It is no surprise that WordPress comes out the winner in the competition among various content management systems (CMSs) as it powers 39.6% of all websites and still counting, keeping more than 100 developers and an ever-growing community super busy.
But, all these numbers and widespread participation go hand in hand with some wordpress web development practices. In this article, you’ll know about three WordPress web development and design practices which even some experienced WordPress developers in Singapore fail to abide by.
Standard Coding Practice and Organization
Web development is a practical line of work and therefore involves certain standards. WordPress web development isn’t an exception. Here’s how the slightest reluctance to follow what is deemed as a norm leads to a WP developer’s frustration.
Instead of creating a naming convention that’s relevant to the project, many coders use ‘Too Common/Generic Names for Classes, Constants, Functions, and Variables’ which may create collisions between the names they give and those assigned to the classes or functions of third-party tools or internal PHP.
Many WP developers in Singapore code without considering the possibility of caching pages. For example, PHP snippets are often implemented into plugins and themes. These tools work only with the PHP code triggered. When a caching plugin like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache is installed and the conditionals aren’t triggered in the plugins or theme, the PHP code will come to no use.
‘Copying and Pasting Functions/Code Snippets without Getting the Logic behind Them’ becomes a lifesaver when you’re too eager to find a solution to something. By doing so, you’re increasing the likelihood of these events.
So, whenever someone authors a function or develops a theme or plugin for their client in Singapore, they must write codes that are Purposeful, Reusable, and Easy to Develop, Understand, Test, and Maintain.
- Losing consistency and style of codes
- Letting lots of unnecessary lines become a part of your project
- Legal hassles due to codes not licensed for reuse
So, whenever someone authors a function or develops a theme or plugin for their client in Singapore, they must write codes that are Purposeful, Reusable, and Easy to Develop, Understand, Test, and Maintain.
Far-Sighted Approach to WordPress Web Design and Development
Few actions can be as unforgiving as a poorly planned WordPress web development approach when the goal of any development project is to satisfy the needs of your visitors in Singapore at a lower cost. Following are a few examples to show why you need a solid way to proceed.
| Avoid These WordPress Web Development Malpractices | Likely Results of These Mistakes |
| Keeping all JavaScript codes in the main file |
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| Editing or Modifying a Theme or Plugin or Core WP Files Directly/Not Creating a Child Theme |
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| Using a Version Control System (Git) Less Frequently or Not Using at All |
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| Exposing the Git Repository/Not Hiding the ‘.git’ Folder Containing Credentials |
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| Not keeping the Debugging ON |
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| Using ‘wp_head’ instead of ‘wp_enqueue_script’ or ’ wp_enqueue_style’ to add Styles and Scripts |
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| Not Checking on the Status (Active/Inactive) of Plugins and Other Resources |
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| Taking WordPress Security Lightly or Ignoring Completely |
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| Leaving the Built-in WP Resources/Counting Too Much on Custom-Built Framework |
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| Not Minifying Front-End Codes (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) |
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| Not Caring Much About SSL |
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Considerations for SEO
Some might argue that WordPress developers aren’t really as much responsible as SEOs for what Google does to their sites. There’s truth in it, but certain duties of a WP developer requires that the following SEO mistakes be avoided at any cost, should there be any concern about good ranking.
- By ‘Not Changing the Default Permalinks,’ a developer makes the URLs less accessible and user-friendly.
- ‘Not including robots.txt or XML Sitemap’ leaves Google nothing to work with when it comes to indexation or other factors.
- ‘Not Instructing Google to Avoid Indexing Your Site During the Development Phase’ may be the reason for so many duplicate pages/permalinks to be indexed when there’s no such thing once the site is finally launched.
- ‘Disregarding Page Speed’ is another grave mistake that most beginners make. Some seem to ‘Ignore the File Size’ when uploading.
There are other WordPress web development practices which, if avoided or done wrong, cost many WP developers in Singapore an arm and leg, but the above ones are more common than others.
Despite this reality, more organizations, not just media and private companies in Singapore, including authorities of the Singaporean government, are relying on WordPress web development, which brings optimism for the WP developer community out there.
Finally, you should remember that the point of using WordPress, the world’s most popular CMS, is that you get to build something that fulfills your goals not just in terms of ROI but of scalability, sustainability, and satisfaction.
Wondering which WordPress web development company to hire? We’ve been serving a broad group of clients in Singapore whose WordPress websites have brought them great success in their line of work. Let’s have a chat and see how our WP developers can assist.
