Wordpress Fundamentals

1wordpress/
2├── wp-admin/              # Admin dashboard files (DO NOT MODIFY)
3│   ├── admin.php
4│   ├── admin-ajax.php
5│   ├── index.php
6│   └── ...
7├── wp-content/            # Your customizable content
8│   ├── plugins/          # Custom and third-party plugins
9│   │   ├── akismet/
10│   │   ├── my-custom-plugin/
11│   │   └── ...
12│   ├── themes/           # Your themes
13│   │   ├── twentytwentyfour/
14│   │   ├── my-theme/
15│   │   └── ...
16│   ├── uploads/          # Media library files
17│   │   ├── 2024/
18│   │   │   ├── 01/
19│   │   │   └── ...
20│   │   └── ...
21│   ├── languages/        # Translation files
22│   └── mu-plugins/       # Must-use plugins (auto-activated)
23├── wp-includes/           # Core WordPress libraries (DO NOT MODIFY)
24│   ├── class-wp-query.php
25│   ├── functions.php
26│   ├── post.php
27│   └── ...
28├── index.php             # Main entry point
29├── wp-config.php         # Configuration file (YOU CUSTOMIZE THIS)
30├── wp-config-sample.php  # Sample configuration
31├── wp-load.php           # Bootstrap loader
32├── wp-settings.php       # Core initialization
33├── .htaccess             # Apache rewrite rules (auto-generated)
34└── xmlrpc.php            # XML-RPC interface

1wp_posts              # Posts, pages, custom post types, revisions
2├── ID (bigint)
3├── post_author (bigint)
4├── post_date (datetime)
5├── post_content (longtext)
6├── post_title (text)
7├── post_status (varchar) # publish, draft, pending, private
8├── post_type (varchar)   # post, page, attachment, custom
9└── ...
10
11wp_postmeta           # Custom fields/meta data for posts
12├── meta_id (bigint)
13├── post_id (bigint)
14├── meta_key (varchar)
15└── meta_value (longtext)
16
17wp_users              # User accounts
18├── ID (bigint)
19├── user_login (varchar)
20├── user_pass (varchar)   # Hashed password
21├── user_email (varchar)
22├── user_registered (datetime)
23└── ...
24
25wp_usermeta           # User metadata (preferences, capabilities)
26├── umeta_id (bigint)
27├── user_id (bigint)
28├── meta_key (varchar)
29└── meta_value (longtext)
30
31wp_comments           # Comments and trackbacks
32├── comment_ID (bigint)
33├── comment_post_ID (bigint)
34├── comment_author (tinytext)
35├── comment_content (text)
36├── comment_approved (varchar)
37└── ...
38
39wp_commentmeta        # Comment metadata
40
41wp_terms              # Categories, tags, custom taxonomies
42├── term_id (bigint)
43├── name (varchar)
44├── slug (varchar)
45└── term_group (bigint)
46
47wp_term_taxonomy      # Taxonomy definitions
48├── term_taxonomy_id (bigint)
49├── term_id (bigint)
50├── taxonomy (varchar)  # category, post_tag, custom
51├── description (longtext)
52├── parent (bigint)
53└── count (bigint)
54
55wp_term_relationships # Post-to-term assignments
56├── object_id (bigint)  # post_id
57├── term_taxonomy_id (bigint)
58└── term_order (int)
59
60wp_options            # Site settings and configuration
61├── option_id (bigint)
62├── option_name (varchar)  # siteurl, blogname, etc.
63├── option_value (longtext)
64└── autoload (varchar)     # yes/no
65
66wp_links              # Blogroll links (legacy)
67
68wp_termmeta           # Term metadata

11. User Request → index.php
2   ↓
32. Load wp-config.php (database credentials, constants)
4   ↓
53. Load wp-settings.php (initialize WordPress)
6   ├── Load core libraries (wp-includes/)
7   ├── Connect to database
8   ├── Load active plugins
9   ├── Load active theme
10   └── Set up hooks and filters
11   ↓
124. Parse Request (WP::parse_request())
13   ├── Check .htaccess rewrite rules
14   ├── Determine query variables
15   └── Route to appropriate handler
16   ↓
175. Query Posts (WP_Query)
18   ├── Build SQL query based on request
19   ├── Execute database query
20   └── Load post objects
21   ↓
226. Load Template (template-loader.php)
23   ├── Check template hierarchy
24   ├── Find appropriate template file
25   └── Include template from active theme
26   ↓
277. Render Output (The Loop)
28   ├── Process template PHP code
29   ├── Execute shortcodes
30   ├── Apply content filters
31   └── Output HTML
32   ↓
338. Send Response → User Browser

