WordPress is a popular, powerful, and user-friendly Content Management System (CMS). If you’ve been using it for some time, you’re probably comfortable with the day-to-day basics. However, that’s probably not enough to qualify you as a WordPress expert just yet.
Fortunately, WordPress has a massive support community that offers a plethora of educational resources and materials you can tap into. This, when paired with the variety of online learning platforms that are available, can help you gain the knowledge and skills needed to become an adept WordPress website owner.
In this post, we’ll discuss what it takes to be considered a WordPress ‘expert’. Then we’ll offer three key tips for fast-tracking your learning and becoming a master WordPress user in no time. Let’s get started!
What Knowledge You Need to be Considered a WordPress Expert
Becoming an expert WordPress site owner can give you more confidence in managing your website. By advancing your WordPress skills, you can exercise more control over your site and perhaps even take on new projects.
However, WordPress is an expansive platform. It’s virtually impossible to learn everything there is to know (let alone become an expert) about every WordPress-related topic. For that reason, ‘expert’ is a relative term with many variations and definitions.
Often, the phrase is used to mean that you’re well-versed in a specific area or have gained significant knowledge in multiple niches, such as:
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Web design
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Web, plugin, and theme development
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO), speed, and security
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Database maintenance and optimization
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Hosting and domain registration
To be an expert WordPress user, it’s important to have at least a baseline understanding of the CMS’ usage and how it functions behind the scenes. This includes knowing about PHP, WordPress’s core programming language, as well as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Beyond coding, it’s also recommended that you have a firm grasp on WordPress’ core files and folder architecture, familiarity with built-in and custom post types, and a strong understanding of plugins and themes.
There’s no single online course that will teach you to become a WordPress expert. However, there are various steps you can take that, collectively, will result in a more comprehensive understanding and the applicable skill sets.
How to Become an Expert WordPress Site Owner (3 Key Tips)
Now that we’ve discussed the basics of what being a WordPress expert entails, it’s time to get to work. Let’s take a look at three key tips for becoming a more experienced WordPress site owner.
1. Identify the Areas in Which You Lack WordPress Knowledge
One of the best things about learning WordPress is that there are so many different resources, forums, and learning platforms that provide insight and tutorials. However, given the plethora of information that’s available, it’s important to narrow your focus.
Doing this will help to make your learning experience more efficient and productive. As we mentioned earlier, WordPress is a massive platform, and there’s no limit to what you can explore and educate yourself on.
To figure out which areas and topics you should hone in on, you’ll need to identify what skills you’re currently lacking. A quick trick for doing this is to consider which services or tasks you’re paying your hosting provider or a WordPress professional to handle for you. Then, you can make a list of which tasks you want to learn to handle yourself.
You can also refer to the WordPress Support documentation to help narrow your focus:
Browsing the various topics available can aid in your brainstorming, and generate some ideas for what you want to know more about.
For instance, you may decide to learn how to tackle site maintenance and updates. Alternately, maybe you want to know how to build your own custom theme. Whatever they may be, make a list of the meaningful skills you want to acquire that will help fill the gaps in your WordPress expertise.
2. Leverage Online Learning Platforms
In today’s digital environment, there are many online learning platforms you can use to acquire the skills and knowledge you need to become a WordPress expert. The option that makes the most sense for you depends on what type of learning courses or curriculum you’re looking for.
One popular choice that offers a wide variety of WordPress-related courses is Udemy:
This service provides fairly-priced lessons that cover everything from WordPress basics to theme and plugin development.
If Udemy isn’t for you, however, there are plenty of alternatives. We’d suggest checking out the top online learning platforms, and then narrowing down which ones are the best fit for your needs and budget.
3. Get Involved in the WordPress Community
One of the best ways to learn is by doing. Although some of the online resources you use to acquire WordPress skills may include simulations, quizzes, etc., you can supplement and expand on those lessons by getting involved in real-world projects.
WordPress is an open-source platform that is always looking for contributors and participants to help with various efforts. Whether you want to participate in testing a plugin, accessible design, or something else entirely, there are many opportunities to do so within the WordPress community.
For example, you can check out the Make WordPress boards to find tasks and projects based on the specific areas you’re interested in:
The WordPress community is filled with knowledgeable, helpful professionals. Tapping into this community is an effective way to build connections and discover opportunities to fine-tune your knowledge and skills.
Conclusion
WordPress is a user-friendly platform that makes it easy for beginners to create and manage a website. However, if you want to go beyond that to become an expert WordPress site owner, you’ll need to spend some time educating yourself.
Fortunately, leveraging the WordPress community and online learning platforms can help you fast-track your education. In this post, we discussed three tips that can help you become a master WordPress user:
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Identify the areas in which you lack WordPress knowledge, so you know where to focus your attention.
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Leverage online learning platforms to find online courses that will provide you with skill sets and knowledge in key areas.
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Get involved in the WordPress community, to collaborate on and contribute to projects that give you hands-on practice and experience.
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