Irrespective of how daunting developing a website may sound, it is critical to have one. But why? Because your website is the face of your brand. In most cases, it is the first point of contact between your potential client and you. As a result, the website you develop should have a balance in terms of usability, design, and content to meet the business goals. This is where a WordPress developer comes into the picture. But why? Because they can help you achieve this balance without much hassle.
A professional WordPress developer or WordPress development company is well-versed in WordPress development. And because of this advanced knowledge, the demand for WordPress developers is rising.
WordPress development is an incredible career option because of the platform’s evolution. Also, you will be surprised that WordPress powers approximately 41.4% of the web. After reading these statistics, one can only imagine the need for a WordPress expert.
So, if you wish to become a WordPress developer or offer WordPress development services, read further. This blog will walk you through everything there is about a WordPress developer.
Article content
- What is WordPress?
- What is WordPress Used For?
- What Makes WordPress Development So Popular?
- Statistics on WordPress
- WordPress Developer: An Overview
- WordPress Developer Skills and Competencies
- WordPress Developer Salary and Trends: How Much Can A WordPress Programmer Earn?
- WordPress Developer Responsibilities
- WordPress Developer Job Description
- WordPress Developer Interview Questions
- Why Hire WordPress Developers?
- What Is The Future Scope Of WordPress Development?
What is WordPress?
Simply put, WordPress is an open-source content management system written in PHP. This means that it is a free-to-use platform. WordPress evolved from a content management system to offer more features. Released in 2003, this platform needs a WordPress developer to create functional websites.
What is WordPress Used For?
WordPress was initially designed to serve as a blog-publishing system. But thanks to the constant evolution, today, it supports a variety of web content. These include the following:
- Mailing Lists
- Forums
- Media Galleries
- Membership Sites
- eCommerce platform
- Learning Management Systems (LMS) and more.
WordPress themes and plugins help a WordPress developer to control WordPress website development. WordPress offers more than 4200 free themes and 10,000+ premium themes. Also, it has dedicated panels for managing almost all aspects of your website. You may also develop a basic website with no codes. But it’s best to hire a WordPress developer for functional and unforgettable websites.
What Makes WordPress Development So Popular?
WordPress is one of the top preferred platforms for developing a website. The following are some of the reasons why WordPress development is popular:
- Cost-Effective: Once your website sees an increase in traffic and users, you must stay up. You can do so by ensuring server resources, enhancing security, and adding features. But all these are expensive, with the costs adding up quickly. Also, WordPress is available for free download and customization, aiding in budget maintenance.
- High Customization: WordPress gives you a simple way to change how your website looks. You can have a look at your website, which is unique thanks to the thousands of accessible themes. Also, if you don’t like the existing themes, hire a designer and WordPress developer for WordPress theme development.
- Thousands of Plug-ins: There is a WordPress plugin for everything you need to do with your website. But if not, you can easily add one to the website by WordPress plugin development. Furthermore, these plugins provide all the standard elements your company seeks. This makes it easy to create websites with the latest features without a basic understanding of coding.
- Manageable Websites: You can update information on your website and change any component. Also, you can try free themes, change pages, remove outdated information, and much more.
- Supportive Development Process: You may get help for WordPress web development issues from the community. It is very active and engaged.
Statistics on WordPress
WordPress development is a popular choice because of its simplicity and ease. Following are some statistics that show how popular it is:
- WordPress is the most preferred choice among the top 1 million websites using open-source technology.
- There are 24.8 million WordPress sites that are live.
- WordPress has nearly 60,000 free available plugins.
- WordPress’s most popular theme has earned over $30 million.
- Two out of five websites are powered by WordPress.
- The usage of WordPress has increased by an average of 12% per year. Its current usage in 2022 is 43.2%.
- WordPress has 9,000+ free themes in its official repository.
The statistics above prove the preference for WordPress development in the industry. Also, this popularity increases the demand for a WordPress developer for custom WordPress development.
WordPress Developer: An Overview
Wondering whether it’s worth becoming a WordPress developer? The statistics prove it is. So, who exactly is a WordPress developer?
WordPress for developers is easy to use. A WordPress developer is a web developer specializing in building websites using WordPress. Also, they have the skills and knowledge to create a functional, responsive website. This includes the front end and the back end as well. This is because they are full-stack developers. Furthermore, they are adept at improving the software or building a custom website.
As for their career paths, a WordPress developer may be hired by the following:
- A company
- An agency
- Or work as an independent freelancer
The following sites can help you find clients if you wish to become an independent WordPress developer:
- WordPress Jobs
- Codeable.io
Following are the companies or agencies that usually have WordPress developer jobs:
- Software development companies or agencies
- Digital Marketing companies or agencies
- Software as a Service (SaaS) management businesses or others.
It is interesting to note that a WordPress developer is also a skilled designer. Designing is one of the skillsets you need to thrive as a WordPress developer. But that’s not all. So, let’s see what kind of skills and competencies you need to have.
WordPress Developer Skills and Competencies
You must have several skills and competencies. They are determining factors in hiring. Furthermore, your skills will help clients or companies predict the outputs you deliver.
The following are some WordPress developer skills and competencies for WordPress web development:
- They should have completed their bachelor’s in Computer science or a related field.
- HTML or Hyper Text Markup Language knowledge to build the front end.
