WordPress Legacy

When to use this skill

• Creating custom themes or plugins.
• Securing WordPress installations.
• Debugging WP sites.

1. Coding Standards

• Naming: Use snake_case for variables/functions (WordPress style).
• Prefixing: Prefix ALL functions/classes/globals with the plugin/theme slug (e.g., mytheme_init).
• Escaping/Sanitizing: MANDATORY.
  • Output: esc_html(), esc_attr(), esc_url().
  • Input: sanitize_text_field(), intval().

2. Performance

• Transients: Use transients (set_transient) for expensive queries.
• Autoload: Be careful with wp_options autoloading; clean up unused options.

3. Security

• Nonce: Verify nonces on all form submissions (wp_verify_nonce).
• Capabilities: Check user capabilities (current_user_can) before actions.