GrindSmart

Being able to develop faster is what most developers strive for, and that’s no secret. With the flexibility of WordPress and a few theme frameworks, you can already develop a WordPress site with ease and speed. But what if you could streamline the entire process? Below we’ve added a few quick tips that will allow you to do just that.

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Set Up An Experimental Area

When you’re developing a theme or making core changes it’s essential to set up a workspace dedicated to experimenting and testing. It’ll save you tons of time and allow you to reduce errors. With an experimental area you’ll be able to pre-publish revisions, changes, and new themes.

This will give you enough space and time to thoroughly test and debug before releasing these changes so everyone can see. You can even use your same URL, just with a different directory. In example, YourSite.com/TestEnv

Use the Ubiquity Firefox Add-On

Ubiquity is a cutting edge add-on for Firefox, developed by Mozilla Labs. Ubiquity allows you to search WordPress and PHP documentation in an instant using these two plugins: PHP Search and WP Codex Search.

Learn Your Functions

By learning all of your WordPress functions you’re able to quickly make major changes to your WP theme layout. This will easily give you a major bucket of time and flexibility as well. You should start with the more common ones and work your way up from there. Before anything, take a look at your WordPress codex for further information and more.

Don’t Mess With Your WordPress Files Till the End

You know the files I’m talking about…and if you don’t, well here they are: index.php, sidebar.php, footer.php These files should be one of the last things you touch after you’ve finished coding your WordPress theme in CSS and HTML. You should always adjust cross-browser compatibility, test, test, and test some more, and anything else static files may need from you.

Delving into these core theme files before-hand will only set you back and take up a lot of your useful time. Now, that’s not to say there aren’t those special circumstances. After-all, nothing has been set in stone yet.

Create Your Own Options Panel

If you’ve ever purchased and uploaded a premium WordPress theme then you’re more than likely familiar with a theme’s Option Panel. These options will allow the user (you) to easily and quickly make minor (and a few major) changes without having to dive into any code. You’ll definitely streamline your future developmental needs and also the ones of anyone who purchase your theme (if you plan on selling).

Visit the following link to learn how you can create your very own theme options page.

What tips to streamline your development process have we missed? Please share with everyone, and add your own below!