1# Download Local by Flywheel
2# Visit: https://localwp.com/
3
4Steps:
51. Download and install Local for your OS (Windows/Mac/Linux)
62. Click "Create a new site"
73. Enter site name (e.g., "my-wordpress-site")
84. Choose environment:
9   - PHP: 8.1 or higher
10   - Web Server: Nginx (recommended) or Apache
11   - Database: MySQL 8.0
125. Set up WordPress:
13   - Username: admin
14   - Password: (strong password)
15   - Email: your-email@example.com
166. Click "Add Site"
177. Access site at: http://my-wordpress-site.local
18
19✓ Benefits:
20  • One-click WordPress installation
21  • Easy multi-site management
22  • Built-in SSL certificates
23  • Live link sharing
24  • Blueprint templates

1# Step 1: Install XAMPP
2# Download from: https://www.apachefriends.org/
3
4# Step 2: Start Apache and MySQL
5# Open XAMPP Control Panel
6# Click "Start" for Apache and MySQL modules
7
8# Step 3: Create Database
9# Visit: http://localhost/phpmyadmin
10# Click "New" → Enter database name: "wordpress_db"
11# Click "Create"
12
13# Step 4: Download WordPress
14# Visit: https://wordpress.org/download/
15# Download latest version (e.g., wordpress-6.4.2.zip)
16
17# Step 5: Extract to XAMPP
18# Extract ZIP to: C:/xampp/htdocs/my-wordpress-site/
19# (or /Applications/XAMPP/htdocs/my-wordpress-site/ on Mac)
20
21# Step 6: Install WordPress
22# Visit: http://localhost/my-wordpress-site
23# Follow 5-minute installation wizard:
24  1. Select language
25  2. Enter database details:
26     - Database Name: wordpress_db
27     - Username: root
28     - Password: (leave blank for XAMPP default)
29     - Database Host: localhost
30     - Table Prefix: wp_
31  3. Submit
32  4. Enter site information:
33     - Site Title
34     - Username (avoid 'admin')
35     - Password (strong)
36     - Email
37  5. Install WordPress
38  6. Login at: http://localhost/my-wordpress-site/wp-admin

1# Create docker-compose.yml
2version: '3.8'
3
4services:
5  wordpress:
6    image: wordpress:latest
7    container_name: my_wordpress
8    ports:
9      - "8080:80"
10    environment:
11      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db:3306
12      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wordpress
13      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: wordpress_pass
14      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpress_db
15    volumes:
16      - ./wordpress:/var/www/html
17    depends_on:
18      - db
19
20  db:
21    image: mysql:8.0
22    container_name: my_wordpress_db
23    environment:
24      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root_pass
25      MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress_db
26      MYSQL_USER: wordpress
27      MYSQL_PASSWORD: wordpress_pass
28    volumes:
29      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql
30
31  phpmyadmin:
32    image: phpmyadmin:latest
33    container_name: my_phpmyadmin
34    ports:
35      - "8081:80"
36    environment:
37      PMA_HOST: db
38      PMA_USER: wordpress
39      PMA_PASSWORD: wordpress_pass
40    depends_on:
41      - db
42
43volumes:
44  db_data:
45
46# Run:
47docker-compose up -d
48
49# Access:
50# WordPress: http://localhost:8080
51# phpMyAdmin: http://localhost:8081
52
53# Stop:
54docker-compose down

