The internet can teach you a lot about WordPress, but some learn best with a hard copy of a book in front of them. Here are the WordPress books worth reading.
Without question, WordPress is the must-have blogging platform for professionals. In fact, the platform is so popular that you can find several WordPress books on the market.
These books cover a variety of material about the blogging giant. And when it comes to WordPress, there’s a lot to cover.
Some books showcase WordPress’ multiple functions, from its dashboard to its entry editor to its social media integration capabilities. Others feature its themes and explain how to customize
them. Then there are those that discuss the platform’s marketing and socialization potential.
Some WordPress books touch on every subject.
The WordPress book you should consult depends on what you want to learn.
Read on to find the WordPress book that’s right for you!
WordPress Books Actually Worth Reading
The Internet holds a great deal of information about WordPress. However, not all of that information is correct or up-to-date.
Moreover, finding the information you want can be a chore. Consulting a WordPress book’s table of contents is much easier than checking every Google result.
To aid you in your search, we’ve compiled a list of WordPress books that are actually worth reading. Check it out below.
1. WordPress All-In-One For Dummies, Lisa Sabin-Wilson
No how-to book guide would be complete without at least one Dummies book!
Lisa Sabin-Wilson’s WordPress All-In-One For Dummies touches on just about every WordPress feature in existence.
Are you having trouble remembering which feature is where on WordPress’s extensive dashboard? No trouble.
Do you need to customize your WordPress’ appearance to align with your brand? Not a problem.
Are you thinking of implementing SEO and using WordPress’ Stats tool to measure it? WordPress All-In-One For Dummies has you covered.
About the only thing that this WordPress book doesn’t have is in-depth information about each feature.
However, its goal isn’t to present every single WordPress fact. It aims to provide beginners with all of the basics so they can get started. And it more than succeeds.
2. Professional WordPress: Design and Development, Brad Williams and David Damstra
As its name suggests, Brad Williams and David Damstra’s Professional WordPress: Design and Development is not for WordPress beginners. It is for those who wish to learn more about WordPress’s design capabilities and how to create WordPress themes.
Professional WordPress: Design and Development is a web developer’s dream come true. It covers HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript — three coding languages that WordPress developers can use. It also features Multisite, custom post types, and theme extensions.
Even more helpful than the information are the downloadables. Readers can download code and samples to use on their own WordPress blogs.
3. Professional WordPress Plugin Development, Brian Williams and Ozh Richard
Brad Williams strikes again! In Professional WordPress Plugin Development, he and co-author Ozh Richard tackle WordPress plugin development.
For those not yet in the know, plugins are essentially WordPress’s version of apps. They exist to increase WordPress’s usefulness.
You can find a WordPress app for just about anything related to the platform. Apps can help with SEO, enable cross-platform comments, install live chatboxes, and much, much more.
Apps are created using code. As such, Professional WordPress Plugin Development is not beginners’ fodder. Only advanced WordPress users, developers, and programmers should attempt the material presented in this book.
But for its target audience, it is a very useful guide. It covers everything back end-related, from debugging to full app creation.
4. SEO For WordPress, Kent Mauresmo and Anastasiya Petrova
Nowadays, SEO (search engine optimization) is a must-have for every website.
SEO entails implementing select keywords, backlinking, and other techniques that influence search engine rankings. The higher a website’s ranking, the more traffic that website garners.
WordPress bloggers not yet savvy to SEO need not worry, though. Kent Mauresmo and Anastasiya Petrova have you covered in SEO For WordPress!
SEO For WordPress covers all of the basics of SEO, from research to analysis. It even provides tips and tricks for writing content that is both optimized and search engine-friendly.
The book doesn’t stop there. It features basic SEO troubleshooting as well as advice for optimizing images and customizing plugins.
In sum, SEO For WordPress is a WordPress marketer’s Bible.
5. WordPress For Business Bloggers, Paul Thewis
WordPress For Business Bloggers is one of the best WordPress books out there for business owners. Written by Paul Thewlis, the book covers everything business owners need to know to successfully market their businesses on WordPress.
It doesn’t matter what your business is. It could be Cool Care Heating & Air in Columbia, SC or a theater company in New York City. Anyone anywhere can turn WordPress into a viable marketing platform.
WordPress For Business Bloggers walks you through every step to making an effective business blog. From attention-grabbing layouts to advertising to plugins to analytics, WordPress For Business Bloggers makes business blogging simple and easy.
6. Smashing WordPress: Beyond The Blog, Thord Daniel Hedengren
Thord Daniel Hedengren’s Smashing WordPress: Beyond The Blog strikes as swiftly as its name suggests. This book features a colorful, magazine-style layout that makes it fun to follow.
Like WordPress All-In-One For Dummies, Smashing WordPress features general information about WordPress’s features. Unlike All-In-One, Smashing WordPress includes more in-depth information that intermediate bloggers can appreciate.
Topics covered in Smashing WordPress include SEO, social media integration, and theme development.
What’s more, this WordPress book covers both the design and e-commerce sides of the blogging platform. As such, it is a great guide for beginner to intermediate bloggers who want to focus on building a brand-oriented blog.
Need More WordPress Tips and Tricks? Contact Us!
WordPress often proves tricky even for the savviest web developer or blogger on the net. That’s where we come in.
At We Love WP, we provide our readers with resources and guidance so they can make the most out of their WordPress blogs. From themes to interface design to WordPress hosting, we cover everything WordPress-related at We Love WP.
For more WordPress tips and tricks, feel free to reach out to us today!
What did you think of our list? Have you read any of these WordPress books? Are there any that you think should have made the list?
Let us know in the comments below!