WordPress developers appear to be those in charge of improving the platform and creating new products, but any PHP Developer can do that. So it is better to refer to them as PHP Developers specializing in WordPress infrastructure and tools.

They must be not only proficient with existing tools but also able to create content for WordPress. Customized plugins and modules for WordPress, hence, can be products of WordPress developers.

Furthermore, to ensure that plugins and themes work seamlessly, the developer must have a thorough understanding of the WordPress core, strong PHP skills, and extensive knowledge of WordPress products.

There are many roles similar to WordPress developers. A few examples of related roles include:

• Software developers, like WordPress developers, are programmers who create computer software and applications.

• User experience (UX) developers. They shape the way customers access the digital world by combining programming, psychology, and sometimes creative components.

• Full-stack developers. Any programmer who can create a minimum viable product single-handedly is considered a full-stack developer.

• User interface (UI) developers: They are software developers who focus on product development, usability, customer interaction, and so on.

Although WordPress is an open-source CMS, you will need to upgrade to premium to at least secure a domain and entry-level hosting. However, WordPress offers thousands of free plugins, which you can leverage to create a bespoke website on a tight budget.

Some WordPress hosting services start at less than $5 per month. The disadvantage is that the top providers usually require at least a one-year subscription to get access to reasonable prices.

With that in mind, if you can spend $10 per month on hosting, you will do just fine. An a.com domain is even less expensive, often costing between $10 and $15 for an entire year. It means you can build a WordPress website and keep it running in 12 months for $70-130 on average.

We recommend you visit https://wordpress.com/pricing/ to keep up with the latest updates about Wordpress pricing.

Wordpress developers must be conversant not only with existing tools, but also with creating content for the platform. They can thus customize plugins and modules by mastering:

• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): This fundamental language is powerful and relatively simple to learn. It is a series of markup symbols or codes specifying how documents are displayed in a web browser.

Every HTML document is a set of tags (also known as elements). It generates a tree-like structure containing headings, sections, paragraphs, and other content blocks. Almost all HTML elements have an opening tag and a closing tag with the structure.

• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): While HTML formats elements on a website, CSS enhances and highlights those elements by decorating, changing the font, adding color, changing the site layout, and controlling other stylistic facets.

For example, if the element is centered and the text is red, the declaration will be: p { color: red; text-align: center; }.

• PHP (Personal Home Page): It is a scripting language created for server-side communications. Therefore, it can handle server-side functions like collecting form data, managing files on the server, modifying the database and much more.

Fortunately, there are a lot of free online PHP courses, which will help WordPress developers upgrade their skills.

• MySQL (My Sequel): MySQL is an open-source database management system (abbreviated RDBMS) that supports data storage and retrieval across multiple storage engines.

It can also perform data replication and table partitioning to improve performance and durability. Most importantly, WordPress uses PHP to retrieve and store data from MySQL databases.

MySQL allows WordPress to support important site administration features such as user roles. Therefore, WordPress developers should get the hang of this software.

Full-stack WordPress developers are in charge of the system's front end (developing UI, UX, and flow) and the back end (creating the database and writing the necessary APIs).

They are people who have critical thinking skills to analyze and design databases, improvising with CSS to optimize the display of websites and mobile applications.

WordPress developers must grasp the platform's infrastructure and have sufficient programming skills to work within the framework. As simple as it seems, developers usually need to refer to the WordPress API to excel at their job.

WordPress developers are professionals who understand the platform's infrastructure well to improve it or create entirely new products.

However, these are also the roles of PHP Developers; therefore, they should be considered PHP Developers specializing in WordPress Plugins.

These individuals must be not only familiar with available tools but also capable of modifying content for WordPress.

They are familiar with programming languages and can work with CSS, JavaScript, HTML, GIT, and SQL, among other things. WordPress developers can thus customize plugins and modules.

There are many roles similar to WordPress developers. A few examples of related roles include:

• WordPress developers and other software developers are programmers who write computer software and applications.

• User experience (UX) developers. They shape the way customers access the digital world by combining programming, psychology, and sometimes creative components.

• Full-stack programmers. A full-stack developer is any programmer who can create a minimum viable product by themselves.

• User interface (UI) developers: They are software developers who focus on product development, usability, customer interaction, and so on.

WordPress is a top CMS, and the rapid pace of adoption of the software shows no signs of slowing down. Accounting for 65% market share in the CMS industry, it powers over 42% of all websites on the internet.

So this niche has a lot of potential. Different people have different thoughts on a rewarding career, but if your top priority is your living expenses, here are some references for you:

• According to research by WP Engine, 60% of freelance WordPress developers earn less than $30 per hour.

It sounds like a lot at first, but considering how much they have to spend on equipment, insurance, premises, and taxes, it’s not that much.

• A survey of twenty WordPress freelancers on People Per Hour revealed that the average hourly rate is around $36, ranging from $20 to $60.

• According to ZipRecruiter , as of October 2022, the average annual salary for a WordPress theme developer in the U.S comes in at $79,805 per year.

Below are other sources about WordPress Developer salary to take into account:

Of course, the figure will differ by state. For example, the rate in New York is higher than that in Wisconsin. What can be inferred from the above statistics is the annual salary for a WordPress developer in the United States is roughly $74,000. That said, whether WordPress is a good career depends on your expectations and priorities.