CHAPTER 32. WORDPRESS AND CMS 284
32.3 WordPress: Advanced Concepts
In Appendix 32.2 (page 278) we discussWordPressand give some basic
assistance in getting started with it. WordPress continues to grow and its
popularity has probably passed the “tipping point” so that it will eventually
represent 80% of theCMSmarket.
So, how do you get in on all this WordPress goodness? You can write your
own themes. That way you can really take control of your websites, but at
the same time ride on the success coattails of WordPress.
http://codex.wordpress.org/is the perfect place to start your training.
WordPress uses thePHPscripting language.
WordPress uses themySQLdatabase language.
32.3.1 Developing Your Own Themes
You can start out easy by just developing your own theme. Mostly this
involves creating CSS and images. You end up with your own private version
of what WordPress should look like. (Or you can share it.) You can do as
little or as much as you want, and WordPress will make up the difference.
http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Development
This page gives a simple, one-page introduction to developing WordPress
themes. It covers all the major topics, giving a paragraph or two about
each. Read it to get a sense for whether you want to take the plunge, and
how much air to gulp in before diving.
32.3.2 The WordPress Loop
Maybe a theme is too under-powered for your vision. Maybe you want a full-
blown application, but you like the fact that WordPress is widely available
and provides a myriad of small things, like logging in and password recovery.
You can use WordPress as your basis and build almost anything within that
framework.
http://codex.wordpress.org/The_Loop
WordPress builds webpages using a database and custom programming that
is part of each theme. The loop is the way you can totally customize what