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617arg

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 3, 2008
306
45
I'm slowly beginning to learn how to build websites (more a hobby than anything, although I do want to be able to build a site for my business eventually) and have been realizing that Wordpress seems to be used more than I initially thought.

I haven't yet delved into any PHP (I think that should be next since I just finished learning about HTML and CSS), but I'm now wondering if it is really necessary to use since it seems like Wordpress inserts PHP content for you, if I understand it correctly.

I guess I'd like to know whether or not Wordpress replaces the need to learn PHP.

Thanks for your help.
 
I'm slowly beginning to learn how to build websites (more a hobby than anything, although I do want to be able to build a site for my business eventually) and have been realizing that Wordpress seems to be used more than I initially thought.

I haven't yet delved into any PHP (I think that should be next since I just finished learning about HTML and CSS), but I'm now wondering if it is really necessary to use since it seems like Wordpress inserts PHP content for you, if I understand it correctly.

I guess I'd like to know whether or not Wordpress replaces the need to learn PHP.

Thanks for your help.

If a WordPress blog out of the box does everything you want it to do, then you don't need to learn php. You may be able to find a pre-made template that is laid out the way you want. But if you want to do anything special, you should learn some simple php commands, like how to insert content from another file, and how to edit a WP template that's close but not quite there.
 
If you're learning HTML and CSS as a hobby, I seriously recommend moving on to basic PHP next. It's fun to learn and gives you so many more options when creating sites.

Also it will make working with Wordpress easier, especially when you get past the "WordPress noob" phase.
 
I'd agree that learning PHP is the next step. There's a lot more to PHP than what WordPress can muster up, and you'll understand it's foundations a lot better if you have a good understanding of PHP.

I recommend this book if you want to get going.
 
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Thanks! I just ordered that book and also the Head First PHP book. I know I can find all the info I need online, but I like to have one source that goes through the learning process in a logical sequence.

Now to just find time to learn all this ;)
 
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