Building Web Apps with WordPress

I just finished reading up a book that was co-written by my friend Jason Coleman called Building Web Apps with WordPress. I picked it up because while I’m generally good at developing themes, I know there were some things I was missing- types of code, optimizations, plugin best practices, etc. I wanted to improve my WordPress skills and I felt this was the book to do it. Boy was I right.

Brian (@bmess) and Jason (@jason_coleman) do a fantastic job of digging deep into WordPress as an Application Framework; we’re talking more than just themes or even basic plugins. We’re talking about apps on apps. They do cover some basics about WordPress, licensing, types of apps, and the like; then it’s time to get down to business.

They do a very thorough look at WordPress’ DB Schema because getting into some really great topics, including application structure, best code practices, Nonces and other security measures, the Heartbeat API, and so much more. There are tons of dogeared pages and highlights; I even created my own index inside the front cover for quick references to things I think I’ll be using a lot. I know this book has made me a better developer and it’s one that will be a mainstay next to my desk. Here’s what I had to say on Amazon:

The authors did a fantastic job of taking heavy topics on WordPress and breaking them down into easy, understandable terms. It’s clear that (while they do have a ton of code in the book), they are teaching the reader concepts and making the reader aware of what is available to him or her. Honestly, with the amount of complex code being covered, there is no other good way to do it.

Brian and Jason should be commended for their great effort. Plus, schoolpress.me just launched and the code is available on github. Great book and real, live, working sample code. What more could you want?

So what are you waiting for? Go buy the book!!