12 Best WordPress Books for Learning the Platform

WordPress is one of the most popular and powerful platforms for creating websites and blogs. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, there is always something new to learn about WordPress. That’s why reading some best WordPress books can be a great way to expand your knowledge and skills.

But with so many WordPress books available, how do you choose the best ones? To help you out, I have compiled a list of 12 best WordPress books for learning the platform in 2023. These books cover various topics, from basic WordPress setup and design to advanced WordPress development and optimization.

Best WordPress Books in 2023

Here are the 12 best WordPress books for learning the platform:

1. WordPress for Beginners 2019: A Visual Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering WordPress by Dr. Andy Williams

This book is a perfect choice for anyone who wants to learn WordPress from scratch. It covers all the essential aspects of WordPress, such as installing WordPress, choosing a theme, creating pages and posts, adding media, using plugins, and customizing your site. It also explains how to optimize your site for SEO, security, and performance.

The book is written in a clear and easy-to-follow style, with plenty of screenshots and examples. It also includes exercises and quizzes to test your understanding and reinforce your learning.

2. Web Design with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery Set by Jon Duckett

This book set is not specifically about WordPress, but it is a must-have for anyone who wants to learn web design and development. It teaches you the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery, which are the building blocks of any website.

The book set is beautifully designed, with colorful illustrations and diagrams that make learning fun and engaging. It also provides practical examples and projects that show you how to apply your knowledge to create stunning websites.

3. WordPress Websites for Business by Michael Cordova

This book is aimed at business owners and entrepreneurs who want to use WordPress to create professional and profitable websites. It covers everything from planning your website strategy and goals, to choosing a domain name and hosting service, to designing and launching your website.

The book also shows you how to use WordPress to generate leads, sales, and revenue for your business. It teaches you how to create landing pages, opt-in forms, email marketing campaigns, e-commerce stores, membership sites, and more.

4. WordPress Plugin Development Cookbook by Yannick Lefebvre

This book is for developers who want to learn how to create their own WordPress plugins. It guides you through the process of developing plugins from scratch, using the WordPress Plugin API and best practices.

The book also provides over 80 recipes that show you how to solve common problems and add various features and functionalities to your WordPress site. You will learn how to create widgets, shortcodes, custom post types, custom fields, settings pages, AJAX interactions, REST API endpoints, and more.

5. The One Hour Content Plan by Meera Kothand

This book is for bloggers who want to create engaging and effective content for their WordPress site. It helps you plan your content strategy and goals, identify your target audience and their needs, brainstorm content ideas, and craft compelling headlines.

The book also provides templates and worksheets that help you organize your content calendar and schedule. You will learn how to create content that attracts traffic, builds trust, and converts readers into subscribers and customers.

6. Project Management for Humans: Helping People Get Things Done by Brett Harned

This book is for project managers who want to use WordPress to manage their projects more efficiently and effectively. It covers the basics of project management, such as defining the scope, budget, timeline, and deliverables of a project. It also explains how to communicate and collaborate with your team and stakeholders, how to deal with risks and changes, and how to close and evaluate a project.

The book also shows you how to use WordPress as a project management tool, using plugins and integrations that help you track tasks, milestones, progress, feedback, and more. You will learn how to use WordPress to streamline your project workflow and improve your productivity and quality.

7. CSS: The Definitive Guide by Eric A. Meyer and Estelle Weyl

This book is for web designers and developers who want to master CSS, the language that styles and formats websites. It covers all the aspects of CSS, from the basics of selectors and properties, to the advanced topics of layouts, animations, and transitions.

The book also explains how to use CSS to create responsive and accessible websites that work across different devices and browsers. It provides hundreds of examples and exercises that help you practice and improve your CSS skills.

8. Starting a Successful Blog When You Have NO CLUE! by Gundi Gabrielle

This book is for beginners who want to start a successful blog with WordPress. It walks you through the steps of setting up your blog, choosing a niche, creating content, growing your audience, and monetizing your blog.

The book also shares tips and tricks from successful bloggers who have built their online presence and income with WordPress. It shows you how to avoid common mistakes and pitfalls that many new bloggers face.

9. WordPress: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald

This book is for anyone who wants to learn WordPress in a comprehensive and detailed way. It covers everything from installing WordPress, to creating and managing content, to customizing and enhancing your site.

The book also explains how to use WordPress as a platform for creating different types of websites, such as blogs, portfolios, e-commerce sites, forums, social networks, and more. It provides step-by-step instructions and screenshots that make learning WordPress easy and fun.

10. WordPress Security for Webmasters by Cyrus Jackson

This book is for webmasters who want to protect their WordPress site from hackers and malware. It covers the best practices and techniques for securing your WordPress site, such as choosing a strong password, updating WordPress core and plugins, backing up your site, scanning your site for vulnerabilities, and more.

The book also shows you how to recover your site if it gets hacked or infected. It provides practical examples and case studies that illustrate how to deal with common security issues and threats.

11. Professional WordPress Plugin Development by Brad Williams, Ozh Richard, and Justin Tadlock

This book is for developers who want to take their WordPress plugin development skills to the next level. It covers the advanced topics and concepts of WordPress plugin development, such as hooks, actions, filters, internationalization, localization, security, performance, testing, debugging, documentation, and more.

The book also provides real-world examples and projects that show you how to create complex and powerful plugins for WordPress. You will learn how to extend WordPress functionality in various ways, such as creating widgets, shortcodes, custom post types, custom fields, meta boxes, settings pages, cron jobs, rewrite rules, and more.

12. WordPress for Web Developers by Stephanie Leary

This book is for web developers who want to use WordPress as a framework for creating custom websites and applications. It covers the core features and functions of WordPress, such as themes, plugins, widgets, menus, custom fields, taxonomies, and more.

The book also shows you how to use WordPress APIs and libraries to create custom functionality and features for your site. You will learn how to use WordPress as a headless CMS, a RESTful API, a data source for mobile apps, and more.

Conclusion

WordPress is a versatile and powerful platform that can help you create any type of website or blog you want. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, there is always something new to learn about WordPress.

That’s why reading WordPress books can be a great way to expand your knowledge and skills. The books on this list cover various topics, from basic WordPress setup and design to advanced WordPress development and optimization.

I hope you found this list of 12 best WordPress books for learning the platform in 2023 helpful and informative. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below.

---

Read more:

How to Add Google AdSense to Your WordPress Site

Best Elementor Addons for WordPress Website

Best WordPress Payment Plugins