Week 1 – WordPress Basics & Setup
- What is WordPress? (CMS Overview)
- WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
- Installing WordPress locally (XAMPP, WAMP, Local by Flywheel)
- Admin Dashboard Overview
- Pages vs Posts, Categories & Tags
- Menus, Widgets, Media Library, User Roles
Practice:
- Install WordPress locally
- Create pages, posts, categories, and menus
- Mini Project: Simple blog setup on local server
Week 2 – Themes & Customization
- Free vs Premium Themes
- Installing & Activating Themes
- Theme Customizer, Widgets, Menus
- Child Themes Basics
- Customizing Colors, Fonts, Header & Footer
Practice:
- Customize theme appearance
- Create a child theme
- Mini Project: Personal blog/portfolio website with customized theme
Week 3 – Plugins & Page Builders
- What are plugins and why use them
- Installing & activating plugins
- Essential plugins: SEO, Contact Forms, Security, Caching
- Introduction to Elementor/WPBakery/Divi
- Drag-and-drop design, sections, templates, and widgets
Practice:
- Build a landing page using Elementor
- Add contact forms and SEO plugins
- Mini Project: Landing page with contact form and SEO setup
Week 4 – WordPress Theme Development Basics
- WordPress Template Hierarchy
- Introduction to PHP in WordPress
- Creating a basic custom theme (index.php, header.php, footer.php, style.css)
- Adding theme support (menus, featured images, post thumbnails)
Practice:
- Create a simple custom theme skeleton
- Add homepage, header, and footer templates
- Mini Project: Custom theme for portfolio or blog
Week 5 – Advanced Theme & Plugin Development
- Custom Page Templates
- The Loop (WP_Query)
- Sidebar & Widget Areas
- Creating simple plugins
- Shortcodes, Hooks (Actions & Filters)
- Custom Post Types (CPT) & Custom Fields (ACF)
Practice:
- Create CPT for portfolio or products
- Display CPT on frontend
- Build a plugin with a shortcode
- Mini Project: Portfolio site with custom post types and plugin features
Week 6 – WooCommerce & E-commerce Setup
- Installing WooCommerce
- Product types, categories, and attributes
- Managing orders, customers, coupons
- Payment gateways (sandbox mode)
- Customizing WooCommerce templates (shop, product, checkout)
Practice:
- Setup shop with sample products
- Customize product pages and checkout
- Mini Project: Basic e-commerce website
Week 7 – WordPress SEO, Performance & Security
- On-page SEO & XML sitemaps
- Speed optimization (caching, minification, image optimization)
- Security best practices (SSL, backups, Wordfence)
- Browser compatibility & responsive testing
- WordPress REST API basics
Practice:
- Optimize site for speed and SEO
- Implement basic security measures
- Fetch posts via REST API (optional)
- Mini Project: Fully optimized blog or e-commerce website
Week 8 – Capstone Project Development
Project Ideas:
- Personal portfolio site (custom theme + plugin)
- E-commerce store (WooCommerce + customizations)
- Blogging platform with CPT & custom features
- Corporate/business website with booking or testimonial plugin
Deliverables:
- Fully functional, responsive WordPress website
- Optimized for SEO & performance
- Hosted online (Live server or Cloud hosting)
- GitHub repository for version control
