Imagine you have just developed a beautiful and easy-to-use WordPress website for a client. Firstly, it passed all the initial tests, and the client became happy. But two weeks later, the client calls you multiple times saying the website became slow and many plugin updates crashed the design and function of the website. So, to avoid all these scenarios, this article will explain to you what to follow and what not to follow in WordPress development for a long-term working website.
This isn’t just another list telling you to “use a child theme.” The journey from a coder who uses WordPress to a true WordPress developer is paved with nuanced decisions. It’s about understanding the ecosystem, prioritizing long-term health over short-term hacks, and writing code that doesn’t just work, but endures. Having built, broken, and fixed countless sites, I’ve compiled the hard-earned do’s and don’ts that separate thriving developers from those stuck in a perpetual firefighting loop. Let’s dive in
WordPress Development Environment & Foundation
If the foundation of your building is of poor quality, then your entire project will cost you from gold to ashes.
✅ DO: Use a Local Development Environment
Never, ever develop directly on a live server. Using a local server stack like LocalWP, Laragon, or DevKinsta is non-negotiable. It will enable you to work without the tension of disturbing live data of the client’s website. First develop it on Local WordPress then implement it on the original website. This will be the best addition in your development workflow.
❌ DON’T: Skip Requirement Gathering
Jumping straight into code without a detailed project plan is like building a house without blueprints. You will have to break the all walls of the building for getting things work. First do the business research of the client’s website, work on the target audience and the needs of the client.
✅ DO: Embrace Version Control (Git) from Day One
Even if you’re a solo developer, Git is your safety net. It allows you to track every change, experiment in branches, and seamlessly collaborate. Platforms like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket integrate beautifully with modern deployment workflows. A WordPress developer who doesn’t use Git is operating without a net.
WordPress Development Core Theme & Plugins
This is where your skills as a developer truly shine—and where most critical mistakes are made.
✅ DO: Always Use a Child Theme
Yes, you’ve heard it before, but do you know why? If you modify a parent theme directly, your customizations will be obliterated the moment the theme updates. A child theme is a simple yet powerful concept that preserves your changes and is a fundamental best practice preached by the WordPress Codex. It’s the first sign of a professional.
❌ DON’T: Modify Core WordPress or Plugin Files. Ever.
Tempted to tweak that one line in a third-party plugin to make it work? Don’t. Your change will be lost on the next update, creating a maintenance nightmare. Instead, use the powerful system of hooks—actions and filters—that WordPress provides. This is the intended way to extend functionality without touching the core.
✅ DO: Write Secure Code
Security isn’t a plugin; it’s a mindset. As a WordPress developer, you are the first defense.
- Always Sanitize, Validate, and Escape: Sanitize input, validate data, and escape output. The mantra is “Never trust user input.”
- Use Nonces: Prevent Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks by adding nonces in all the website’s links.
- WordPress Development Coding Standards: Remember, design is the least important. Consistent code, security and maintenance of the site is most important.
❌ DON’T: Create “Jack-of-All-Trades” Plugins
Avoid building a single, massive plugin that handles everything from custom post types to SEO and contact forms. This creates a single point of failure and makes debugging a horror show. You must create multiple short plugins. Like, separate plugins for custom posts, another plugin for form etc.
Performance & Security in WordPress Development
A slow or insecure site is a failed project, regardless of how pretty it looks.
✅ DO: Prioritize Performance from the Start
Performance is not a final step; it’s a core feature.
- Optimize Images: Use modern formats like WebP and serve correctly sized images.
- Leverage Caching: Implement robust server-level caching (like Redis or Varnish) and use a plugin for page caching.
- Minify and Concatenate: Reduce the number of HTTP requests by combining CSS and JS files.
According to a recent report by Cloudflare, a 0.1-second improvement in load time can increase conversion rates by up to 8%. Performance is not only a technical thing, it’s related to your business.
❌ DON’T: Load Assets on Every Page
Is your custom CSS and JavaScript for a slick homepage animation loading on the admin dashboard and the contact page? This is a common performance killer. Use wp_enqueue_scripts() correctly and conditionally load assets only where they are required.
✅ DO: Implement Regular, Automated Backups
Keeping a backup of your work is the basic rule for working online. It’s also a good idea to make a backup of a backup. Your backup must always be automatic and restore it in case of any lost data. It’s a superpower for a website.
WordPress Development Finishing & Maintenance
How you end a project is just as important as how you start it.
✅ DO: Provide Documentation
You built it, so you understand it. Your client doesn’t. Provide clear, simple documentation on how to update content, add new blog posts, and use the key features you’ve built. This reduces support calls and empowers your client.
❌ DON’T: Use “admin” as a Username
This is Security 101. Using “admin” makes you a target for brute-force attacks. Secondly, always create a unique username with a strong password during installation. For clients, create a new user with an “Editor” or custom role and remove the default admin account.
✅ DO: Set Clear Maintenance and Support Expectations
Are you responsible for updates? What is the SLA for support requests? What falls outside the scope of support? Define this in a contract before the project begins. This prevents scope creep and ensures you get paid for your ongoing work.
WordPress Developer Do’s vs. Don’ts : Reference Table
| Aspect | DO ✅ | DON’T ❌ |
| Development | Use LocalWP & Git | Develop on a live server |
| Themes | Use a Child Theme | Edit parent theme files |
| Security | Sanitize, Validate, Escape | Use “admin” as a username |
| Plugins | Create modular, single-purpose plugins | Modify core/plugin files directly |
| Performance | Conditionally load assets | Load scripts/CSS on every page |
| Client | Provide clear documentation | Assume the client knows how it works |
Conclusion:
Being a professional WordPress developer transcends writing PHP and CSS. It’s about being an architect, a strategist, and a partner. It’s about choosing the robust solution over the quick fix, and the secure path over the convenient one.
By internalizing these do’s and don’ts, you stop being just a problem-solver and start being a solution-builder. You create digital assets that are fast, secure, and maintainable for years to come, which is the highest value you can provide.
What’s the # 1 lesson you’ve learned as a WordPress developer? Share your own hard-earned do’s and don’ts in the comments below—let’s learn from each other’s experiences.
If you’d like to learn about WordPress themes, you can click here.
If you’d like to learn about how to earn online as a student, you can click here.
pGjsCpAIpxoQuKkOH