WordPress Developer Job Description, Skills, and Responsibilities

WordPress is a free and open-source PHP Content Management System (CMS) with a template and plugin architecture that supports website building and development. It is used by 64.3% of all websites around the world whose CMS is known, equal to 43% of all websites.

A WordPress website developer is a professional who specializes in the WordPress ecosystem. It is their job to create products, themes, and plugins on this platform, or to maintain WordPress websites with updates and improvements over time.

WordPress is used by over 60 million websites on the internet, so you can easily guess its popularity and brand value. Due to its large user base, WordPress development is an in-demand job role for WordPress experts.

That’s why it is beneficial to know the WordPress Developer job description for both employers and prospective employees.

Why Do You Need a WordPress Developer?

The USP of WordPress is that it does not require coding knowledge to build a website. It’s also easy to learn and build on, making it the platform of choice for non-technical website runners.

So, you must be wondering why we need a WordPress Developer, WordPress theme developer, or plugin developer at all.

It’s true that you can enhance a website’s appearance and public content, add media, and change settings without having to handle code. But WordPress Developer skills go beyond just these activities.

A developer typically creates the best WordPress plugins, themes, and blocks to add more features or enhance the WordPress Core. It helps to maintain websites over time and troubleshoot errors without messing up crucial functions.

Someone without any technical knowledge won’t be able to tackle problems related to website debugging, front-end and back-end development, data backup, theme customizations, and website redesigns.

That is why you should consider hiring a WordPress Developer in case you’re running your website on this platform.

Here’s what the typical WordPress Developer job responsibilities entail.

1. WordPress Developer Job profile

A WordPress Developer job profile includes both back-end and front-end development tasks. They should be technologically sound and aesthetically able to visualize working with the best WordPress plugins, screen arrangement, colors, fonts, UI elements, etc.

Daily tasks in this job role may include creating and maintaining the WordPress site, custom themes, and plugins, sitemaps, wireframes, etc. You may be required to create a site, migrate an existing site to WordPress, or redesign the site to improve its SEO (search engine optimization) performance.

Apart from having full stack WordPress Developer skills, the candidate must also be able to work with clients to understand their requirements and deliver products accordingly.

There are several other responsibilities that may come with the WordPress Developer JD (job description), depending on the company or project in question.

Overall, all such tasks are expected to revolve around the following areas:

Consulting and website design
Custom design and development
Content migration to WordPress
Security and compliance tasks
Support and maintenance of WordPress websites

2. WordPress Developer Job Description

While hiring a WordPress Developer, the most important thing and the first point of reference for a prospective candidate is the job description. An ideal job description should be clear, detailed, transparent, and informative.

It should cover all aspects of the job, skills required, additional conditions, and company values. The WordPress Developer should get an idea of the job profile and specific requirements if any.

For different job roles like WordPress plugin developer or theme developer, a few things may differ. This sample WordPress Developer job description covers extensive details of a typical JD for the role of a WordPress developer.

Sample of WordPress Developer Job Description

We are searching for a passionate and skilled WordPress Developer for our IT team in New Jersey.

To fit this job role, you should have experience in front-end and back-end development, creating WordPress themes and plugins, and handling integrations and regular updates of the CMS.

We are looking for someone who can design engaging and functional websites for our clients and fits our WordPress Developer job description.

You would need a strong interest and understanding of front-end development, industry trends, website architecture, and new technologies for content management systems.

1. Responsibilities

Collaborating with clients to design websites and their functions
Developing the front-end of the website
Planning and creating the website architecture
Managing back-end tasks like database and server integration
Generating WordPress themes and plugins
Testing and troubleshooting the website
Analyzing live website performance
Maintaining website security and compliance
Researching technical specifications of a project based on client inputs
Training and leading a team of developers
Ensuring the overall quality of a project

2. Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree in IT, computer science, or a similar field, or equivalent industry experience
At least 2 years of experience working as a WordPress Developer
Knowledge of development technologies including PHP, JavaScript, HTML, jQuery, SQL, and CSS
Basic knowledge of Git and other code versioning tools
Experience in using and developing other CMS tools
Experience in testing and debugging tools
Understanding of website architecture and aesthetics
Strong verbal and written communication skills
Ability to lead and work as part of a team

3. Preferred Skills

Web servers like ASP and Apache
React/React Native frameworks
Microsoft .NET
Knowledge of REST APIs and MySQL

WordPress Developer Skills and Competencies

A typical WordPress front-end developer job description tells you what skills and competencies you need to work in this field. Since WordPress development is one of the most coveted skills in front-end developers, the job market is quite competitive.

According to Glassdoor, the average WordPress developer salary in the United States is $67,837 annually. The salary range increases with experience and seniority. To become a competent WordPress Developer, you should follow a few steps.

Learn the basics of coding. Although website designing on WordPress doesn’t need coding knowledge, a developer must always be well-equipped to handle both front-end and back-end issues.
Research on WordPress development and its related skills. Find out the current trends of the industry and learn new skills and technologies that can aid you in your job role.
Choose a focus area to work on. WordPress development involves core development, themes, and plugins. A full stack WordPress developer job description asks for all three skills, but for starters, you can choose a specialization and gain experience accordingly.
Join the WordPress community of developers. Talk to them over channels like Slack, participate in webinars, go to community events, and build industry connections to help you in developing your skills.
Set up a development environment, either local or remote, where you can store all the WordPress themes, plugins, and core files to work on.
Build a portfolio of work that you can display on your technical resume. This will be a reference for future employers to learn your skill set and experience in handling WordPress projects.