1# Prerequisites:
2# - VPS/Shared hosting with SSH access
3# - LAMP/LEMP stack installed
4# - Domain name pointed to server
5
6# Step 1: Create Database
7mysql -u root -p
8CREATE DATABASE wordpress_prod CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
9CREATE USER 'wpuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strong_password_here';
10GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress_prod.* TO 'wpuser'@'localhost';
11FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
12EXIT;
13
14# Step 2: Download WordPress
15cd /var/www/html
16sudo wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
17sudo tar -xzvf latest.tar.gz
18sudo mv wordpress/* .
19sudo rm -rf wordpress latest.tar.gz
20
21# Step 3: Set Permissions
22sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html
23sudo find /var/www/html -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \\;
24sudo find /var/www/html -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \\;
25
26# Step 4: Configure WordPress
27sudo cp wp-config-sample.php wp-config.php
28sudo nano wp-config.php
29
30# Edit database credentials:
31define('DB_NAME', 'wordpress_prod');
32define('DB_USER', 'wpuser');
33define('DB_PASSWORD', 'strong_password_here');
34define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
35
36# Step 5: Generate Security Keys
37# Visit: https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/
38# Copy and paste keys into wp-config.php
39
40# Step 6: Configure Nginx (if using Nginx)
41sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/wordpress
42
43server {
44    listen 80;
45    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;
46    root /var/www/html;
47    index index.php;
48
49    location / {
50        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
51    }
52
53    location ~ \\.php$ {
54        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
55        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock;
56    }
57
58    location ~ /\\.ht {
59        deny all;
60    }
61}
62
63sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/wordpress /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
64sudo nginx -t
65sudo systemctl reload nginx
66
67# Step 7: Complete Installation
68# Visit: http://yourdomain.com
69# Follow installation wizard
70
71# Step 8: Secure with SSL
72sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
73sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com
74sudo certbot renew --dry-run  # Test auto-renewal

1<?php
2/**
3 * WordPress Configuration File
4 */
5
6// ** Database Settings ** //
7define('DB_NAME', 'database_name_here');
8define('DB_USER', 'username_here');
9define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password_here');
10define('DB_HOST', 'localhost'); // Usually 'localhost', sometimes IP or socket
11define('DB_CHARSET', 'utf8mb4');
12define('DB_COLLATE', '');
13
14// ** Authentication Unique Keys and Salts ** //
15// Generate at: https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/
16define('AUTH_KEY',         'put your unique phrase here');
17define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY',  'put your unique phrase here');
18define('LOGGED_IN_KEY',    'put your unique phrase here');
19define('NONCE_KEY',        'put your unique phrase here');
20define('AUTH_SALT',        'put your unique phrase here');
21define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here');
22define('LOGGED_IN_SALT',   'put your unique phrase here');
23define('NONCE_SALT',       'put your unique phrase here');
24
25// ** WordPress Database Table Prefix ** //
26$table_prefix = 'wp_'; // Change for security (e.g., 'mysite_')
27
28// ** Debugging ** //
29define('WP_DEBUG', false); // Set to true in development
30define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', false); // Log to wp-content/debug.log
31define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false); // Display errors on screen
32define('SCRIPT_DEBUG', false); // Use unminified JS/CSS
33
34// ** Performance ** //
35define('WP_CACHE', true); // Enable caching
36define('COMPRESS_CSS', true);
37define('COMPRESS_SCRIPTS', true);
38define('CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS', true);
39define('ENFORCE_GZIP', true);
40
41// ** Security ** //
42define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true); // Disable theme/plugin editor
43define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true); // Disable all file modifications
44define('FORCE_SSL_ADMIN', true); // Force SSL for admin
45define('WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE', 'minor'); // Auto-update: true, false, 'minor'
46
47// ** File System ** //
48define('FS_METHOD', 'direct'); // File system method: direct, ssh2, ftpext, ftpsockets
49define('FS_CHMOD_DIR', (0755 & ~umask()));
50define('FS_CHMOD_FILE', (0644 & ~umask()));
51
52// ** Memory Limits ** //
53define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M'); // Standard limit
54define('WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M'); // Admin area limit
55
56// ** Revisions ** //
57define('WP_POST_REVISIONS', 5); // Limit revisions (false to disable)
58define('AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL', 160); // Autosave interval in seconds
59
60// ** Trash ** //
61define('EMPTY_TRASH_DAYS', 30); // Days before permanent deletion
62
63// ** Multisite (if enabled) ** //
64// define('WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true);
65// define('MULTISITE', true);
66// define('SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL', false);
67// define('DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE', 'example.com');
68// define('PATH_CURRENT_SITE', '/');
69// define('SITE_ID_CURRENT_SITE', 1);
70// define('BLOG_ID_CURRENT_SITE', 1);
71
72// ** Custom Content Directory (optional) ** //
73// define('WP_CONTENT_DIR', dirname(__FILE__) . '/content');
74// define('WP_CONTENT_URL', 'http://example.com/content');
75
76// ** Custom Plugin Directory (optional) ** //
77// define('WP_PLUGIN_DIR', dirname(__FILE__) . '/content/plugins');
78// define('WP_PLUGIN_URL', 'http://example.com/content/plugins');
79
80/* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */
81
82/** Absolute path to the WordPress directory. */
83if (!defined('ABSPATH')) {
84    define('ABSPATH', __DIR__ . '/');
85}
86
87/** Sets up WordPress vars and included files. */
88require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-settings.php';

