WordPress Online

I am fairly new to web design and wordpress theme development and have been searching for ways to go beyond the typical wordpress theme. This book gives you exactly what it says it will. It really does go beyond the blog. This is by far the most thorough wordpress themeing book I have found. The content within this book is dense and every bit of it is useful.

I would not recommend this book to the absolute beginner unless you really like jumping headfirst into the very deep end. You really need to have at least a moderate understanding of html css and php to get through this book. The author is able able to cover as much as he does in large part by assuming you can keep up.

The biggest problem with this book and the only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is the layout. I have heard this complaint regarding other books from smashing magazine and unfortunately it is very true. The guys at smashing mag are brilliant web designers but would do well to hire some equally brilliant print designers to layout their books. The biggest problem is the inner margins of the book. They have been designed as though this book were to be read on a vertical blog with identical margins on both pages instead of reflected margins resulting in having to force the book open to read the left page. Sorry to go on about this but it really is a big problem and I hope they will fix this in future versions (or at least in future publications).

Pros:

1. Spectacular content not found in any other single book

2. Covers up and coming wordpress features such as child themes

3. Tutorials for designing functioning job boards, faq knowledge bases, e-commerce sites, portfolio sites and more

4. 2 chapters on functions.php and plugin development

5. Too many great things content wise to list!

Cons:

1. Not recommended for the beginner

2. Layout of the book is quite poor and makes reading difficult

Overall:

If you are serious about creating your own wordpress themes and have experience with css html and php then this is absolutely the book you want.

Rating: 4 / 5

Let me preface this review by saying this is NOT a beginner WordPress book. That said, the folks who leave a mediocre review for this book due to this being over their head are ridiculous. If your looking for a book that teaches you “how to get started” with wordpress this is not your book. You will NOT find sections on how to create a post, add tags, install plugins, etcetera. This book is to teach you how to do advanced secure installs, understand the wordpress framework, template tags (the code snippets that make things work), how to create themes and plugins, and start working with some examples.

This book was an amazing for me because of where I am at in my wordpress development. Before reading this book I knew how to install wordpress, set up permalinks, work with .htaccess files, create posts, add plugins, and even do some minor tweaking. I did not however understand the core code concepts of wordpress that make it work, thus I could not advance beyond an “advanced beginner.” When I would go to read advanced wordpress books they were all written in techie speak and I always ended up feeling lost.

Enter Smashing WordPress:

From the moment I started reading this book it was right at the level I needed. I had finished my knowledge of the beginner to mid level stages of wordpress and Smashing WordPress took me to a solid level of advanced wordpress techniques and theme/plugin building. It is written in PLAIN ENGLISH and not techie speak like most advanced technology books (please remember you must have a solid beginner level understanding or this book will seem complicated).

If your looking to start understanding all that code that makes themes and plugins work and you have a solid understanding of the basics of wordpress this book is for you.

From the very first chapter this book I stated to absorb the wordpress code concepts and advanced techniques I was craving to learn. I am half way through this book and I am quickly becoming the advanced wordpress theme creator that I have been wanting to be. (This book will also give you a solid ability to modify even the most advanced themes)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO WORDPRESS USERS READY TO UNDERSTAND AND BUILD OR MODIFY WORDPRESS THEME AND PLUGINS.

Rating: 5 / 5

This is a good intro into customizing wordpress if you have a mid-to-high-level PHP background. The author doesn’t waste any time introducing html, css, or php, which is good. A lot of good insight into template design and how to use it to do much more than a blog approach. There are specific examples (WordPress as CMS, as a Gallery, using e-commerce, and so forth). After the author introduces basic WordPress concepts and inner workings, the next largest section is on template design. Then a small section on plugins, and the rest of the book about going beyond a blog format with the examples mentioned earlier.

There is nothing here about ajax, which is a disappointment to me, so one star off. It is more and more prevalent and I was hoping to see at least a few examples of ajax queries occurring inside of the WP framework. I expected this topic to be covered but it is not even mentioned. Also, there is no coverage of using custom database tables for plugins that use more data than you’d be comfortable with in the WP Options table, so another star taken off. It does give decent coverage to using the WP Options table for data storage however. I would think that something intent on “smashing” wordpress would have taken it just that little bit farther. All in all however I am glad of the purchase because there is a ton of good stuff that I will definitely reference in customizing wordpress sites.
Rating: 3 / 5

I have to agree with everyone that this isn’t a beginner WordPress book. For you to utilize this book you have to be past the beginner stages. If you don’t know how to post, install plugins, add tags and understand categories walk away from this book.

For me this book is great; I have a solid understanding of HTML and CSS, this book has taken me to another level of understanding WordPress.

There is an excellent section on the Gallery and has given me some great ideas

As many others have said; if you’re a mid – senior level user this book will be great for you.

Rating: 5 / 5

I consider myself to have a slightly better than a beginning understanding of PHP language. Even then, I found the book somewhat difficult to understand. The author uses his own blog theme (Notes Core) as the foundation for the exercises he uses in this book. I did like his coverage on theming WordPress, template tags, hooks, and plugin’s. I just wished the author would have clarified a little bit more in his examples. I feel I may have to read this book again just to ‘get it’ about customizing WordPress. At any rate, I will be sure to rely on it as a referemce before I delve into the WordPress Codex.

One thing the book does illustrate very effectively, is using WordPress as a Content Management System. There are several examples on how to create static pages, how to customize pages based on category tags, custom programming involving multiple WordPress Loops and hooks, and much more. I needed to know this information, as I’d like to use WordPress as a starting foundation for my web designs, be they blogs or webpages.

One nitpick; the book has full color throughout? Why couldn’t the code examples be syntax highlighted by color? I’m trying to parse the PHP code examples, but after looking at PHP code in my IDE, I just find it difficult to follow such code in any other way. Line numbers would be great, so that the content can refer to them in explaining the code. This way, this book could be a little bit more accessible to PHP programmers who have not had much experience. (Like me, for instance!)
Rating: 3 / 5

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