WordPress: Creating Custom Widgets and Plugins

By: Drew Falkman

Released on: 11/4/2010

Duration: 3h 51m

Description:

In WordPress: Creating Custom Widgets and Plugins, Drew Falkman teaches PHP developers how to create custom functionality for WordPress 2.0 through 3.0 using widgets and plugins. This course starts by installing and setting up WordPress 3.0 on both Mac and Windows, then provides an in-depth look at tasks related to these WordPress add-ons: installing and administering, building and customizing, creating editable options and database tables, working with posts and pages, and utilizing jQuery and AJAX. There are also tutorials dedicated to promoting a widget or plugin, adding security, and localizing the interface. Exercise files are included with the course.

Topics include:

* Installing WPI and MAMP server solutions
* Administering WordPress plugins
* Introducing hooks
* Writing the PHP for a plugin
* Using template tags and shortcode
* Building a new widget
* Creating an admin interface
* Accessing the WordPress database
* Using jQuery and AJAX for posts and pages
* Registering and promoting plugins

Contents:

Introduction • 01:49
Welcome – 01:16
Using the exercise files – 00:33

1. Getting Started • 23:44
WordPress overview – 02:32
Installing WPI for Windows – 03:42
Installing MAMP for the Mac – 03:25
Installing and configuring WordPress – 05:51
Comparing WordPress 3.0 with previous versions – 03:12
Setting up a PHP/WordPress development environment – 05:02

2. Understanding WordPress Plugin Basics • 14:47
Exploring WordPress plugins – 03:42
Administering plugins from the WordPress admin – 05:23
Exploring where plugins reside – 02:51
Introduction to hooks – 02:51

3. Building a WordPress Plugin • 39:28
Creating the plugin PHP file(s) – 03:12
More on hooks: Actions and filters – 03:15
Installation and activation – 04:06
Writing activation code – 03:45
Writing an action – 05:12
Writing a filter – 04:15
About pluggable functions – 02:01
Writing a pluggable function – 05:30
Using template tags – 02:46
Introducing shortcode – 05:26

4. Using and Creating WordPress Widgets • 26:02
Widgets and the WordPress Widgets SubPanel – 02:54
Comparing widgets and plugins – 01:08
Using and customizing built-in widgets – 03:18
Creating a new widget – 07:21
Writing the constructor and registering widgets – 05:20
Enabling configuration of widgets – 06:01

5. Plugin Options and Administration • 44:59
Creating an admin interface – 05:25
Saving data to the database – 05:39
Securing form submission with nonces – 02:25
Options editing post-WordPress 2.7 – 04:08
Integrating with the WordPress admin menus – 03:34
WordPress admin dashboard API – 04:05
Using existing options and option editing pages in WordPress – 05:19
Using jQuery and AJAX for administration – 14:24

6. Using the WordPress Database • 27:13
Accessing the WordPress database – 05:45
Using the built-in schema – 02:21
Accessing data using $wpdb – 05:15
Creating new tables – 07:18
Inserting data – 06:34

7. The Loop, Posts, and Pages • 26:27
Introducing the Loop – 06:22
Using WP_Query() – 03:11
Custom filtering and sticky posts – 04:58
Using jQuery and AJAX for posts and pages – 11:56

8. The WordPress Plugin Lifecycle • 12:09
Registering and promoting plugins – 02:28
Creating an uninstall function – 05:53
Backward compatibility issues – 03:48

9. Security and Extensibility • 15:03
Understanding security issues – 11:20
Internationalizing your plugin – 03:43

Conclusion • 00:18
Goodbye – 00:18