HOW TO CREATE A CUSTOM WORDPRESS PLUGIN

8 Apr 2021

WORDPRESS PLUGIN All WordPress site needs a theme to pull the database’s content and display that in a design. And theoretically, you could run a site with just a piece and nothing else. But that site would be minimal without the addition of plugins.

Plugins add extra functionality to your WordPress site up and above what comes with WordPress core. Everything from a booking calendar or animated slider to a full-featured learning management system or online marketplace—you can add them all to your site with plugins.

In this guide, I’ll explain to you how to create your WordPress plugin. I’ll show you how to use best practices in plugin development, get the code in your plugin to run, and structure your plugin’s code and files. I’ll also walk you into the process of creating your first plugin and answer some FAQs.

Free and Paid WORDPRESS PLUGIN

 

If you need to add some specific features to your website, there are lots of places you can buy or download plugins. The WordPress plugin directory adds thousands of free plugins that’ll help you create the site you want. However, if you’re looking for more excellent features, a more sweeping user interface, or improved support, it’s deserving buying premium plugins from authors on CodeCanyon. But sometimes, you sway need to code your plugin! This can be extra efficient than using a third-party plugin, as you force only need a part of the code given by those. It also means you can develop a plugin that meets your needs precisely, or you can customize an actual plugin to adapt it for your site.

What Do You Need to Make a Plugin?

 

To create your plugin and run it on your WordPress site, you’ll want:

  • a code editor
  • an additional WordPress installation with a copy of your live site for testing

Don’t test your plugin on your live site until you know it works!

Types of WORDPRESS PLUGIN

 

Plugins can take out lots of tasks. What others all have in general is that they add new functionality to your site. Types of WordPress plugin add:

  • site maintenance plugins for things like security, performance, or backups
  • marketing and sales plugins for something like SEO, social media, or eCommerce
  • content plugins such as custom post types, widgets, shortcodes, forms, galleries, and video feeds
  • API plugins that work with the WordPress REST API or pull in external content from services like Google Maps
  • community plugins that add social networking features

 

What Goes Into a WORDPRESS PLUGIN

 

Before y’all get begun building your plugin, it’s worth knowing what fits into a plugin. Precisely what the plugin code will look like will depend on your plugin: any is small, with just one plugin file, while others are huge, with multiple add files, scripts, stylesheets, and template files. And there are plenty that falls someplace in the middle.

 

The Main Plugin File WORDPRESS PLUGIN

 

The main plugin file is necessary. It will forever be a PHP file, and it orders always receive a commented-out text that tells WordPress about your plugin.

Folder Structure

 

While there exist no complex and secure rules on how you make the folders in your plugin, it makes sense to use the same structure that other plugin developers use. That will familiarise you with the way other plugins are built also mean that if you share your code in the future, it order make sense to other people.

Folders in your plugin force include:

  • CSS or styles for stylesheets
  • scripts for JavaScript
  • includes for include files
  • templates for template files that your plugin outputs
  • assets for media and other asset files
  • i18n for internationalisation files

 

Scripts and Stylesheets

 

If your plugin outputs content that wants styling, both in the front-end or in some admin screens, you may wish to stylesheets. And if your plugin will use scripts, you’ll want to files for these.

It makes sense to keep those in their folder, even if you have one of each. You’ll need to enqueue those scripts and stylesheets using a dedicated function in your central plugin file. I’ll show you wherewith to do this when we’re building the plugin.