Adding new menus, both top level and sub level, to the WordPress Dashboard is a really common task for plugins. Whether it be via a custom post type, a settings page, or even a help page, dashboard menus are often the focus point for plugins from a user perspective, so it’s really important that you [...]
View PostPlugin Development 101 – Intro to Loading Scripts and Styles

In this part of Plugin Development 101 you will be introduced to how to load scripts and styles in your WordPress plugins. This is a fundamental element of WordPress plugin development and is used in the vast majority of all plugins. There are many ways that asset loading can be done wrong, so I want to [...]
View PostUser Follow System – Part 5
This part of the User Follow System tutorial series will focus on writing the necessary javascript for trigger the follow/unfollow actions. When a follow or unfollow link is clicked, the javascript will trigger an ajax action that then talks to the server and tells it which user is being followed or unfollowed, and which user [...]
View PostPlugin Development 101 – Intro to Short Codes

The WordPress short code API is one that plugin developers use a lot. Short codes are used for kinds of things: gallerys, related post lists, purchase buttons, alert messages, etc. Whether your plugin uses them or not, every single plugin developer will write at least one short code. This part of Plugin Development 101 will [...]
View Post add_shortcode Short CodePlugin Development 101 – Registering a Custom Post Type

This part of the series is the first one where we look at creating a complete sample plugin. It’s a very simple plugin, but a complete plugin nonetheless. For this plugin we are registering a new customer post type called “Books”. Registering custom post types is something that we do a lot in plugin development, [...]
View Post register_post_typePlugin Development 101 – Intro to Actions

In this part of Plugin Development 101 we take a look at another of the most important tools plugin developers use every day: actions. Just like filters, the presence of actions throughout WordPress are one of the elements that make plugin development possible, so having a good understanding of what they are and how they [...]
View Post add_action, do_actionUser Follow System Part 4
In this part of the User Follow System tutorial series, we will be writing our function to display follow / unfollow links.
View PostPlugin Development 101 – An Intro to Filters

In this part of Plugin Development 101 we take a look at one of the most important tools plugin developers use every day: filters. The presence of filters throughout WordPress are one of the elements that make plugin development possible, so having a good understanding of what they are and how they work is extremely [...]
View Post add_filter, apply_filtersPlugin Development 101 – General Best Practices

Having an understanding of best practices that should be followed when writing a WordPress plugin is nearly as important as understanding how to write the plugin itself. The advantages of following general best practices are huge, and there is not a single valid reason why best practices should not be followed. This part of Plugin [...]
View PostPlugin Development 101 – What Makes a Plugin?

In this first real part of the Plugin Development 101 tutorial series we look into what makes a plugin. How is a plugin different than any other .php file? How do you make WordPress recognize your code as a plugin? This entry is part 2 of 8 in the Plugin Development 101 Series
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