1<?php
2/**
3 * Environment-Specific Configuration
4 * Detect environment and load appropriate settings
5 */
6
7// Detect environment
8$hostname = gethostname();
9
10if (strpos($hostname, 'local') !== false || $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] === 'localhost') {
11    // Local Development Environment
12    define('WP_ENV', 'development');
13    define('DB_NAME', 'local_wordpress');
14    define('DB_USER', 'root');
15    define('DB_PASSWORD', 'root');
16    define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
17
18    define('WP_DEBUG', true);
19    define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
20    define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', true);
21    define('SCRIPT_DEBUG', true);
22    define('SAVEQUERIES', true); // Log database queries
23
24    define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', false);
25    define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', false);
26
27} elseif (strpos($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'], 'staging') !== false) {
28    // Staging Environment
29    define('WP_ENV', 'staging');
30    define('DB_NAME', 'staging_wordpress');
31    define('DB_USER', 'staging_user');
32    define('DB_PASSWORD', 'staging_password');
33    define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
34
35    define('WP_DEBUG', true);
36    define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
37    define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);
38
39    define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true);
40    define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', false);
41
42} else {
43    // Production Environment
44    define('WP_ENV', 'production');
45    define('DB_NAME', 'prod_wordpress');
46    define('DB_USER', 'prod_user');
47    define('DB_PASSWORD', 'secure_prod_password');
48    define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
49
50    define('WP_DEBUG', false);
51    define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', false);
52    define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);
53
54    define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true);
55    define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true);
56    define('FORCE_SSL_ADMIN', true);
57
58    define('WP_CACHE', true);
59    define('COMPRESS_CSS', true);
60    define('COMPRESS_SCRIPTS', true);
61}
62
63// Security keys (same for all environments - use unique values)
64define('AUTH_KEY',         'put your unique phrase here');
65define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY',  'put your unique phrase here');
66// ... rest of security keys
67
68$table_prefix = 'wp_';
69
70if (!defined('ABSPATH')) {
71    define('ABSPATH', __DIR__ . '/');
72}
73
74require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-settings.php';

1<?php
2// Check if there are posts to display
3if (have_posts()) :
4
5    // Start the loop
6    while (have_posts()) : the_post();
7
8        // Display post content
9        ?>
10        <article id="post-<?php the_ID(); ?>" <?php post_class(); ?>>
11            <h2><?php the_title(); ?></h2>
12            <div class="meta">
13                Posted on <?php the_date(); ?>
14                by <?php the_author(); ?>
15            </div>
16            <div class="content">
17                <?php the_content(); ?>
18            </div>
19            <div class="tags">
20                <?php the_tags('Tags: ', ', '); ?>
21            </div>
22        </article>
23        <?php
24
25    endwhile; // End of the loop
26
27    // Pagination
28    the_posts_pagination();
29
30else :
31
32    // No posts found
33    echo '<p>No posts found.</p>';
34
35endif;
36?>

1have_posts()    // Returns true if there are posts to display
2the_post()      // Sets up the current post data (must be called in loop)
3rewind_posts()  // Resets the loop to the beginning

1the_ID()            // Display post ID
2the_title()         // Display post title
3the_content()       // Display full post content
4the_excerpt()       // Display post excerpt
5the_permalink()     // Display post URL
6the_author()        // Display author name
7the_date()          // Display post date
8the_time()          // Display post time
9the_category()      // Display post categories
10the_tags()          // Display post tags
11post_class()        // Add CSS classes to post container
12body_class()        // Add CSS classes to body tag

1get_the_ID()           // Return post ID
2get_the_title()        // Return post title
3get_the_content()      // Return post content
4get_the_excerpt()      // Return post excerpt
5get_permalink()        // Return post URL
6get_the_author()       // Return author name
7get_the_date()         // Return post date
8get_the_category()     // Return post categories array
9get_the_tags()         // Return post tags array
10get_post_thumbnail_id() // Return featured image ID
11get_the_post_thumbnail() // Return featured image HTML