But before you take these steps to hire a WordPress expert, you must fulfill the technical requirements that a web developer WordPress job description wants. Here are some of the non-negotiable hard skills.

1. HTML

Hypertext Markup Language or HTML forms the basic structure of a WordPress website. You need detailed HTML knowledge for web development tasks. It helps you understand the composition and design of web pages and gives the base for front-end knowledge. Needless to say, HTML is one of the most essential skills for a WordPress developer.

2. PHP

Another skill to match the WordPress Developer job description is to have knowledge of PHP. WordPress has been built on PHP, so you must have in-depth PHP knowledge to work as a WordPress Developer.

This skill allows you to connect the database and the user interface and build websites accordingly. This skill is at the top of a PHP WordPress Developer job description, no matter what kind of role you apply for.

3. CSS

Cascading Style Sheets or CSS determines the visual structure of a WordPress website, making it a non-negotiable skill for a WordPress Developer job description. For people working at the front end, CSS is something you must have thorough expertise in. Back-end developers need this as a preferred skill only.

Also read: Top platforms to find WordPress website designers and developers.

4. JavaScript

JavaScript is the base of all web development work as it controls the interactive elements in a web page. You must have knowledge and experience of JavaScript to work in WordPress front-end development.

Creating dynamic websites and interactive elements is easy with JavaScript frameworks and libraries like React. Thus, it is a crucial skill to have for a web developer.

5. SQL

SQL or Structured Query Language helps in regulating communication with databases in web applications. It is one of the WordPress Developer’s key skills for back-end development and a preferred skill for professionals working in other areas.

6. WordPress as a Platform

Needless to say, you must be well aware of how WordPress works as a platform to build websites and a content management system. Related skills include installing and setting up a WordPress website, adding themes, Choosing the best WordPress plugins, stabilizing performance, and enhancing features and functionalities.

Apart from these essential skills, there are many soft skills that are highlighted in a WordPress website developer job description. Some of those are:

Ability to work as part of a team
Clear communication and collaboration initiatives
Experience in handling a team of developers
Ability to train and lead a WordPress development team
Fluency in client communication
Ability to prepare pitches, presentations, and project outlines

Other skills depend on job requirements and can be specific to a company or role or WordPress web domain like WordPress.com VS WordPress.org.

WordPress Developer Duties and Responsibilities

WordPress Developer responsibilities may vary from job to job, but the role has a few typical expectations associated with it. Most companies want their developer to be able to code, maintain websites, work on the front-end and back-end, and handle the CMS technicalities.

Some WordPress Developer roles and responsibilities include:

Formulating a website design that is responsive and error-free
Designing and implementing new features in a WordPress website
Creating and guiding the website architecture
Maintaining the CMS for optimal performance
Collaborating with clients to specify project details
Building the front end of the website
Working with the back-end and website architecture
Effectively manage the cost to develop a WordPress website
Generating WordPress themes and plugins
Conducting performance tests and troubleshooting issues
Leading WordPress training
Monitoring live website performance
Ensuring projects stick to budgets and deadlines
Developing and maintaining websites, intranets, applications, and custom programs
Providing diagnostic reports of website performance
Researching and utilizing industry standards and trends
Taking care of security and compliance standards

A senior WordPress Developer job description may contain more essential responsibilities. This list can be customized based on the specific needs of a project.

WordPress Developer Requirements and Qualifications

As we already mentioned in the sample WordPress Developer job description, there are several requirements and qualifications that accompany the skills required for WordPress Developer roles.

Here’s a detailed list of requirements that a WordPress developer job description typically includes.

In-depth understanding of front-end technologies like HTML, jQuery, JavaScript, and CSS
Experience in building user interfaces
Experience in designing and developing responsive web applications
Familiarity with tools like Chrome inspector and Firebug
An eye for details in browser and platform visuals
Ability to turn layouts and wireframes into HTML pages
Interaction with REST APIs and formats like XML and JSON
Awareness of code versioning tools like Git
Knowledge of PHP back-end development
Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, software engineering, IT, or related fields
Relevant industry experience and portfolio, in absence of a conventional degree

These skills are crucial to be able to work in this industry, but there’s no problem if you don’t already possess WordPress front-end developer skills. It’s never too late to learn, with colleges, universities, and online learning portals offering professional courses.

Skills can always be built and nurtured for a successful, high-paying, and satisfactory career in the field of WordPress development.

Conclusion

To hire a suitable WordPress Developer for your company, the first question you need to ask is, what skills are required for a WordPress Developer?

You must, then, figure out the daily tasks of the job role and prepare a WordPress Developer job description that will attract suitable candidates. This is a crucial step as searching for the right candidate among thousands of applicants needs a lot of legwork.

A crisp and transparent WordPress Developer job description can help you here. Or, you can associate with a talent sourcing agency like Uplers to cut down your efforts and get you in touch with highly qualified and pre-screened candidates that have all the required skills and qualifications for your WordPress project.