When making sites I normally would use a CMS, a theme, plugins, and some custom HTML/CSS code to make it look the way I wanted it to. Recently I got handed a website that the original developer told me had only one page that was customized. This turned out to be a half truth, and I realized this after already transferring everything under my control.
From what I understand he used underscores, which is a template for making a custom WP theme, and coded it in PHP. This I have never done before. I took a course in C++, but PHP is totally out of my wheelhouse. My client has specific changes they want me to make to update the site, but that would require me to go into the code and redo some things.
What steps should I take to understand the build and be able to customize it how I want?
I see some resources such as WP Codex and [php.net](https://php.net). Is there a course like [https://laracasts.com/series/php-for-beginners-2023-edition](https://laracasts.com/series/php-for-beginners-2023-edition) that is recommended specifically for WP? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
[ad_2]
The simplest method (for me anyway, and many other devs), is to ‘learn by doing’. Grab a backup the site, install it in a local instance ([https://localwp.com](https://localwp.com) is what a lot of devs use) and just start going through the code. The main place you’ll be looking is in /wp-content/themes/. You can learn the basic of WP on learn.wordpress.org.
If you’d prefer to do a course, this Udemy course gets recommended here a lot [https://www.udemy.com/course/become-a-wordpress-developer-php-javascript/](https://www.udemy.com/course/become-a-wordpress-developer-php-javascript/)
I started with PHP a long time ago. I think v4? I knew nothing. I started building sites with it, integrating into HTML, JS, CSS. It’s an excellent language, and has many frameworks to explore. Including, WordPress.
While there are tons of PHP resources to learn on these days, I’d recommend snagging a ” PHP beginner to rockstar” (/s) class off of Udemy or other online course company for a few bucks, as it will get you off the ground with the latest php version and guide you through real world examples, how to work with databases, ajax, etc.
Next, you can get a WordPress Theming course, or learn by doing with the Codex at your side.
AI code assistants are pretty damn good when it comes to PHP and WordPress, CSS and JS. I use Github CoPilot at work and it saves me tons of time. A free alternative is Codeium. I am able to architect what I want in comments and then work with the AI to get close to a starting point to expand upon. Literally saves me 30% of time.
As others have recommended, the only real way to get started is to build and fuck up and fix and always be learning. Stay curious.
Also, [wasn’t PHP created from C](https://www.php.net/manual/en/history.php.php)? It has elements of C++, so you really should be in a good position to get up to speed.