WordPress Plugins are tools to extend the functionality of WordPress. Creating a basic WordPress plugin that does something basic and cool on your site is not that hard. It is actually better to apply some tweaks to your site via a simple WordPress plugin rather than hacking your theme or an existing plugin. This approach can also help you keep the functionality separate (which is a good WordPress system integration practice).
In this introduction to creating a WordPress plugin video tutorial, we will create a simple WordPress plugin that shows you a little bit more than just the usual “Hello World” example.
Creating WordPress Plugin Video Part 1
I will demonstrate the following concepts in this part of the video tutorial:
- Creating administration pages
- Using the WordPress styles to create your admin styling
- Interacting with the WP database using the $wpdb object
Creating WordPress Plugin Video Part 2
In this part of the video we are going to build on the plugin from the first video (see above) and introduce the following concepts:
- Using forms to submit data from your plugins admin page
- How to store your plugin data in the wp_options page for easy retrieval
Note: It is a good idea to test your newly written plugin in a local installation of WordPress or on a test site first 🙂
It is also a good idea to keep the following URL handy (just in case)
Deactivate WordPress Plugins without Logging Into WP Admin
Next, you should learn the WordPress hooks (if you don’t know it already) so check the tutorial on hooks and filters.
@Chris, The options table is good for storing plugin’s settings and options. However, sometimes you may need a separate table to store other types of data. For example, you probably don’t want to add users profile data into the options table.
Quick question:
You have us storing things in a table so we don’t have to query the database over and over. But… Isn’t the process of getting things from wp_options just another query to the database? What difference does it make? You’re just trading one query for another.
Very good tutorial, very informative. I like the way you highlighted how every function and line works. I think you should do more tutorials as well. I look forward to more of your posts! 🙂
Nice tutorial to learn wordpress plugins developemt.
NIce Video Tutorial
Thank for this tutorial…
I’m a wordpress developer and when I look at this tutorials for plugin it is really what I’m looking for to teach to my people.
Thanks and looking for more tutorials on this.
I was really in need of this kind of tutorials as a WordPress beginner
Thanks for the great tutorials, I really needed a quick start guide like this.
Thanks for this tutorials, The #2 was so helpful. 🙂