Think web design is only for people who know how to code? Think again.
WordPress isn’t perfect. But it’s a pretty powerful platform that makes building any kind of site accessible to all.
If you’re a complete beginner, it can all seem a bit overwhelming. Even if you’ve been using the platform for a while, there’s probably still a lot you don’t know how to do.
Luckily, there are plenty of clever people who have done the hard work for us. But while there are tons of books out there, WordPress is constantly changing. So, you need the most up-to-date versions.
In this article, we’ll cover 9 of the best WordPress books that’ll turn you into an expert in no time:
- WordPress: The Missing Manual
- WordPress for Beginners 2023: A Visual Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering WordPress
- Professional WordPress Plugin Development (2nd Edition)
- WordPress For Dummies (9th Edition)
- WordPress 5 Cookbook
- Building Web Apps with WordPress: WordPress as an Application Framework (2nd Edition)
- WordPress Websites for Business: How Anyone Can Maximise Website Performance and Results
- Mastering WooCommerce 4
- Design Your Own Website With WordPress 2023
1. WordPress: The Missing Manual
Author: Matthew MacDonald
Who it’s for: Those looking to learn everything there is to know about WordPress.
Where to buy: Amazon
You don’t use the subtitle “The book that should have been in the box” about a topic if you’re not confident it’s great. Luckily, Amazon users agree. Matthew MacDonald’s book is a top-rated best-seller on the platform.
If you’re interested in getting the most from your WordPress site (including themes, widgets, and plugins), this jargon-free book has it all. You don’t need to know anything about HTML or CSS (coding terms), but these skills will come in handy if you do.
You’ll learn how to:
- Set up your WordPress site to create something unique that looks exactly how you envision
- Add pictures, video clips, podcasts, and more
- Choose from thousands of plugins to enhance your site with contact forms and a shopping cart
- Protect your content and keep your site secure with backups and staging tools
From business owners to bloggers and eCommerce sellers, check out this book if you want to learn how to have complete control over your site.
2. WordPress for Beginners 2023: A Visual Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering WordPress
Author: Dr. Andy Williams
Who it’s for: An absolute beginner’s guide—from installing WordPress to vital plugins.
Where to buy: Amazon
If you’re a total newbie, Veteran WordPress expert Andy Williams starts from scratch here. This book helps you take yourself from absolute beginner to pro (in a few short hours) with lots of information and plenty of screenshots.
Essential topics you’ll cover include:
- How to set up web hosting and register a unique domain
- Getting rid of installed default stuff you don’t need
- What plugins are, and how they can add interesting functionalities to your site
- The difference between pages and custom post types (and when to use each)
- How to automatically create important legal pages for your site (e.g. privacy policy)
- How to create content using the older version editor (Classic) and newer Gutenberg
This is the most up-to-date version of the book, with a dedicated web page for free updates on any new features to the content management system as they’re announced. (If you happen to have a Kindle Unlimited subscription, it’s also free.)
3. Professional WordPress Plugin Development (2nd Edition)
Authors: Brad Williams, Justin Tadlock & John James Jacoby
Who’s it for: Programmers, developers, and IT professionals who are looking to learn how to develop their own plugins for WordPress.
Where to buy: Amazon
While this is definitely a book for those with coding experience, it could still interest you. Maybe you’ve got a great idea for a WordPress plugin you’d like to share or sell. Or you’d like to build up your knowledge, so you don’t have to pay for professionals anymore.
Written by experienced plugin developers, you’ll learn:
- How JavaScript and Ajax can work on your site
- How key technologies come into play (e.g. Block Editor/Gutenberg, JS/React, PHP, and the REST API)
- How to work with users and their data
- Security tips and performance considerations
- How to create custom dashboard menus and plugin settings
Just to confirm, this isn’t for beginners getting to grips with the platform. But it’s something to keep in mind if you’re looking for a deeper understanding of web development and how WordPress works on the technical side.
4. WordPress For Dummies (9th Edition)
Author: Lisa Sabin-Wilson
Who it’s for: New and experienced bloggers converting to WordPress for the first time.
Where to buy: Amazon
While WordPress All-in-One For Dummies is the most popular version of this book, this one is newer. And as we’ve now learned, up-to-date information is key. (There’s no point learning about old dashboards and templates that no longer apply. It’ll just get confusing.)
While the For Dummies series is for beginners, it can be really helpful for those with their own website who are converting to a WordPress blog for the first time. This platform gives you a lot more control over every aspect of your site. But with that freedom comes a lot of new features.
Learn how to:
- Create your first post
- Customise a theme
- Work with different multimedia formats
- Deal with multiple-site WordPress hosting
- Build a consistent publishing schedule
This book is a step-by-step guide to help you get to grips with building WordPress blogs and sites. Just make sure you go for the most recent version and avoid anything outdated.
5. WordPress 5 Cookbook
Author: Rakhitha Nimesh Ratnayake
Who it’s for: Beginners who want to build a powerful WordPress website with minimal coding knowledge. Plus, intermediate web developers who want to get more out of it.
Where to buy: Amazon
While you’ll need some familiarity with basic coding language (e.g. PHP, HTML, and CSS) to understand the concepts covered, this is very much still a book for beginners.
