you have access to all the courses on Lynda, including their PHP related courses which can help improve developers WordPress coding knowledge.

Face to face training:

Codebar

Codebar

Codebar is a non-profit committed to building a diverse tech community. They run free workshops teaching HTML & CSS, JavaScript, Ruby and Python as well as programming concepts. They aim their workshops at under-represented groups and they’re currently available in Brighton, London. Cambridge and Birmingham. Their events are usually sponsored and hosted by local tech companies. The format of the meetups follow a 30-min registration, networking and chatting over nibbles, followed by lots of coding and coaching.

The Codebar workshops have been an invaluable support during my training in Web Development. It is run by developers who give up their spare time to coach people in under-represented groups in tech, and I love that sense of community.

Romy Viflic

WordCamp Brighton

23rd – 24th July 2016

The very first WordCamp Brighton is this summer. We’re proud to be sponsoring and helping to organise the event amongst other local volunteers. This WordCamp is in the summer during the holidays, so if you’re not local to Brighton, it’s the perfect opportunity to go on a trip to the coast with friends and family and learn more about WordPress while you’re down there.

WordCamp Brighton will consist of a day of conferences followed by a continuation day (with an awesome afterparty thrown in between). There will be just one track of talks covering a range of subjects across design, development, business and content. With 250 people expecting to go it will be a nice-sized event where you’ll get the opportunity to network and learn from WordPress enthusiasts.

WordUp Brighton

Monthly event

These friendly monthly meetups are a great way to meet and network with fellow WordPress users and developers in Brighton. The meetups are relaxed and often include snacks and drinks provided by local companies. Each meetup is different and attracts a varied crowd, so if there currently isn’t an event planned that’s of interest to you, there should be soon!

WordCamp London

8th-10th April 2016

WordCamp London is an annual event that attracts WordPress enthusiasts from the UK and Europe. This year will be their third event and will be held at the London Metropolitan University. The three-day conference involves a day of contribution and two days of conferences over the weekend. They have three rooms full of talks on content, development, design and business. Most of our team will be heading up to London for the event, and this year our Founder & Director David Lockie will be Master of Ceremonies for a session as well answering your questions on the Recruiting for Your Business Panel.

WordCamp Europe

24th-26th June 2016

WordCamp Europe is an enormous conference attracting thousands of WordPress users around the world. This year it’s their fourth conference, and each year it is held in a different European city. Many WordPress specialist organisations such as ourselves take their whole company along for the conference – they’re just that good! WordCamp Europe offers a huge variety of talks, covering everything from web design and development to marketing, performance, and content creation and management.

We hope you’ve found our resources useful! If you’d like to know more about our WordPress services or are seeking WordPress training, get in touch!

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