Building Themes and Plugins: Everything But Code

Developing themes and plugins is a common topic in the WordPress community, but the non-technical aspects are usually glossed over. In fact, many of these non-technical elements are more important than the code itself. In this talk, you’ll learn about software licenses, support strategies, and theme/plugin monetization, as well as tips and tricks for making your users happy.

Transcript

1. Hi!
   

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2. Me.
   

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3. chrisvanpatten.com
   

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4. @ChrisVanPatten
   

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5. vanpattenmedia.com
   

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6. profiles.wordpress.org/vanpattenmedia/
   

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7. cvp.me/wcbuf2013
   

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8. SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A
   PLUGIN
   

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9. SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A
   THEME
   

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10. Awesome!
    

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11. So... I just start coding, right?
    

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12. So... I just start coding, right?
    WRONG
    

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13. Step back. Breathe.
    We’ll get through this together.
    

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14. (1)
    Make sure you’re not doing work
    that someone else already did.
    

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15. (1)
    Make sure you’re not doing work
    that someone else already did.
    

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16. 2,000 themes on .org
    

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17. 5,000 themes on theme marketplaces
    

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18. 27,000 plugins on .org
    

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19. (2)
    Have a business model (or not).
    

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20. (2)
    Have a business model (or not).
    

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21. Free vs. Paid
    

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22. Distribution
    

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23. (3)
    Choose a license. Carefully.
    

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24. (3)
    Choose a license. Carefully.
    

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25. (3)
    Choose a license. Carefully.
    

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26. I am not a lawyer.
    

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27. Code must be GPLv2 compatible
    

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28. MIT. Apache 2.0. Public Domain.
    ✓
    

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29. MIT. Apache 2.0. Public Domain.
    ✓
    

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30. Creative Commons.
    ✗
    

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31. Creative Commons.
    ✗
    

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32. What about non-code assets?
    

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33. It’s complicated.
    

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34. Other theme directories? It depends.
    

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35. WordPress.org? Yes.
    

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36. If you can, you should.
    

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37. Good for the community
    

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38. Good for the soul
    

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39. People are good.
    

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40. (4)
    Understand best practices.
    

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41. (4)
    Understand best practices.
    

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42. Theme Review
    

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43. Theme Unit Testing
    

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44. Theme-Check
    

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45. Plugin Review
    

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46. (5)
    Document
    

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47. (5)
    Build it.
    

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48. (6)
    Submit it.
    

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49. (6)
    Submit it.
    

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50. Readme.txt
    

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51. Plugin vs. theme readmes
    

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52. Plugin Banners
    

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53. Screenshots
    

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54. FAQs
    

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55. SVN
    

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56. (7)
    Support it.
    

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57. (7)
    Support it.
    

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58. Plugin Forums
    

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59. Custom Support
    

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60. Paid Support
    

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61. (8)
    Maintain it.
    

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62. (8)
    Maintain it.
    

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63. Thank you!
    

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64. cvp.me/wcbuf2013
    

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