If you’ve been using WordPress for some time now, you’ve probably heard the phrase “No code required, works right out of the box.” Well, it’s true you don’t need coding skills to use WordPress. Too bad you’re not a skilled web developer, right?
Whether it’s a blog, website for startups or a network of sites, WP is simple. Andyou can learn to use WP quite quickly. There is a wide range of inbuilt features as well as customization options accompanying various themes and plugins. This allows you to make amazing things with zero coding skills.
How to Tweak Your WordPress Site with No Coding Skills
Even though it’s possible to build a website with no skills, you are limitedby options and features built into plugins and themes. So, what do you do when you a functionality you want is not supported by your plugins?
Well, with zero coding skills, you have three options:
- Let things remain as they are and keep on dreaming. This option is likely to lead you into a pervasive state of frustration and disappointment.
- Hire a skilled developer(s) to help. Depending on the level of customization you need,this can cost you a lot. Try finding students or interns at your local web development school.
Know how to get what you want. Make sure your return on investment (ROI) is satisfactory.
Simple Coding to Know for Your WP Site to Function How You Want
When customizing and playing around with any WordPress site, you’ll learnthat there are three main types of code involved:
- HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
- CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
- PHP (Hypertext Pre-Processor)
There are many code languages used across every WP site, plugin and theme. For most of the day-to-day customizations, there is no need for the extra code languages. All you need to learn are the basics. You’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish with your blog or website.
3 Basic Coding Languages
Let’s take a look at the main threecode languages to discover why they’re essential:
1. HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
Thisis one of the easiest coding languages on the planet, even for newbies. HTML as the initial and most essential coding language for WordPress users. It essentially displays webpage content exactly as it should (what you see is what you get).
The code language comprisesof various identifying tags for wrapping content into containers. That way, it’s displayed on-screen in a specific manner.
Most likely, you’re already familiar with theHTML editor provided in the “text” view in the WP post editor. Look at one of your WP posts in text view. Check out all the brackets. That is what HTML code.
HTML tells browsers like Chrome, Opera, or Mozilla what to display on-screen. For instance, if you want to tellyour browser to show content in different paragraphs, every paragraph is preceded by the opening <p> tag and closed by the </p> tag.
2. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
HTML tells the browser the type of content to show on the screen. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a language that tellsyour browser how that content is displayed.
Here are some of the basic rules in CSS:
- Float – Thisis a style rule that commands the browser to align the elements withinthe parent container. When two or more elementsin one containerare floated, they are likely to line up side-by-side, if the dimensions agree.
- Margin – The marginis the thickness of a blank space surrounding an element.
- Width – For you to get the sidebar on to the content’s right-hand side, the sum of the margins and widths of both content as well as the sidebar should be lower than or equal to the widths of the wrapper.
Want to customize anything in the look and feel your WordPress website? Then, it’s essentialthat you take note of which HTML container elements should be targeted with the custom CSS style rules.
3. PHP (HypertextPre-Processor)
Both HTML and CSS, are basicfor telling the browser the type of content it should display. They help browsers understand how things should be displayed based on conditions and variables defined in the functions.
So, why would you want to dabble a bit in PHP?
PHP canbe usedin fetching content from various sources, including RSS feeds, websites, etc… There are functions that can be written to fetch and display variousinformation based on nearly any conditions.
Hire a Local Coding Student or Intern for Your Development Project
WordPress sites are okay. They can actually be quite awesome! But, it takes a little coding to tweak your site into perfection.That means knowing a bit about web development.
No time or energy to learn coding? Then, why not hire a graduate from a local technical college for your next web development project?
F.I.R.S.T. Institute of Orlando, Florida is well-known locally for helping local companies find quality web developers. You can hire a local web development student in the Orlando area, and feel confident you’re hiring someone with skills. There’s a ton of career opportunities for web developers.
Even if you have no budget for your project, F.I.R.S.T. Institute can help. The Orlando campus provides internship programs for its students. Hire a local intern for your project, and F.I.R.S.T. will be there for the student every step of the way. Here at F.I.R.S.T., you can learn about both graphic design and web development.
Call the Career Developers at F.I.R.S.T. Institute at (888) 9-FIRST-1 to speak with a representative about an internship program for your coding project. Or, contact the reps online for a fast response today.
