Best Practices for WordPress Development

WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS). It is a powerful tool that lets you create and publish your own website. With WordPress, you can easily add new content to your sites, such as blog posts, pages, and images. You can also set up user accounts for visitors to log in and leave comments on your articles. WordPress is open-source software that's free to use. This means anyone can download it from the Internet and install it on their own web server or computer. Anyone who has a blog or website should consider using WordPress because it's easy to install and use. If you're just getting started with WordPress development, here are some best practices that will help keep your site running smoothly, but first, let's understand WordPress.

What is WordPress Development

WordPress is a PHP-based content management system (CMS) that works with either a MySQL or MariaDB database. Plugin architecture and template systems, referred to as Themes in WordPress, are among the features. WordPress began as a blog-publishing platform, but it has now expanded to include more traditional mailing lists and forums, media galleries, membership sites, learning management systems (LMS), and online commerce. WordPress is one of the most widely used content management systems, with 42.8 percent of the top 10 million websites using it as of October 2021. WordPress must be installed on a web server to function as part of an Internet hosting service like WordPress.com or on a computer running the WordPress.org software package to act as a network host in its own right. Single-user testing and learning can be done on a local PC. WordPress is easy to use as a content management system (CMS). On the other hand, WordPress development is just using WordPress as a content management system (CMS) to generate and develop websites. WordPress is a website-building factory. It's a basic analogy to explain how WordPress works: it stores content and allows users to develop and publish web pages with nothing more than a name and a hosting service. WordPress development is what you need if you want to make a simple blog or website with WordPress. WordPress has a template processor and a web template system. Its architecture is based on a front controller that routes all non-static URI requests to a single PHP file that parses the URI and determines the target page. This enables more human-readable permalinks to be supported.  

Best Practices for WordPress Development

The best practices for WordPress development depend on the needs of your website. If you use WordPress to host your site, you must ensure that your hosting provider is offering the right bandwidth and disk space. You may also want to consider installing caching plugins and ensuring that your site is optimized for speed. However, if you plan on using WordPress as a content management system for your business, then there are several steps you can take to ensure that it runs smoothly from day one. First, make sure that all of the plugins that come with WordPress are up-to-date. This way, all of the functionality on the site will work properly, and users will not experience any issues with their site when they log in. Also, if you choose to use something other than WordPress as your content management system (CMS), make sure that there is an easy way to switch between them, so users do not get confused by how things work together. If you want to get started with WordPress development, here are some best practices that will help you be successful:

1. Start with a detailed requirements document.

As a WordPress developer, creating an effective Product Requirement Document is critical. While you may be responsible for writing the document, it should be a group effort. Throughout the development process, you'll collaborate with a variety of stakeholders. This ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding the product release's objectives. It also assures that your product meets a customer's desire and can be delivered on schedule. The purpose of the product, who it's for, and why you're producing it are all common topics in product requirement documents. What you're going to build in terms of features. Criteria for the release and the release's objectives (e.g., functionality). Timeline, An estimate of when the film will be released. It's critical that key stakeholders examine a Product requirement document before it's finalized. It's also critical that everyone participating in the product's development understands the Product Requirements Document. It should be distributed to all stakeholders, including developers, testers, and management. 

2. Make sure you're using the best hosting. 

You must first ensure that your WordPress site is hosted in the proper environment before you can begin developing it. That requires finding a reputable web host who can keep your site running smoothly. Not all hosting is suitable for WordPress installation, so pick carefully. WordPress now recommends that hosting support the following for maximum performance:

• PHP version 7.4 or greater.
• MySQL version 5.6 or greater OR MariaDB version 10.1 or greater
• HTTPS support

You might wish to investigate dedicated hosting (which means your site gets its own dedicated server) if you want the fastest possible speeds (especially for more powerful sites) (instead of sharing a server with other sites). 

3. Stay away from bloated themes. 

When it comes to WordPress development, picking the proper theme is crucial. Your site will be plagued by problems if the theme is buggy or badly coded. Stick to well-rated themes with clean, simple code as a general rule of thumb. As a result, your site will load as soon as possible. There are a plethora of WordPress themes available now that are designed to work as backend website builders. However, these themes are frequently large in size and bloated with trash code, slowing down your site. Before installing a theme, read user reviews to see what others say about it. 

4. Make sure your themes and plugins are up to date. 

This WordPress tip isn't new, but it's so crucial that it deserves to be included in any list of best practices! Now is a great time to review your themes and plugins and ensure they're up to date and working properly. While it may seem inconvenient to go through all of the sites you administer merely to update these items, it is critical for site speed and security. Outdated versions may contain vulnerabilities that put the site at risk and think how much longer it will take to clean up a malware-infected site. 

