“Ugh, I hate WordPress.” and “Why would you use WordPress, anyway?” These were just a few of the comments I heard as a fresh-faced developer entering the industry. So, why does WordPress have this reputation, and how can we change it?
I graduated from She Codes Bootcamp in early 2024, where I discovered my strengths in HTML/CSS and React. Eager to start my development career, I landed my first junior software developer role two months before the end of the boot camp. That’s when I encountered the reality of working with WordPress in the developer world. The experience I had as a graphic design student creating a website with a theme builder did not prepare me for the steep learning curve I faced.
There’s a lot to learn about WordPress, and as a junior developer, it can be daunting. I’ll guide you through my journey of navigating WordPress, sharing the humorous pitfalls I encountered and the lessons I learned. I’ll provide practical tips, walk you through debugging basics, highlight common knowledge gaps, and offer resources that helped me work with WordPress more effectively. If you’re a junior developer feeling overwhelmed by confusing interfaces, unexpected bugs, and the platform’s complexities, you’re not alone. My goal is to help you avoid the frustrations I faced and shift away from the negative perceptions of WordPress.
By the end of this talk, you’ll leave with a toolkit to streamline your workflow, avoid common pitfalls, and boost your confidence in tackling WordPress projects. If you are starting your dev journey and looking to refine your skills, I hope my story will help you navigate WordPress with greater ease and confidence.