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christopher walsh
10,763 PointsIs there a career in WordPress?
Im having an extremely difficult time picking up on coding languages. I often times wonder if one can use WYSIWYG softwares and CMS's and still be considered a real "web designer".
A quick google search of "wordpress designer" will bring up many sites of people relying on wordpress to design their websites for clients. But this seems to fall at the mercy of freelance work and chasing/hunting for clients.
I know I want to be a part of the web design field and I always imagined being a junior member of a team or startup, doing a piece of the puzzle while getting mentorship and building skills. But it seems you need to know code for that and Im really beating myself up trying to learn code.
So is there a career track in WordPress? and/or is WordPress only for freelancers?
2 Answers
Ryan Duchene
Courses Plus Student 46,022 PointsUnfortunately, you cannot really be in web design without learning at least some code. Knowing HTML and CSS is a must, and knowing Sass or some other preprocessor is of high value. In a design firm, learning a programming language like PHP probably isn't a requirement, but it definitely improves your chances, especially if you're going for WordPress.
But don't give up on learning a programming language! I've been in web development for almost three years, and it took me over a year to grasp just basic programming concepts. It's okay; you're not the only one who's been there. Keep practicing and stick with it; you'll get the hang of it. :)
Also, once you learn your first language, 90% of its concepts will transfer over to other languages, so your first langauge is your hardest. After that, it's significantly easier.
Lastly, WordPress is certainly not limited to freelancers. I've applied to design firms who build WordPress sites. :)
Good luck!
EDIT: Mike said it really well above.
Zac Gordon
Treehouse Guest TeacherThere is definitely employment at companies and agencies knowing working with WordPress. However you will eventually need to learn html, css, JS and PHP in order to work as a WordPress designer or developer.
mikes02
Courses Plus Student 16,968 Pointsmikes02
Courses Plus Student 16,968 PointsTry not to beat yourself up too badly, coding does not come naturally for everyone, some people seem to have a real talent for it and others (like myself) have to work much harder, study, practice, and just dedicate time and energy to it. You're not going to become good overnight, it's going to take time and dedication to really make strides. The key is to not overwhelm yourself with trying to learn too much all at once, take your time and focus on the building blocks of the web, primarily HTML and CSS, then slowly start to work in others like Javascript/jQuery, PHP, and then maybe work your way into a CMS like WordPress.
It may also be helpful to look for internship opportunities in your area, or for practice just design and build things in your spare time, if you want to learn WordPress design out a simple 3-5 page portfolio or sample website and then work through actually building that out in WordPress. There's really no substitute for practice. Even if you never use what you build or make it public the practice alone is worth the time invested. When I wanted to get into WordPress I just designed a site and dove in, and with WordPress there are tons of resources online to get you started and even some great books if you like to read along.
I too struggle with feeling inadequate at times or that I am not getting good enough or learning enough and I know for a fact many other developers go through the same feelings, it's perfectly normal, just remember that you have to start somewhere and nobody became an expert overnight. I would advise really working hard to gain a solid understanding of HTML and CSS so you have a strong foundation and then from there build on that skillset.
There are definitely career opportunities out there for WordPress developers, there's even companies that specialize strictly in WordPress, but you will need a solid foundation in HTML, CSS, and PHP to really be able to dive into WordPress and work with it well.