Also posted on r/learnprogramming.
some background:
I’m 30F. Was a fulltime artist and musician for a decade. Not tech savvy AT ALL.
I lost my gigs, touring opportunities during the pandemic I applied to get an education in something “useful” and the government gave me a grant to learn web development. I didn’t even know what that was, I was just a bored opportunist applying to everything under the sun so I didn’t have to work a mindless job.
I took a 3 year programmed that was condensed into 1.5 years. My classes were extremely challenging. If I missed one class or failed a course I was kicked out of the program and would stop receiving money. I learned HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Figma, PHP, MySql and then at the end React, Angular, Vue.Js, Bootstrap and Laravel.
I had one 3 month class on WordPress where we coded a theme from scratch. We used underscore as a starting point and coded everything using PHP, and SASS. I made a custom plug-in (just a little carrousel using vanilla javaScript). Honestly this was the class in which I retained the least because I was learning Laravel and React at the same time and I prioritized those… not thinking that I would one day be working in WordPress.
The internship:
I am using the theme Listeo to create a marketplace for artists. I work for a startup and I am the only developper. I first started by making myself a local development environment on my computer. Then I got the theme all set up and ready. My boss does not know how to code… but my question is….
Is there even any coding to be done? I’m so confused… I know how to code! But the theme seems to have everything already made… I’m used to changing colors using SASS and making my own custom variables for everything and now I can do it all on the interface. Is this normal? To essentially not have to code? I like design and I can make the website look really stylish. I guess I’m just shocked at how little I am coding.
wordpress:
what are some resources to learn WordPress that include learning the interface AND coding. A lot of the tutorials I see are for making websites without using a single line of code.
words of encouragement ???
[ad_2]
Kudos to you for learning web dev like that. Very impressive.
Yes it’s possible to “build” a website with WordPress without writing any code. It’s one of the reasons why WordPress is so popular.
You are the only developer there. I assume that means you are the one who chose to do it this way, without writing any code. You can do it however you want, it’s up to you. If you think using a commercial theme and a plugin is the best solution for the job, that’s your choice.
It also depends on your client or employer. In my experience higher end clients prefer you to write your own code and not use an off the shelf theme and minimal use of plugins. Commercial themes add a ton of bloat and slowdown to your site because of all the code in them that has to get loaded but never gets used. And the WordPress admin gets littered with junk that nobody wants to see.
In my experience no theme ever has every option that I need. At least a little bit of code customization is required. Especially if you have a designer who has given you detailed designs to replicate, you could never recreate the design exactly without adding a little custom CSS and modifying some theme templates.
My preference when developing is to do it how you learned, with the Underscores starter theme and writing custom templates and CSS.
If your client is insisting on using commercial themes and plugins, my advice would be start looking for another job because you’re overqualified. Unless this job leads to much higher pay or good connections, I would get paid and bounce. Don’t let your valuable skills languish.
is a good resource.
WordPress is hard to learn how to do correctly.
Sounds like you’re using a prebuilt theme forest theme. I would never agree to that. This is generally how I do things:
There are starter themes you could use like underscores, but in your situation you’re basically just building a site with building blocks someone else already built.
I’ve been a WordPress dev for years, feel free to DM if you need specific advice.