The Role of PHP in WordPress Development

Many people think WordPress is a low-code or no-code technology for website development. They believe they only need basic HTML and CSS to customize a WordPress site. However, this is only partially true; a developer must know PHP for advanced WordPress customization.

PHP plays a vital role in WordPress, as it is one of the leading technologies that works behind the scenes. It is the backbone that structures the site and executes core functionalities. So, let’s look at PHP in WordPress.

How is PHP Used in WordPress?

If you look at the core of WordPress, you will see that PHP is everywhere. It doesn’t matter which WordPress theme or plugin you use; each uses PHP at its backend. Let’s look at some visuals to get a better understanding of it.

You get a single ZIP file on your system when you download website data or themes from WordPress. And if you open that ZIP file, you can see various PHP (file with .php extension) files inside it. All these files make up the structure of a WordPress theme.

In addition, the main PHP files that every theme contains are the following:

• Functions.php
• Index.php
• Header.php
• Footer.php
• Sidebar.php
• Single.php
• Page.php
• Archive.php
• Search.php

These files are required to create a new WordPress website or migrate an existing one to a new host. Each file represents a part of the webpage and has its functionality that you need to understand before customizing the core or structure of the WordPress theme or site.

Moreover, PHP files are not only limited to themes; plugins also contain them for better compatibility and functioning. A WordPress development company also uses PHP for both theme and plugin development. In addition, as shown in the below snippet, you will see some similar PHP files when you assess the plugin files.

Why WordPress Tells Focus on PHP during WordPress Development?

As you know, every WordPress theme and plugin contains PHP files, and it’s one of the reasons WordPress recommends focusing on it. Also, PHP is a server-side technology, which makes it vulnerable to exploitation, and to prevent cyber-attacks, you must update it regularly.

Whenever a new PHP update is released, WordPress announces it on its platform and provides complete guidance to upgrade sites accordingly. Whether you are a beginner or a professional in WordPress development, using the latest PHP version should be on your checklist.

Additionally, PHP helps improve the performance of the WordPress website, making it faster than ever before. And it also helps in achieving marketing/SEO goals, such as:

• Google and other search engines prefer high-performing websites when ranking them.
• More people visit the website when it appears on the 1st first page of search engine results.
• With more traffic, retention, and conversion rate increases, boosting the company’s revenue.

Besides, the latest PHP version helps pat out loopholes to secure the site from the injection, XSS, CSRF, and cyber-attacks. Further, according to WordPress stats, most sites use PHP version 7.4 or above for security, stability, and performance. And that’s why WordPress tells all its users to focus on PHP while developing a WordPress-based website.

In addition, WordPress also provides guidelines for seamlessly and securely updating the PHP version. You can follow the below-provided steps for it:

Step 1: Before you update the PHP of your website to the latest version, create a backup of the site. You can generate it using any plugin or manual technique per your comfort.

Step 2: View the available updates by navigating to the WordPress dashboard. And then execute all the updates one after another.

Step 3: Once the update is installed, check its compatibility using the WordPress recommended plugin.

Step 4: Resolve the compatibility issues if you find any. And if not, then run the website and continue operations.

Best Practices to Follow for Leveraging Maximum PHP Potential

PHP is an integral part of WordPress; you should follow the best practices to use it efficiently.

1: Utilize Only the Latest Version

PHP is a leading language that hackers primarily target. And to prevent it, you must update it as soon as a new version is released. It will help you strengthen website security and boost performance across mobile and web browsers.

2: Follow WordPress PHP Coding Standards

WordPress offers a complete set of PHP coding standards that developers should follow. It helps to modify PHP files in a theme and plugin easily. And following such standards makes website code easy to read, structure, and maintain throughout the process.

3: Debug Code and Handle Errors

Whenever you write custom PHP code during development, enable the debugging feature, or use a plugin. It will help you detect and resolve errors before you publish a site in a production environment.

4: Sanitize Input for Security

SQL and code injection attacks are typical for a PHP-based website. And sanitizing user input is an appropriate way of preventing them. By using sanitization, your website can block malicious input from processing, leading to maintaining data integrity.

Role of PHP in WordPress for Different Users

A WordPress website has users/stakeholders, including the admin, developer, support team, end-users, testers, and security experts.

If you are an admin, understanding PHP is necessary, as you need to make changes to the site. And there can be times when you need to upgrade the PHP version or modify a core PHP file. However, if you are an end-user, you don’t need to learn about PHP in WordPress; you only need to navigate the site and read the content.

In addition, a developer and support team must have in-depth knowledge of PHP. It would help them to build and support custom WordPress sites, migrate them, and develop plugins.

Furthermore, a tester and security professional should know about PHP’s functioning in WordPress. It will aid in reliably testing the site, patching loopholes, and configuring relevant security mechanisms and plugins to prevent malicious actors. Subsequently, with the user role, the need and scope to understand the role of PHP in WordPress changes.

Concluding Up

PHP is a crucial part of every WordPress theme and plugin. And it’s the primary technology that shapes the webpage structure of every website from header to footer. When you download a WordPress site/theme data and view it on your system, all the primary files will be available with a .php extension.

In addition, WordPress also offers PHP coding standards for developers for efficient error handling and customizing websites. You should also focus on PHP expertise when hiring WordPress Developer or partnering with a WordPress development company.