6. Disable and remove unused plugins

Every plugin you install has an impact on your site's performance. Even if you aren't actively utilizing the plugin, it adds to the size of your site and slows it down with each page load. Many WordPress themes, for example, now include multiple plugins pre-installed, such as a slider plugin (which enables you to create a slideshow of images). Even if you don't use the slider, the plugin can slow down your website load time if it's turned on. Disable or delete those unneeded plugins for the best performance. 

7. Check to see if your websites are mobile-friendly. 

This isn't a new best practice, but it's still critical: your website must be totally responsive and mobile-friendly. If you're using well-maintained WordPress themes and plugins that are up to date (which you should be, according to the previous suggestion!), there's a good chance your site will automatically run well on smaller screens. If you're running a custom site design, though, you'll have to think about making sure your site is mobile-friendly a little more deliberately. If you find any changes that need to be made, test them first in a local environment or staging site. Otherwise, visitors to your site can have an odd experience while you're updating it!

8. Test on multiple devices

Most WordPress themes are now mobile-friendly, which means they automatically structure your site for optimal reading on mobile phones, tablets, and computers. (If you're stuck with a theme that isn't mobile-friendly, you can use several simple plugins to create mini mobile versions of your site.) However, don't expect your sites to look exactly as you intended them to on mobile devices. Take the time to visit your site on a mobile device to evaluate how it loads and make any necessary improvements.

9. Add SSL certificates to every site

SSL certificates were once only regarded as vital for specific sorts of websites, such as eCommerce stores or online bank portals that handled sensitive client information. Even if you're simply starting a personal blog, having an SSL certificate on your site is now considered excellent practice. Google has even started labeling sites without an SSL certificate as "not secure," which is something you definitely don't want on your site. Start with your hosting provider if you don't already have an SSL certificate. Many companies will issue SSL certificates (a common benefit of managed WordPress hosts). 

10. Involve your clients in the design and development process

There's almost nothing more frustrating than making significant headway on a project only to discover that the client is unhappy with a significant portion of it. Prioritize client feedback throughout the project this year to ensure that everyone is on the same page! Take the time to learn about a new client's business, what they like and dislike about competing websites, and their annual goals when you're onboarding them. A client questionnaire can help standardize that procedure, so you don't neglect anything throughout the project's initial stages! Once the project is up and running, check-in with your customer at various stages, such as wireframes, mockups, development, and so on. You may even provide them a URL to the site on your workstation if you're using Local to build the site, giving them an opportunity to test a working version. You'll avoid major modifications down the road and keep your clientele happy if you collect input early on.

11. Don't Forget About SEO

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is something that every website owner should consider while developing content for their website or blog page. Although WordPress has decent SEO skills built-in, many plugins can enhance search engine rankings by assisting users in rapidly finding relevant material through Google search results pages.

12. Test Everything

When it comes to developing new websites, thorough testing is critical. Before moving further with your project, you should double-check that everything works as planned. You can test in three ways: unit tests (which cover all features of a single piece of code, such as functions and classes), integration tests (which guarantee that multiple pieces of code work together), and functional tests (which ensure that multiple pieces of code work together) (functional tests evaluate how well a site performs under different conditions). 

Conclusion

The WordPress platform is an open-source content management system (CMS) that's free and easy to use. It's a powerful tool for building websites, blogs, and other types of online content. WordPress is a great choice for many businesses, including those looking to build a simple website or blog or those wanting to develop an eCommerce website. WordPress can be used for both personal and business purposes. The main difference between the two is whether you'll be using it for personal or business purposes. Mobirevo is a renowned WordPress development company in Nigeria. With the help of cutting-edge tools and advancements in the AngularJS platform, our experienced in-house WordPress developers can efficiently meet complex business needs. Even startups and small businesses can benefit from our high-quality eCommerce development services at a low cost. You can contact us today to get a free quote. Our team at Mobirevo strives to provide unrivaled services to all of our valued clients. You can also check out our case study page to see our client’s portfolio and better understand the quality of products we deliver. Also, contact us if you have any questions about our services, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Want to receive more content like this? You can sign up for our newsletter, which features curated opinions, and web app development tools for building remarkable digital assets. If you sign up for our weekly newsletter, you will be the first to know when we publish awesome content like this. You can also visit our blog to see other content created with love by our amazing team.