CF

Your First WordPress Plugin

2h 21m 28s
English
Paid
Updated September 2026

Your First WordPress Plugin is a 43-lesson 2 hours 21 minutes self-paced course by WP Sessions. Write Your First WordPress Plugin from Scratch Taught by Pippin Williamson, this course breaks down what makes a WordPress plugin work by building one from the ground up: a Simple Post Expiration plugin that does one job well, prepending…

Course facts

Lessons
43
Duration
2 hours 21 minutes
Level
All levels
Language
English
Updated
2026-09-11
Instructor
WP Sessions
Price
Premium

Write Your First WordPress Plugin from Scratch

Taught by Pippin Williamson, this course breaks down what makes a WordPress plugin work by building one from the ground up: a Simple Post Expiration plugin that does one job well, prepending "Expired" to a post's title once a set date has passed.

What You'll Learn

Along the way, you'll get familiar with WordPress coding standards, work directly with the Plugin API, and use several core hooks to tie your code into WordPress itself. Every function and file in the plugin is built up piece by piece, so you can see exactly why each part exists.

Who It's For

Whether you're writing your very first plugin or looking to sharpen the structure of existing WordPress projects, this course offers a practical, hands-on foundation.

Who teaches Your First WordPress Plugin? WP Sessions

WP Sessions thumbnail

WP Sessions is a long-running paid video-tutorial site for WordPress developers founded by Brian Richards. The catalog is more focused on the building side of WordPress (plugin and theme development, custom workflows, the underlying PHP and JavaScript) than on the user / site-builder side that most generic WordPress tutorials cover.

The CourseFlix listing carries Your First WordPress Plugin from the WP Sessions catalog. Material is paid and aimed at developers who already know PHP and want to build custom WordPress functionality rather than configure existing plugins.

What lessons are included in Your First WordPress Plugin?

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#1: 1-Course Introduction
All Course Lessons (43)
#Lesson TitleDurationAccess
1
1-Course Introduction Demo
01:16
2
2-Our Demo Plugin
01:49
3
3-Procedural vs Object-Oriented Programming
02:42
4
4-WordPress Coding Standards
01:45
5
5-Structure Overview
01:24
6
6-Primary Plugin File
01:41
7
7-Plugin header
03:21
8
8-Plugin Header Extras
02:00
9
9-Section Homework
01:20
10
10-Intro to Actions and Filters
00:56
11
11-Additional Hook Resources
01:02
12
12-Filter Hooks
01:16
13
13-Action Hooks
02:02
14
14-Writing Your First Action Hook
05:01
15
15-Including a New Plugin File
03:04
16
16-Adding output to the Publish metabox
02:29
17
17-Creating our first input
02:26
18
18-Saving and Deleting Post Meta
05:39
19
19-Security Checks before Saving Options
04:36
20
20-Properly Including JavaScript and CSS
07:46
21
21-Writing our custom JS
08:18
22
22-Getting & Checking Post Meta
04:26
23
23-Filtering the Post Title
03:26
24
24-Settings API Introduction
02:29
25
25-Registering a Setting
04:32
26
26-Rendering a Setting
06:05
27
27-Introduction to Shortcodes
01:05
28
28-Registering a Shortcode and Attributes
05:14
29
29-Rendering Shortcode Content
03:59
30
30-Introduction to Working with Widgets
00:45
31
31-Instantiating the Widget
03:28
32
32-Creating Widget Output, Part 1
02:38
33
33-Creating Widget Output, Part 2
03:15
34
34-Saving Widget Data
01:46
35
35-Creating a Widget Settings Form
04:38
36
36-Final Product Review
01:49
37
37-Introduction to Internationalization
01:35
38
38-Creating Translatable Text
05:19
39
39-Translating a Plugin using Poedit
03:37
40
40-Registering an Uninstall Script
05:47
41
41-Submitting Your Plugin to WordPress.org
04:27
42
42-Uploading Your Plugin via SVN
03:56
43
43-Adding Plugin Details via readme.txt
05:19
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What courses are similar to Your First WordPress Plugin?

Frequently asked questions

What prerequisites are needed before taking this course?
Before enrolling, students should have a basic understanding of WordPress and some experience with PHP, as the course involves writing PHP code for WordPress plugins. Familiarity with WordPress coding standards and the Plugin API will be beneficial, but these are also covered during the course.
What will I build during this course?
Students will build a Simple Post Expiration plugin. This plugin is designed to prepend 'Expired' to a post's title after a specified date has passed. Through this project, you'll learn to construct each function and file from scratch while applying WordPress coding standards and utilizing core hooks.
Who is the target audience for this course?
This course is ideal for developers new to WordPress plugin development or those looking to enhance their plugin development skills. It is also suitable for anyone eager to understand the intricacies of WordPress plugins and gain practical experience in building one.
How does this course compare to other WordPress development courses?
Unlike broader WordPress development courses, this one focuses specifically on plugin development, providing a deep dive into creating a functional plugin from start to finish. It emphasizes practical skills such as using the Plugin API, core hooks, and adhering to WordPress coding standards.
What specific tools or platforms are used in this course?
The course makes use of the WordPress Plugin API and core hooks extensively. Students will also learn to use Poedit for translating plugins and SVN for uploading plugins to WordPress.org. JavaScript and CSS are included as part of the plugin development process.
What topics are not covered in this course?
The course does not cover WordPress theme development, in-depth PHP programming beyond what's necessary for plugins, or advanced JavaScript frameworks. It focuses solely on building a WordPress plugin and related tasks such as internationalization and submission to WordPress.org.
How much time should I expect to commit to this course?
The course consists of 43 lessons. While the total runtime is not specified, students should expect to spend additional time on exercises, homework, and reviewing lessons to fully grasp the concepts, especially if they are new to plugin development.