How to create a WordPress plugin

Creating a WordPress plugin is a great way to add custom functionality to your WordPress site. Here is a tutorial that will guide you through the process of creating a simple WordPress plugin:

  1. Create a new folder in the “wp-content/plugins” directory of your WordPress installation. This folder will contain your plugin files.
  2. Create a new PHP file with the same name as your plugin folder. For example, if your plugin folder is called “my-plugin”, your PHP file should be called “my-plugin.php”.
  3. Open the PHP file and add the following code at the top:
/*
Plugin Name: My Plugin
Plugin URI: [Insert Plugin URI]
Description: A brief description of my plugin
Version: 1.0
Author: Your Name
Author URI: [Insert Author URI]
License: GPL2
*/

This code is known as the plugin header and it provides information about your plugin to WordPress. Be sure to replace the placeholder text with your own information.

  1. Next, you will need to create a function that will contain your plugin code. This function should be named after your plugin, with “init” appended to the end. For example, if your plugin is called “my-plugin”, your function should be called “my_plugin_init”.

Inside this function, you can add your custom plugin code. For example, you might want to add a custom shortcode or a custom widget.

  1. Once you have written your plugin code, you need to register it with WordPress. To do this, add the following line of code at the end of your plugin file:
add_action('init', 'my_plugin_init');

This will tell WordPress to run your plugin code when the “init” action is triggered.

  1. Finally, save your plugin file and activate your plugin from the WordPress admin dashboard.

That’s it! You now have a working WordPress plugin. You can continue to build on this foundation by adding more functionality and customising your plugin to meet your specific needs.

I hope this tutorial has been helpful in getting you started with WordPress plugin development. Happy coding!