Start with the basics—like managing basic platform features. Then move on to installing and customising plugins, widgets, and themes. As you get more advanced, learn how to build eCommerce sites (with WooCommerce) and use WordPress as an application framework to develop your own software.
Some of the chapters include:
- Setting up and customising settings
- Customising theme design and layout
- Improving usability and interactivity
- Handling performance and maintenance
- Promoting and monetising your site
By the time you get to the later chapters, you’ll have a strong base of knowledge. That way, you can figure out the solutions for common WordPress problems yourself. Handy, huh?
6. Building Web Apps with WordPress: WordPress as an Application Framework (2nd Edition)
Authors: Brian Messenlehner & Jason Coleman
Who it’s for: Programmers who are looking to learn how to use WordPress to build an app.
Where to buy: Amazon
We’ll start off by saying that this is very much not a beginner’s book. This is for people who have a great deal of experience with coding. Not you? Don’t worry. Jump to the next section.
WordPress isn’t just for bloggers. If you have basic PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript experience, this book will teach you how to do a lot more with it than you think. We’re talking fast, customised, scalable, and secure web and mobile apps.
This second edition covers all the way up to WordPress 5.4 (we’re currently just past 6.0, but it’s all still very relevant). You’ll learn how to:
- Manage user accounts, roles, and access user data
- Collect payments through eCommerce and membership plugins
- Build asynchronous behaviours with jQuery
- Use the platform to develop mobile apps for iOS and Android
- Use theme development for views and plugins for backend functionality
You don’t need to jump ship to a more traditional application framework to build powerful web and mobile apps. And this book proves it.
7. WordPress Websites for Business: How Anyone Can Maximise Website Performance and Results
Author: Michael Cordova
Who it’s for: Business owners who are looking to build their own website using WordPress.
Where to buy: Amazon
This isn’t a book for WordPress basics. But if you’re a small business owner looking to elevate your website above your competitors? There’s gold in these pages.
Used incorrectly, WordPress can actually hurt your company’s results and reputation. This book (written by a web dev pioneer) aims to help you avoid that.
As well as site optimization and common mistakes to avoid, you’ll learn:
- Five powerful checklists to help you build the best website possible
- Five-minute settings that can make a huge difference to your site
- Best practices made simple (e.g. how and why to create specific WordPress themes)
- How to install plugins and other steps to improve SEO (search engine optimisation)
- Tools and techniques to reduce your page load time to a couple of seconds
- How to align your business goals with your content
While this book was published in 2017 (the oldest on the list), there are recent comments from users that show it still has value. So, have a browse through the preview and see what you think.
8. Mastering WooCommerce 4
Author: Patrick Rauland
Who it’s for: Anyone familiar with WordPress who’s interested in building an eCommerce platform from scratch.
Where to buy: Amazon
You might recognize this book cover from higher up the list. That’s because Mastering WooCommerce 4 and the WordPress 5 Cookbook are both part of a comprehensive tech eBook library called Packt.
Are you a WordPress user interested in building your own online store? WooCommerce is a customizable, open-source eCommerce platform—it’s also one of the most flexible and just happens to be built on WP. (Result!) Plus, it’s self-hosted, which means you and your customers hold onto your own data.
In this book, you’ll learn the skills to:
- Master the fundamentals of eCommerce web design and management
- Discover various ways to efficiently handle payment, taxes, and shipping
- Display products split into various categories (using Gutenberg product blocks)
- Monitor the performance of your online store and optimise UX (user experience)
- Promote your products online with SEO landing pages and other tactics
By the end, you’ll understand how to run all the processes and sections that make up a WooCommerce store. Plus, you’ll have the tools to be able to highly customise both the front and backend.
9. Design Your Own Website With WordPress 2023
Author: Narayan Kumar
Who it’s for: Those with a small business or personal blog looking to build and design a website.
Where to buy: Amazon
A brand new book for 2023, this one has already got a few good reviews. Again, it’s for beginners, but it uniquely focuses on using the popular page builder Elementor.
It breaks down creating a WordPress website for small business owners into the five main pages you’ll need:
- A homepage full of high-quality content and images
- An “About” page that tells people about your company or team
- A contact page to help people reach you easily
- A services or products page to show and describe what you offer
- An optional blog page to help you rank for relevant keywords
You don’t need any prior technical knowledge to understand the contents of this book. WordPress was created to give non-coders more control over the look and function of their sites. Plus, Elementor is all drag-and-drop.
Another handy part of this book is the author has created short videos on their site to accompany different parts of the guide. This means you can follow along with the instructions and see them in action at the same time.
Conclusion
Are you looking for total beginner-type tutorials? Or perhaps more specialised dives into plugins and themes? Whichever part of the platform you’re trying to learn more about, there’s a WordPress book for everyone.
While this list is missing some of the most popular, top-rated books on the subject (e.g. Sarah McHarry’s WordPress To Go), these are sadly full of outdated information.
Unfortunately, WordPress isn’t an evergreen topic. So, if you want to make the learning process as simple as possible, choose newer editions. Otherwise, you’ll be following along with instructions that don’t make sense anymore.
