It’s better if you know PHP and the WordPress template tags, as it gives you more flexibility and versatility. But, you can get away without coding by using a theme builder such as Avada or Divi.
http://avada.theme-fusion.com
http://www.elegantthemes.com/gallery/divi/
Yes. I agree with mburridge, you should at least have a knowledge of PHP
and WordPress coding standards.
WordPress has default twentythirteen to fifteen theme included, open those files and try to understand the structures codes.
You can also google for “wordpress cheat sheet pdf”.
There’s a plugin like “Visual Composer” you may find helpful for designing pages without coding. A theme called “enfold” is very easy to manage can help you design your websites.
You can also [Link redacted per forum rules] if you need help for your projects.
Good luck..
Andrew Nevins
(@anevins)
WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support
As outlined above, it is possible to create a website using themes and plugins, but that doesn’t seem to be what you’re asking:
Am I able to use Photoshop and Illustrator to create Mockups of my designs, and translate those designs into WordPress, without hiring a developer?
Remember, WordPress is a Content Management System and not a website builder. It can’t build websites from Photoshop and Illustrator.
Yes, I would install a flexible theme like Imprenza
https://themeforest.net/item/impreza-retina-responsive-wordpress-theme/6434280
that you can easily customize the header and footer and it comes with visual composer page builder to customize the body of the website.
I started out not knowing anything about SEO, CSS, or HTML. I learned on my own and I have completed over 100 websites for my business already. There are a lot of resources out there. So to answer your question, No, you do not absolutely need to know anything about coding to start designing on WordPress. It is necessary, but I did it. But what you do need is the willingness to learn. It’s a lot of trial and error if you don’t have experience or knowledge.
[Remark moderated – Please remain civil]
Although I am a WordPress developer of both plugins and themes, I really do not think knowledge of coding is necessary to create a “decent” site. However, you will be very limited in what you can do. It is possible to create a WordPress website with all plugins and some knowledge of the back end and since you use Photoshop, you can easily upload your images into the media manager and call it from any post or page. That to me is the biggest benefit of using a powerful CMS like WordPress.
I know some people here may disagree with me and I get it. Yes, knowing coding well let’s you do anything in WordPress that you want and can dream up and I have developed some powerful plugins for my clients to use that work well, but I have also created nice WP sites with no coding.
I really do not think knowledge of coding is necessary to create a “decent” site. However, you will be very limited in what you can do.
I agree with this. It can be done. But you won’t always be able to do as good a job as a developer would, and you won’t necessarily be able to translate your design into a working website the way you had in mind particularly when tweaks need to be made for different device sizes outside of what is already present in the theme.
When I say you won’t be able to do as good a job as a developer, I don’t just mean in terms of making a site that looks good. I mean one that works well for the client (not a mish-mash of an unnecessary amount of plugins causing a confusing backend experience for the client) as well as the user (e.g. working nicely across all devices, loading times). Plugins will often add their own CSS and JavaScript (sometimes several files) and before you now it you’re making 10+ requests to the server where as developer would have been able to cut that down to only a few; overriding a theme’s existing CSS often involves loading its file and then yours whereas a developer would probably combine everything into one, etc.
There are lots of tutorials online that help beginners build a WordPress theme from scratch. They aren’t going to teach you everything you need to know, but are a great starting point and you can build on your knowledge over time.
I forgot to add, the more plugins you use and the more different themes you use for different clients, the higher your maintenance overhead will be.
How do you intend to handle updates moving forward? Will you be handling them, or showing the client how to do it themselves? How will premium theme/plugin licences be handled (if you want/need them)? What happens if an update breaks something, or an outdated plugin no longer works and no fixes/updates are in the works (i.e. the plugin has been abandoned)? Consider what will happen if you have 50 clients and in a couple of years these issues start to arise, what will you do? You don’t just build a site and hand it over, there is usually some expectation of ongoing support, and if clients don’t get that then don’t count on repeat business or referrals from them.
For these reasons, you should keep plugins to a minimum especially ones that aren’t known to be super popular and well-supported. You are better off learning how to use HTML and CSS to lay out a design (or child theme an existing theme) and properly utilise WordPress’s built-in functionality to achieve as much as possible and then add plugins when you need something extra, rather than cobbling together a site with plugins, plugins and more plugins. I speak from experience (fortunately I never had quite as many as 50 sites running with too many plugins, but it’s an easy trap to fall into if you do get a lot of work!)