- Understanding CSS or Cascading Style Sheets to control how an element looks on the web page.
- Basic Photoshop tools like the “Move” tool to convert PSD files to HTML.
- Aware about JavaScript to make the theme or the plugin interactive.
- Knowledge of JavaScript libraries like Angolia Places and Anime. JS.
- Know how to use different frameworks like Angular and VUE.JS.
- Knowledgeable about PHP or HyperText Preprocessor for backend development.
- MySQL for database management.
- Knowledge about UI and UX.
- Knowledge of WordPress theme development and WordPress plugin development. This offers customization.
- A brief understanding of sales and marketing. Aspects like target audience, their needs, and how to appeal to them.
- Understanding of Search Engine Optimization. Aspects like the influence of web page components on indexing by a search engine and more.
- Knowledge about web crawlers, site maps, meta tags, and indexing.
- Ability to work with different screen resolutions.
- Understanding of responsive designs
- Awareness of security issues and how to avoid or solve them
- Effective teamwork and open communication
- Know how to use project management tools and software development methods
WordPress Developer Salary and Trends: How Much Can A WordPress Programmer Earn?
WordPress developer jobs are among some of the well-paying jobs. The following is a general overview of the WordPress developer salary:
- The average pay for WordPress developers is $53,000.
- In the United States, the average hourly salary of a WordPress developer is $32.41, with a cash bonus per year of $2,800.
- Top earners in the US make $94,000 yearly.
- The annual salaries in the US (between the 25th and the 75th percentile) range from $45,500 to $75,500.
- In India, the average salary is INR 3,02,192 per year.
The salary of a WordPress developer depends on many factors. Following are some of them:
- Skill set and competencies
- Years of experience
- Previous projects
- Specialization
- Extra skills (if any)
WordPress Developer Responsibilities
As a WordPress developer in a company or an agency, you must be independent yet a team worker. Furthermore, you should be accountable for your actions and fulfil all responsibilities. The following are some of them:
- Having a discussion about website functionality and design with clients.
- Designing and constructing the front end of a website.
- Building the architecture of the website.
- Creating and maintaining the server and database integration for a website.
- Creating WordPress plugins and themes.
- Testing the performance of websites.
- Solving content problems.
- WordPress instruction with the client.
- Tracking the functioning of the live website.
WordPress Developer Job Description
A WordPress developer job description is detailed with all the information. The company or the agency posting the description will also share who they are and what they do.
Furthermore, the description lists the responsibilities of the WordPress developer. For instance, developing the front end and back end of the website. It may also include minute responsibilities like plugin and WordPress theme development.
Additionally, the description may include a list of personal skills. Especially if you apply to a company or an agency. These personal skills may include teamwork, cross-functional coordination and more.
The description will also specify the technical skills needed to do the job. This will be in line with the responsibilities.
In short, an ideal description will include the following:
- Company details
- Responsibilities
- Skills and competencies
- Extra skills like personal skills
- Miscellaneous information
WordPress Developer Interview Questions
As a WordPress developer, you will have to sit through interviews. That is if you are applying to a company or agency. The following are a few WordPress developer interview questions you can expect:
General Questions
- Why do you want to work with us?
- Tell us a little about yourself.
- Why are you looking for a new role?
- Tell us a little about your previous roles and experience.
- What makes you suitable for this position?
- What is your favourite website? Explain why.
Technical Questions
- What is your WordPress development procedure for a WordPress development job?
- Describe your top technical skills.
- Describe the most recent project you finished. Highlight your contributions and any difficulties you encountered.
- Have you ever created WordPress plugins before?
- How can you learn new technical abilities?
- What are the advantages of utilizing WordPress?
- Are you familiar with domain name services and web hosting?
- How do you transform customer requirements into a WordPress site that works flawlessly? Could you describe the steps you took to build your product?
- What further web design expertise do you have?
- How can you guarantee site performance for SEO?
- How much time should you give to the turnover on WordPress sites?
- What safety precautions do you include while creating WordPress sites?
- How are WordPress plugins made?
- Can you use WordPress without having a blog?
- List and explain some Home Screen components.
- Differentiate between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. Which is more secure and why?
Why Hire WordPress Developers?
Everyone wants to make the most out of their websites. So, if you are going to create a website using WordPress, why not do it the best way possible? That is by hiring a WordPress developer.
Besides this, there are many specific reasons to hire WordPress developers. Following are some of them:
- WordPress developers can build a safe and expandable website. That is because they are knowledgeable about WordPress code standards.
- Most small businesses choose WordPress developers to build their websites. It is so because it is affordable and can be quickly launched.
- Many developers provide maintenance plans for the website’s security and keep it updated.
- Others may use a WordPress developer for help with their website. That is if they lack the time or knowledge to do it themselves.
- A WordPress developer has the skills and experience to handle the backend aspects. This is to ensure a website functions properly.
- Compared to unskilled developers, experienced developers execute advanced tasks quickly with accuracy.
What Is The Future Scope Of WordPress Development?
WordPress development is the leading platform for developing functional, responsive websites. Furthermore, as more businesses develop websites, the demand for WordPress experts will increase.
As a platform, it is constantly evolving to meet the users’ requirements. Also, with advanced security features and automated tools, WordPress development has come a long way. And undoubtedly, WordPress development will become better!