Best Resources To Get Started With WordPress Development

I have been writing this blog for a while now, and while I have tried to cover a whole lot of WordPress topics, I have not posted on how to get started with WordPress and go from beginning to advanced fast. There is just too much to learn and no matter how advanced you are, chances are there are more things you need to learn about WordPress. That’s why I have decided to create this list to discuss tools and resources you can refer to take your WordPress game to the next level.

WordPress for Beginners

• WordPress Entrepreneur: learn how to setup, customize & use a WordPress website. Easy to read and makes you dangerous when it comes to WP.
• WordPress Foundations 2.7: Second Edition: a great book that shows you what you need to know to find your way around WordPress.
• WordPress for Dummies: the best book to get started with WordPress if you have no idea what you are doing.
• Easy Guide to Blogging (vol.1 ): a good video training course that teaches you how to get started with WordPress blogging. Excellent for beginners. Don’t want to read a book? Then, this is for you.

Theme & Plugin Development

• How to Theme WordPress: learn how to develop a theme for WordPress fast. Learn what you need to do to develop attractive themes. Great video course.
• WordPress Theme Design: a complete guide to creating professional WordPress themes fast. A smash hit by Packt Publishing.
• How to be a Rockstar WordPress Designer: this guide shows you how to create your own themes and make money online from your art work.
• WordPress Plugin Development: another Packet Publishing book that covers WordPress plugin development. Lots of sample code and clear instructions on how to write killer plugins.
• WordPress On Crack: if you need someone to take your hand and show you how to write cool plugins from start to finish, this is the guide you should read. Comes with video training movies as well.
• Total Training Library: a great way to stay on the top of the latest developments and technologies in the world of design. Master everything Adobe with Total Training video training.

Advanced: Programming and API

WordPress Blogging

• Building a WordPress Blog People Want to Read: you may get real good with WordPress but if you can’t write a blog the right away, then you are not going to get a whole lot of visitors. No one wants to know what you have had for your lunch. So instead of writing about that, read this book to find out what works.
• Blogging To the Bank: more advanced tactics to write killer blog posts and make a living online from blogging.
• WordPress for Business Bloggers: if you are working for a corporation and have been asked to take over their business blog, then this is the book you should read. It shows you what you should do and not to do with a business blog.
• ProBlogger: written by legendary blogger, Darren Rowse, this book walks you through everything you need to know to develop a community around your blog and make money online.

WordPress as a Business

• Start Your Own Blogging Business: if you plan to start a business around your blog, you need a guide to walk you through the steps you need to take to build and grow your business. This books shows you what you need to keep in mind when starting your business.
• How to be a Rockstar Freelancer: if you plan to start your own WP consulting business, you need to read this guide to learn what you need to do and avoid to make it big.

WordPress Hosting

• DreamHost: my current web host. They are pretty decent and the support is wonderful. The one click WordPress install is very useful ($50 off coupon: WPJEDI)
• Wpwebhost: tailored towards the needs of WordPress site owners. Supports WordPress MU as well.
• Blue Host: used by a whole lot of small businesses for blogging, pod-casting, and …
• HostGator: another top host for WordPress sites. Compatible with many third party services.
• Yahoo!: Yahoo! web hosting is a top hosting service for all types of websites. You can’t go wrong with Yahoo! (Coupon Code: WHMS35OFF).

WordPress Themes

• Business themes: 45 cool premium themes that get you started with your WordPress corporate site fast.
• Blogging Themes: 52 premium themes for anyone interested in blogging professionally.
• Vlogging Themes: 12 best WordPress themes for video bloggers. Allow you to post your videos to your vlog easily.

Social Media

• Twitter Power: a killer book by Joel Comm that shows you how to get the most out of Twitter.
• Twitter Hacks: learn everything there is about Twitter on this Twitter-exclusive Squidoo page.
• Twitter Tips, Tricks, and Tweets: another book on Twitter that teaches you how gain and grow your follower list fast.
  
• Facebook Marketing: learn how to take advantage of Facebook to push your WordPress blog.

Tools

• Bookmarking Demon: if you need free traffic for your blog, this is one killer tool to try. Let’s you submit your blog posts to social media sites fast.
• Social Maximizer: a service that will automatically submit your blog posts to social networking sites. It’s 19 cents per submission which is pretty cheap.
• Social Submitter: submit your sites to social bookmarking sites easily with Social Submitter.
• EzineArticles Marketing: learn how to use article marketing to drive traffic to your WordPress blog.

There you have it. Whether you are a complete beginner or fairly advanced with WP, you can still get a lot of value from the above resources. The good thing about being a WordPress user is that you will have to be on your toes all the time and never stop learning. It’s all fun though.

Your turn: please feel free to share your favorite WordPress tool/guide here.