by Joe Chellman | Publisher: Infinite Skills | Release Date: October 2015 | ISBN: 9781771375047

In this Creating Plugins to Extend WordPress training course, expert author Joe Chellman will teach you how to create your own plugins using the WordPress API. This course is designed for users that already have a basic working knowledge of WordPress.You will start by learning about the highlights of the WordPress API, then jump into creating your first plugin: a dashboard banner. From there, Joe will teach you how to create your second plugin, as well as how to further enhance your plugin, including how to create a widget for custom posts, register settings and sections, and prepare your plugin for localization. This video tutorial also covers additional plugin possibilities, such as using transients to cache expensive operations, implementing the transients API, and reacting to deactivation and uninstallation of your plugin. Finally, you will learn how to distribute your plugin, including how to publish independently on GitHub and submit to the WordPress.org plugin directory.Once you have completed this computer based training course, you will have learning how to create and distribute your own plugins using PHP and the WordPress API.

1. Introduction
   • Introduction And Course Overview 00:03:30
   • About The Author 00:01:02
   • Surveying The Existing Plugin Landscape 00:04:35
   • Creating A Theme VS A Plugin 00:02:22
2. Getting Ready
   • Setting Up A Local Web Server With MAMP 00:04:37
   • Setting Up WordPress On MAMP 00:03:44
   • Setting Up A Local Web Server With DesktopServer 00:05:49
   • Why And How To Use An IDE 00:05:11
   • Setting Up The PhpStorm IDE For WordPress Development 00:03:36
   • Optional: Configuring Xdebug And Connecting It To PhpStorm 00:05:55
   • Finding And Using Online And Offline Documentation 00:05:30
   • A Small Grab Bag Of Developer Tips 00:06:56
3. Highlights Of The WordPress API
   • Hooks, Actions, And Filters: A Developer's Interface With WordPress 00:04:10
   • Storing Data: Posts Or A Custom Database Table? 00:04:28
   • Plugin Security: Authentication, Sanitizing, Escaping, And Nonces 00:07:13
4. Our First Plugin: A Dashboard Banner
   • Make A Plan And Mock It Up 00:03:41
   • Create The Plugin Shell 00:04:11
   • Find The Right Hooks 00:05:35
   • Implementing The Hook We Found 00:04:58
   • Refactoring The Plugin As A Class 00:06:12
   • Adding CSS And/Or Javascript 00:05:21
5. Our Second Plugin: Movie Reviews
   • Make A Plan: The Data Model 00:02:24
   • Register The Custom Post Type 00:05:06
   • Set Configuration Options For The Custom Post Type 00:06:46
   • Add Activation And Deactivation Hooks 00:04:57
   • Create Custom Fields Using Core WordPress 00:03:58
   • Interface With Another Plugin For Better Custom Fields 00:07:49
   • Add A Taxonomy For Custom Categories 00:06:07
   • Provide A Template For Themes 00:06:45
6. Further Enhancements For Our Plugin
   • Create A Widget For The Custom Posts 00:05:03
   • Finish The Custom Widget 00:08:43
   • Create An Options Page For Settings 00:05:15
   • Register Settings And Sections 00:06:00
   • Create The User Interface For The Custom Options 00:06:57
   • Sanitize And Use The Options 00:03:48
   • Add Your Own Hooks To Your Plugin 00:06:35
   • Make Your Plugin Ready For Internationalization 00:07:23
   • Prepare Your Plugin For Localization 00:03:25
7. Additional Plugin Possibilities
   • Expand The Possibilities Of WordPress With The REST API 00:05:42
   • Use Transients To Cache Expensive Operations 00:05:23
   • Implement The Transients API 00:03:36
   • Create Custom Data Using The $wpdb Class 00:08:38
   • React To Deactivation And Uninstallation Of Your Plugin 00:08:29
8. Distributing Your Plugin
   • Submitting To The WordPress.org Plugin Directory 00:05:18
   • Publishing Independently On Github 00:04:09
   • Ideas For Commercializing Your Plugin 00:04:33
9. Conclusion
   • Additional Resources And How To Contribute 00:02:45
   • Wrap Up 00:00:39