I’m not a WordPress programmer

I don’t work primarily on creating code, so I don’t consider myself a programmer. I use the code of others to build websites. I add some code when the WordPress Site Editor or the plugins I use are not enough for a project.

But honestly, when that code is not CSS, it is primarily snippets I find online.

Shame! Shame! Shame!

Not really, not in my case. I’m very proud of my situation. Years ago, after obtaining my engineering degree, I realized I didn’t want to make a living out of coding. I prefer being a super user.

I’ll explain later what a super user is. By the way, customers usually call me a programmer, probably because I deliver them programmed websites.

I use the WordPress Core as much as possible

Sticking to WordPress’s Core functions and the default themes provided by the Make WordPress Themes team has saved me a lot of headaches. Each year, I’m eager to test the new theme.

For something to be considered for Core, it must be accessible and well-made. Of course, it’s not bulletproof, but using this work is a good idea. It usually runs faster and is safer than commercial options.

Commercial options can be fancier but require more work to maintain. When people abandon their products, you are forced to find replacements. Overall, WordPress has an excellent reputation for backward compatibility because the WordPress community cares.

Sometimes, I still activate Gutenberg to avoid having to install plugins. The font library is the latest addition to my toolset and is now included in Core. The next one is the Grid variation of the Group block.

I still have a few favorite plugins, like Block Visibility. Plugins can help you alleviate what the Core is still lacking. Sometimes, they are unavoidable, but that’s fine!

So, I try to avoid coding but choose the best themes and plugins whenever possible.

I am a WordPress developer

Some say you are not a developer if you don’t code enough. Or if you don’t contribute to the lines of code that constitute WordPress.

While I implement, or however you want to call it, WordPress websites powered by WordPress, I test a lot. I’m a super user.

I try to report things that don’t work or could work better to the community and my employer, DreamHost.

If you don’t make websites regularly but still want to test WordPress in a fun way, there is a fantastic program with testing instructions. You don’t even need to set up a technical environment!

In one way or another, I feel I’m a WordPress developer because I contribute to developing this beautiful platform.

Early opportunities to Test WordPress 6.6

Jos Velasco.

If you have any questions about WordPress, programming, developing websites, or hosting, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

CC0 licensed photo by Shiva Shanker Bhatta from the WordPress Photo Directory.