At the WordPress Meetup Tokyo yesterday, we held a 2-hour WordPress theme building workshop.
Based on the feedback, sounds like the attendees liked how it went! Thanks to my co-organizers and attendees who helped out each other, everyone was able to learn something new.
I also enjoyed the meetup because it gave me a chance to understand the key elements in learning how to build an original WordPress theme for the first time.
I think these are some of very important (but often overlooked) points:
- Know reliable sources of information (e.g. WordPress.org Theme Handbook)
- Properly set up the local develpment enviroment
- Learn how to debug/troubleshoot issues
- Break things and experiment
- (If possible) Find a mentor whom you can ask questions
If this list looks like a no-brainer to you, then you are on the right track.
But if you think WordPress theme building is like a black magic, I highly recommend reading through the Theme Handbook before you head to any other tutorial videos or articles online.
The theme files and instruction text I prepared for the workshop are available here if anyone is interested.
