How To Be A Freelance Wordpress Developer

A freelance WordPress developer, is someone who works for more than one enterprise at the same time without committing himself to a single firm. If you are working freelance you can either work from home or from an office depending on the firms that hire you. You can also work for clients who live abroad. But you will perform the same functions as a full-time WordPress developer. Your job will require you to develop custom plugin, templates, modules and themes for WordPress. 

What is the job of a WordPress developer? 

Knowing what a WordPress developer does will help to determine what you need to learn. A WordPress developer is generally hired as a full-stack developer. Here are some of the functions s/he has to perform: 

Front-end development: WordPress developers work on the front-end of WordPress websites by using languages like HTML and CSS. The developer website content and sometimes work on the layout as well.

Back-end development: As back-end developers, WordPress developers maintain the serves and the databases. They use languages like PHP to write codes. They make sure that a website is entirely secure and safe from cyber-attacks before delivering it to the client. 

Plugins and themes: Another primary responsibility of WordPress developers is to generate website plugins and themes. They build plugins that are new and innovative and will make the website more functional. 

How to Become a WordPress Developer? 

A WordPress developer is highly in demand. To become one, you must have some high-end skills that will distinguish your profile from that of others. It will increase your chances of getting hired by a top-class company. Here are the things you need to learn:

PHP: PHP proficiency is a must in a WordPress developer because WordPress is powered by PHP. PHP will help you perform back-end tasks. 

HTML: You must also be proficient in HTML to work on the front-end. HTML is used to display contents on the webpage. 

CSS: CSS or Cascading Style Sheets is essential to figure out how the elements on a webpage appear. To be proficient in front-end development, knowledge of CSS is crucial. 

SQL and MySQL:  These are used to manage databases. You should know how to work with SQL and MySQL while developing a website.

Text Editor: Text Editor is helpful for all beginners. It will help you learn how coding works. If you are a beginner in the field, Notepad ++ is ideal for you. More more advanced developers, there are other coding tools like Sublime VS Code Editor and Atom. 

Bootstrap: Bootstrap is a framework that has many components like Progress Bar, Navigation Bar, Carousel, and so on to simplify coding for you. Bootstrap lets you copy-paste your codes and customise them to suit your needs. 

GitHub and BitBucket: With GitHub and BitBucket, you can easily save your projects in snippet form. It is essential to do so to cut short on the coding process while building new websites. Once you save your codes, you can reuse them for other sites you make, and the process will be much faster. You can also resume for where you left without losing your data. 

Photoshop: As a developer, you must have basic knowledge of Photoshop. There are several features of Photoshop that are useful for developers. These include auto select, photo trimming, layer selection, Move tool, and so on. With the Move tool, you can easily convert PSD files to HTML. 

Build your first website: Once you have learned all the technical skills, you must try to master them. You can do this by building your first website. Building a website will you help you familiarise with the various WordPress features like WordPress themes, plugins, publishing tools, and so on. 

Make your CV and Portfolio: When you feel confident, you should move on to making your CV and portfolio. Then post your CV online on various job portals. 

Prepare for the interview: Once you have posted your CV it's time to prepare for the interview. If you work as a WordPress developer freelance your employer may choose to conduct a virtual interview via online platforms like Skype or Google Duo. S/he may also call you at the office. 

How to Prepare for Your Interview?

Keep your CV and Portfolio ready: You will have to present this at the time of the interview. Also, create virtual copies of these documents in case your interview is online. 

Know your work: Go through what you have worked on, your work experiences, and so on. Your interviewer might ask you questions related to your work. You must be able to answer them quickly and correctly. 

Prepare some interview questions: Study some of the most asked interview questions to a WordPress developer. These questions are primarily technical. But your interviewer may test your soft skills as well before hiring you. Work on your communication skills, so you do not fumble or hesitate during the interview. 

Here Are the Top Five Interview Questions for A WordPress Developer

What are some of the essential requirements to run WordPress? 

To run WordPress, here's what will need: 

• PHP 7.2 or higher
• HTTPS support 
• MySQL 5.6 or higher
• Apache, Nginx or any server with PHP and MySQL support

What is the difference between Pages and Posts? 

Pages are static and permanent on WordPress unless you choose to delete them. There are no tags or categories for pages. Posts, on the other hand, refer to what we put on our site as texts, images, and so on. When we make posts on WordPress, they are listed in reverse chronological order. However, if we want some post to appear on the top, we can use the Sticky Post option. 

What are Hooks? What are the types of Hooks? 

Hooks are functions on WordPress that we can apply to a Filter or an Action. With Hooks, we can make changes in certain areas of a theme or plugin without changing the original file. 

There are two types of Hooks- Filter Hooks and Action Hooks. A Filter Hooks is applied to a Filter, and an Action Hook is applied to an Action. 

What are Importers? 

Importers are WordPress plugins. With Importers, we can import bulk XML files. We can import Posts, Custom Posts, Pages, User data, and so on in an XML file. 

What is Taxonomy? 

Taxonomy is a way of grouping some posts, links, and so on. WordPress has four taxonomies by default. These are: 

• Category
• Link Category
• Tag
• Post Formats 

Becoming a freelance WordPress developer may be the best career option for you. Your success is guaranteed if you follow every step. 

Also Read - Top Wordpress Plugins 2019.