10 tips to improve your WordPress themes and plugins

1. Building better WordPress applications
PBWEB.CO.UK
@PHILL_BROWN

2. Problems with WordPress applications
• Business logic in themes
• Repeated code
• Tight coupling
• Portability

3. Rule #1
Do not write your application in
functions.php

4. Decoupling plugins and themes
Logic Templates
Templates
Plugin
Theme

5. Rule #2
Every action should be hooked

6. function my_plugin_start() {
// Fire up application
}
// Wrong
my_plugin_start();
// Right
add_action( ‘plugins_loaded’, ‘my_plugin_start’ );

7. Rule #3
Use WordPress

8. Core checklist
• Custom post types and post meta
• Roles, capabilities and user meta
• Options and transients
• Scheduler
• Remote HTTP

9. Rule #4
Use plugin dependencies

10. • Scribu’s Plugin Dependencies
• if ( ! class_exists( ‘plugin_x’ ) ) {
wp_die( ‘Plugin Y requires plugin x’ );
}

11. Rule #5
Standardise code

12. • WordPress coding standards:
http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Coding_Standards
• PHPDoc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHPDoc

13. Rule #6
Choose your PHP version

14. • WordPress core (v3.0+) – 5.1.1
• 5.2 – DateTime
• 5.3 – Late static binding, closures,
namespacing
• 5.4 - Traits

15. Rule #7
Avoid global scoping

16. add_action( ‘init’, function() {
// do something
} );
Closures

17. namespace wordpressmy_plugin;
class Post {}
Namespacing
class My_Plugin_Post {}
PHP 5.3
PHP 5.1

18. Rule #8
Activation hooks

19. register_activation_hook( __FILE__, ‘my_plugin_activate’ );
function my_plugin_activate() {
// Create tables, roles, capabilities
}
register_uninstall_hook( __FILE__, ‘my_plugin_uninstall’ );
function my_plugin_uninstall() {
// Cleanup data
}

20. Rule #9define( ‘WP_DEBUG’, true );

21. Rule #10
Release your code

22. Questions?
@PHILL_BROWN
WP@PBWEB.CO.UK