#wordpress plugins list

Premium WordPress Plugins & WooCommerce Extensions

Boos functionalities and add more powerful features to your website.

You can upload a group of files to your WordPress website. Without changing the core, you can expand the basic functionality or add additional features to your WordPress site. You can develop with PHP, pictures, CSS, and JS file resources.

Do you wish to give your WordPress website some more bespoke features?

To find out if a WordPress web development company has already developed a WordPress Plugin that meets your organization's needs, you can first search through numerous top free and best WordPress Plugins repositories and sources. If not, this simple guide will show you how to build a WordPress plugin from scratch.

The basic concept of the WordPress plugin

If you take advice from a WordPress consultant, a WordPress plugin development essentially has one or more functions implemented in PHP files, and PHP is the primary scripting language that powers WordPress.

In addition, it frequently includes widgets, shortcodes, and hooks (action hooks and filter hooks). These are the primary components of creating a WordPress plugin. Most businesses that lack expertise in this area prefer hiring a professional WordPress plugin developer to do the job.

Hook

Without modifying the WordPress core files, hooks are features that let you control a process at a specific time. Therefore, hooks give your plugin a mechanism to connect to the functioning of WordPress core.

In WordPress, an action is a procedure. You can include a process by using an action hook. Using WordPress' add action() function, you can manipulate actions.

A hook that alters a process is a filter. With the aid of filters, data can modify without changing its source.

Bonus read: Key differences between WordPress.com VS WordPress.org

Shortcodes

The WordPress theme is not directly accessible to WordPress plugins when they are being developed. It would help if you utilized a shortcode to interact with the WordPress theme and show the user-specific information. With the aid of shortcodes, users can add a dynamic HTML element to a post or a page.

Widgets

Thanks to widgets, developers now have another option for showing users your plugin's content. To construct a widget for your plugin, you must extend the PHP WP widget class, which WordPress provides.

If you're going to hire a WordPress expert, then we recommend you mention these required skills in your WordPress developer job description to attract the right talent in the first place.

Step-By-Step Guide Of Wordpress Plugin Development

Let's explore the critical steps in creating a custom plugin-

Step 1 – Define the Requirements

Defining your development needs is the first step in creating a WordPress plugin. Make sure you understand the purpose of the plugin before you begin.

You can implement your idea into an effective plugin when you have a clear image of the problem you're trying to tackle.

Step 2 – Create a WordPress Plugin Directory Structure

/wp-content/plugins/ is the standard WordPress directory for storing plugin code on the back end. The complexity of your plugin will determine how you organize it within this directory.

The directory's name is the same as your plugin's, lowercase, with no spaces and just dashes.

We recommend having a single PHP file containing all the plugin's code (/wp-content/plugins/my-plugin/my-plugin.php). Such a structure is ideal for a simple plugin that serves a small function.

Step 3 – Configure your Plugin

After creating your plugin directory and adding files, you must include the file header. The file's title is a PHP comment block that provides details about the plugin. The WordPress codex contains a sample file header's contents.

Step 4 – Add Functionality to your Plugin

Even if you only built a blank plugin, it does nothing. You must immediately add functionality to it. The WordPress plugin manual should be used as a reference. It is the stage where you implement your idea.

Step 5 – Package your Plugin

Even if you only built a blank plugin, it does nothing. You must immediately add functionality to it. The WordPress plugin manual should be used as a reference. It is the stage where you implement your idea.

Conclusion on WordPress Plugin Development

We glanced at how to build a plugin from scratch in this guide on WordPress plugin development. If you have the required expertise, skills, best practices, and willingness to work, you can launch a plugin, even though it takes time and patience.

However, suppose you don't have any fundamental abilities and don't have much time to acquire the fundamentals on your own. In that case, you might consider hiring a professional WordPress plugin developer specializing in creating top WordPress plugins.