WordPress for Developers
API Key Environment Variable in PHP: Where It Goes
Learn where a PHP API key environment variable should live, how to read it safely, and every place it must never end up: git,…
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Tag: PHP Debugging
WordPress for Developers
WP_CLI add_command: Write a Custom WP-CLI Command
Register a custom WP-CLI command with WP_CLI::add_command, document its arguments in the docblock, and make it safe to run on production: dry run first.
WordPress for Developers
WordPress Child Theme functions.php That Survives Updates
A child theme's functions.php loads before the parent's, and copying the parent's file causes a fatal error. Build a child theme that survives updates.
WordPress for Developers
theme.json Block Theme Guide: Where add_theme_support Went
Where add_theme_support went in block themes: the theme.json v3 settings that replace it, the layers that override your file, and what stays in PHP.
WordPress for Developers
wp_enqueue_script Dependencies and What Breaks Without Them
A missing dependency makes WordPress drop your script tag with no warning. How $deps, handles, defer and versions really work, and how to debug…
WordPress for Developers
Why Editing functions.php Keeps Destroying Your Site
One typo in functions.php takes down the front end and the admin together. How to get back in, why it happens, and the change…
WordPress for Developers
Your First Real Plugin: Headers, Structure and Not Using functions.php
Build your first real WordPress plugin with proper headers, structure, naming, activation hooks, and site-specific code that survives theme changes.
WordPress for Developers
The init Hook Is Too Late: Choosing the Right Hook for the Job
There are hundreds of hooks and you need one. Choose by what must already exist when your code runs, not by what the last…
WordPress for Developers
Hook Priority: Why Your Callback Fires Too Early
Priority decides order inside one hook, not across hooks. Why 999 is not a fix, what happens on a tie, and how to find…
WordPress for Developers
Actions and Filters: The Difference That Trips Everyone Up
A filter is asked for a value and an action is not. Why returning something from an action does nothing, why forgetting to return…
WordPress for Developers
WordPress Execution Order: What Runs, and When
The request lifecycle from the front controller to wp_footer, which hook is available at each stage, and why the right code on the wrong…
Reading the Error
No Error, Wrong Answer: Debugging Silent Failure in PHP
Nothing crashed and the output is still wrong. How to find a silent failure by locating the first point where the data stops matching…
Reading the Error
The Error Line Is Not Where the Bug Is
An error line tells you where the failure surfaced, not always where the bug began. Learn how to trace PHP and WordPress errors back…
Reading the Error
WP_DEBUG_LOG Without Displaying Errors to Visitors
Learn how to use WP_DEBUG_LOG to capture WordPress errors in debug.log while keeping PHP warnings and error messages hidden from site visitors.
Reading the Error
Reading a WordPress Debug Log and Naming the Guilty Code
How to read a WordPress debug.log, cut a huge file down to the entries that matter, and work out which plugin or theme the…