PHP Basics for WordPress

PHP Basics for WordPress Workshop

Interested in learning more about PHP, the coding language used to power the backend of WordPress? This class will give you a basic introduction along with exercises on how it is used so that you can perform simple adjustments and additions.

Prerequisite and Preliminary Set up:

The first 2-hours of the workshop will be spent setting up a working environment to edit PHP files on your computer.

You will need to have following to get the most out of the hands-on portion of the workshop:

1) A hosted WordPress account at Bluehost, Fatcow, GoDaddy (or something similar) to reach the source files. There are also free hosting alternatives such as Zymic, that you can use for the workshop.

2) A code editing program like Komodo, Aptana, etc. to manipulate the files on your site.

3) A FTP (File Transfer Protocol) system to upload the files into the server, such as Cyberduck, Filezilla. Both are free.

For those already set up, you may use the time to review the PHP language tp prepare for the next part of the workshop.

Second Phase:

Will cover...

• The basic syntax of PHP
• Some WordPress specific functions
• A tour of the WordPress backend code and theme directory
• The plugin directory
• A brief overview of the core code

Third Phase:

• A drilldown to the functions.php file and the theme template files
• Demonstrations of how to add functions to the functions.php file
• How to change a template and add a widget area to a theme
• Outline how to take advantage of the numerous free advice sites and enhancements that exist on the internet

Last Phase:

We will:

• Visit the Codex and online resources
• See how to build a simple plugin to add a shortcode.
• Outline how to take advantage of the numerous free advice sites and enhancements that exist on the internet

Attendees will achieve:

1. Their computer will be set up to edit and ftp files in their WordPress website
2. A basic introduction to PHP and some examples of code from WordPress
3. An understanding of where the files that create WordPress are located and how they are used
4. How to make changes to functions.php,
5. Build a page template, and alter page templates
6. What to look for in the Codex and how to use what you find
7. A basic understanding of how a plugin is constructed (you will not necessarily build one)

Strong recommendation for potential attendees:

Begin courses at Codecademy. They provide excellent training tutorials in various computer languages for further advancement in the field of programming.
http://www.codecademy.com/

Be sure to bring your laptop and any passwords needed to access your existing server and WordPress accounts

Lunch and snacks will be provided.