WordPress Tutorial

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WordPress is the world's most popular content management system, powering over 40% of all websites on the internet. It started as a simple blogging tool but has grown into a full application platform — this track goes beyond "install a theme and click around" and teaches you how WordPress actually works under the hood: its hook system, template hierarchy, database schema, and how to build your own themes and plugins from scratch.

Where this fits: WordPress is built entirely in PHP and uses MySQL for storage, so Core PHP knowledge is assumed — if functions, arrays, and basic OOP feel shaky, the Core PHP track is a good foundation first.

What Makes WordPress Different

Compared to...	WordPress's approach
A framework like Laravel/Symfony	WordPress is a CMS with an admin dashboard, a plugin/theme ecosystem, and a "content first" philosophy — you extend it rather than architect an app from scratch
A static site	Content lives in a MySQL database and is rendered dynamically on every request via PHP templates
Writing raw PHP	Nearly everything is extensible through hooks (actions and filters) instead of editing core files directly

A Quick Look Ahead

Example: A Custom Post Type Registration

<?php
function register_book_post_type() {
    register_post_type('book', [
        'label' => 'Books',
        'public' => true,
        'supports' => ['title', 'editor', 'thumbnail'],
        'show_in_rest' => true,
    ]);
}
add_action('init', 'register_book_post_type');

Note: This is correct, real WordPress code — but this website's own project doesn't run WordPress itself, so you won't see it actually execute on this page. Follow along by installing WordPress locally after the next page's setup steps.

Why Learn WordPress?

Reason	What it means for you
Massive market share	Powers roughly 4 in 10 websites — huge freelance/agency demand for WordPress developers
Extensible by design	The hook system lets you customize almost anything without touching core files
Huge ecosystem	Tens of thousands of themes and plugins, and a massive community for support
Real PHP skills transfer	Everything here — hooks, the loop, custom post types — is genuine PHP and MySQL underneath

Next steps: Head to Installation & Setup to get WordPress running on your own machine.

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