1<?php
2// Create custom query
3$args = array(
4    'post_type'      => 'post',
5    'posts_per_page' => 10,
6    'category_name'  => 'news',
7    'orderby'        => 'date',
8    'order'          => 'DESC',
9    'post_status'    => 'publish',
10);
11
12$custom_query = new WP_Query($args);
13
14// Custom loop
15if ($custom_query->have_posts()) :
16    while ($custom_query->have_posts()) : $custom_query->the_post();
17        ?>
18        <article>
19            <h2><a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>"><?php the_title(); ?></a></h2>
20            <?php the_excerpt(); ?>
21        </article>
22        <?php
23    endwhile;
24
25    // Restore original post data
26    wp_reset_postdata();
27else :
28    echo '<p>No posts found.</p>';
29endif;
30?>
31
32<?php
33// Complex WP_Query example
34$args = array(
35    'post_type'      => array('post', 'page'),
36    'posts_per_page' => 5,
37    'meta_query'     => array(
38        array(
39            'key'     => 'featured',
40            'value'   => '1',
41            'compare' => '='
42        )
43    ),
44    'tax_query'      => array(
45        array(
46            'taxonomy' => 'category',
47            'field'    => 'slug',
48            'terms'    => 'featured'
49        )
50    ),
51    'date_query'     => array(
52        array(
53            'after'  => '1 month ago',
54            'before' => 'today'
55        )
56    ),
57);
58
59$query = new WP_Query($args);
60?>

1Homepage:
21. front-page.php
32. home.php
43. index.php
5
6Single Post:
71. single-{post-type}-{slug}.php  (e.g., single-post-hello-world.php)
82. single-{post-type}.php          (e.g., single-post.php)
93. single.php
104. singular.php
115. index.php
12
13Page:
141. page-{slug}.php                 (e.g., page-about.php)
152. page-{id}.php                   (e.g., page-42.php)
163. page-{template}.php             (custom page template)
174. page.php
185. singular.php
196. index.php
20
21Category Archive:
221. category-{slug}.php             (e.g., category-news.php)
232. category-{id}.php               (e.g., category-5.php)
243. category.php
254. archive.php
265. index.php
27
28Tag Archive:
291. tag-{slug}.php                  (e.g., tag-wordpress.php)
302. tag-{id}.php
313. tag.php
324. archive.php
335. index.php
34
35Custom Post Type Archive:
361. archive-{post-type}.php         (e.g., archive-product.php)
372. archive.php
383. index.php
39
40Author Archive:
411. author-{nicename}.php           (e.g., author-john.php)
422. author-{id}.php
433. author.php
444. archive.php
455. index.php
46
47Date Archive:
481. date.php
492. archive.php
503. index.php
51
52Search Results:
531. search.php
542. index.php
55
56404 Error:
571. 404.php
582. index.php
59
60Attachment (Media):
611. {mime-type}.php                 (e.g., image.php, video.php)
622. attachment.php
633. single-attachment-{slug}.php
644. single-attachment.php
655. single.php
666. singular.php
677. index.php

1<?php
2// Include template parts
3get_header();        // Includes header.php
4get_footer();        // Includes footer.php
5get_sidebar();       // Includes sidebar.php
6
7// Include custom template parts
8get_template_part('template-parts/content', 'post');
9// Looks for: template-parts/content-post.php, then content.php
10
11get_template_part('template-parts/navigation', 'mobile');
12// Looks for: template-parts/navigation-mobile.php, then navigation.php
13
14// With custom loader
15locate_template(array('custom-header.php', 'header.php'), true, false);
16?>
17
18<!-- Example: template-parts/content-post.php -->
19<article id="post-<?php the_ID(); ?>" <?php post_class(); ?>>
20    <header class="entry-header">
21        <?php the_title('<h2 class="entry-title">', '</h2>'); ?>
22        <div class="entry-meta">
23            Posted on <?php the_date(); ?> by <?php the_author(); ?>
24        </div>
25    </header>
26
27    <?php if (has_post_thumbnail()) : ?>
28        <div class="post-thumbnail">
29            <?php the_post_thumbnail('large'); ?>
30        </div>
31    <?php endif; ?>
32
33    <div class="entry-content">
34        <?php the_content(); ?>
35    </div>
36
37    <footer class="entry-footer">
38        <?php the_tags('<span class="tags">Tags: ', ', ', '</span>'); ?>
39        <?php the_category(', '); ?>
40    </footer>
41</article>