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WordPress Development Workflow Bundle

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Complete WordPress development workflow covering theme development, plugin creation, WooCommerce integration, performance optimization, and security hardening.

SKILL.md

Full skill instructions

WordPress Development Workflow Bundle

Overview

Comprehensive WordPress development workflow covering theme development, plugin creation, WooCommerce integration, performance optimization, and security. This bundle orchestrates skills for building production-ready WordPress sites and applications.

When to Use This Workflow

Use this workflow when:

  • Building new WordPress websites
  • Creating custom themes
  • Developing WordPress plugins
  • Setting up WooCommerce stores
  • Optimizing WordPress performance
  • Hardening WordPress security

Workflow Phases

Phase 1: WordPress Setup

Skills to Invoke
  • app-builder - Project scaffolding
  • environment-setup-guide - Development environment
Actions
  1. Set up local development environment (LocalWP, Docker, or Valet)
  2. Install WordPress
  3. Configure development database
  4. Set up version control
  5. Configure wp-config.php for development
Copy-Paste Prompts
Use @app-builder to scaffold a new WordPress project with modern tooling

Phase 2: Theme Development

Skills to Invoke
  • frontend-developer - Component development
  • frontend-design - UI implementation
  • tailwind-patterns - Styling
  • web-performance-optimization - Performance
Actions
  1. Design theme architecture
  2. Create theme files (style.css, functions.php, index.php)
  3. Implement template hierarchy
  4. Create custom page templates
  5. Add custom post types and taxonomies
  6. Implement theme customization options
  7. Add responsive design
Theme Structure
theme-name/
├── style.css
├── functions.php
├── index.php
├── header.php
├── footer.php
├── sidebar.php
├── single.php
├── page.php
├── archive.php
├── search.php
├── 404.php
├── template-parts/
├── inc/
├── assets/
│   ├── css/
│   ├── js/
│   └── images/
└── languages/
Copy-Paste Prompts
Use @frontend-developer to create a custom WordPress theme with React components
Use @tailwind-patterns to style WordPress theme with modern CSS

Phase 3: Plugin Development

Skills to Invoke
  • backend-dev-guidelines - Backend standards
  • api-design-principles - API design
  • auth-implementation-patterns - Authentication
Actions
  1. Design plugin architecture
  2. Create plugin boilerplate
  3. Implement hooks (actions and filters)
  4. Create admin interfaces
  5. Add custom database tables
  6. Implement REST API endpoints
  7. Add settings and options pages
Plugin Structure
plugin-name/
├── plugin-name.php
├── includes/
│   ├── class-plugin-activator.php
│   ├── class-plugin-deactivator.php
│   ├── class-plugin-loader.php
│   └── class-plugin.php
├── admin/
│   ├── class-plugin-admin.php
│   ├── css/
│   └── js/
├── public/
│   ├── class-plugin-public.php
│   ├── css/
│   └── js/
└── languages/
Copy-Paste Prompts
Use @backend-dev-guidelines to create a WordPress plugin with proper architecture

Phase 4: WooCommerce Integration

Skills to Invoke
  • payment-integration - Payment processing
  • stripe-integration - Stripe payments
  • billing-automation - Billing workflows
Actions
  1. Install and configure WooCommerce
  2. Create custom product types
  3. Customize checkout flow
  4. Integrate payment gateways
  5. Set up shipping methods
  6. Create custom order statuses
  7. Implement subscription products
  8. Add custom email templates
Copy-Paste Prompts
Use @payment-integration to set up WooCommerce with Stripe
Use @billing-automation to create subscription products in WooCommerce

Phase 5: Performance Optimization

Skills to Invoke
  • web-performance-optimization - Performance optimization
  • database-optimizer - Database optimization
Actions
  1. Implement caching (object, page, browser)
  2. Optimize images (lazy loading, WebP)
  3. Minify and combine assets
  4. Enable CDN
  5. Optimize database queries
  6. Implement lazy loading
  7. Configure OPcache
  8. Set up Redis/​Memcached
Performance Checklist
  • Page load time < 3 seconds
  • Time to First Byte < 200ms
  • Largest Contentful Paint < 2.5s
  • Cumulative Layout Shift < 0.1
  • First Input Delay < 100ms
Copy-Paste Prompts
Use @web-performance-optimization to audit and improve WordPress performance

Phase 6: Security Hardening

Skills to Invoke
  • security-auditor - Security audit
  • wordpress-penetration-testing - WordPress security testing
  • sast-configuration - Static analysis
Actions
  1. Update WordPress core, themes, plugins
  2. Implement security headers
  3. Configure file permissions
  4. Set up firewall rules
  5. Enable two-factor authentication
  6. Implement rate limiting
  7. Configure security logging
  8. Set up malware scanning
Security Checklist
  • WordPress core updated
  • All plugins/​themes updated
  • Strong passwords enforced
  • Two-factor authentication enabled
  • Security headers configured
  • XML-RPC disabled or protected
  • File editing disabled
  • Database prefix changed
  • Regular backups configured
Copy-Paste Prompts
Use @wordpress-penetration-testing to audit WordPress security
Use @security-auditor to perform comprehensive security review

Phase 7: Testing

Skills to Invoke
  • test-automator - Test automation
  • playwright-skill - E2E testing
  • webapp-testing - Web app testing
Actions
  1. Write unit tests for custom code
  2. Create integration tests
  3. Set up E2E tests
  4. Test cross-browser compatibility
  5. Test responsive design
  6. Performance testing
  7. Security testing
Copy-Paste Prompts
Use @playwright-skill to create E2E tests for WordPress site

Phase 8: Deployment

Skills to Invoke
  • deployment-engineer - Deployment
  • cicd-automation-workflow-automate - CI/​CD
  • github-actions-templates - GitHub Actions
Actions
  1. Set up staging environment
  2. Configure deployment pipeline
  3. Set up database migrations
  4. Configure environment variables
  5. Enable maintenance mode during deployment
  6. Deploy to production
  7. Verify deployment
  8. Monitor post-deployment
Copy-Paste Prompts
Use @deployment-engineer to set up WordPress deployment pipeline

WordPress-Specific Workflows

Custom Post Type Development

register_post_type('book', [
    'labels' => [...],
    'public' => true,
    'has_archive' => true,
    'supports' => ['title', 'editor', 'thumbnail', 'excerpt'],
    'menu_icon' => 'dashicons-book',
]);

Custom REST API Endpoint

add_action('rest_api_init', function() {
    register_rest_route('myplugin/​v1', '/​books', [
        'methods' => 'GET',
        'callback' => 'get_books',
        'permission_callback' => '__return_true',
    ]);
});

WooCommerce Custom Product Type

add_action('init', function() {
    class WC_Product_Custom extends WC_Product {
        // Custom product implementation
    }
});

Quality Gates

Before moving to next phase, verify:

  • All custom code tested
  • Security scan passed
  • Performance targets met
  • Cross-browser tested
  • Mobile responsive verified
  • Accessibility checked (WCAG 2.1)

Related Workflow Bundles

  • development - General web development
  • security-audit - Security testing
  • testing-qa - Testing workflow
  • ecommerce - E-commerce development