Sites for WordPress tutorials are nearly a dime a dozen. Some are fantastic, and others leave us wanting more. I know their ultimate goal is to help other people learn how to write plugins the right way, but it’s a mixed bag when it comes to the quality of the content.

  • Are you learning the best practices?
  • Are the concepts being presented done so in a way that’s accessible via beginners and intermediates alike?
  • Are they promoting practices as outlined in PHP best practices and WordPress best practices?

There’s nearly an endless permutation of how we can present information which is why I enjoy sharing my take on things here, reading the comments, sharing content on other sites.

But one aspect of WordPress tutorial sites that is underserved, in my opinion, is talking with people who build things for WordPress and the reasons for creating a solution and the rationale behind how they’ve built it. This is something that can be covered both about WordPress themes and WordPress plugins.

Because I spend the majority of my time working on WordPress plugins, I’m obviously going to be focused more on that aspect of the economy than the other. And recently, a friend of mine started up a new site specifically geared towards WordPress tutorials focused on plugins.

The site is neat, though: It’s not like a music review site that aims to provide a rating or end-user review of a plugin. It’s something different, and I’m a fan.

WordPress Tutorials on Plugins

Specifically, I’m talking about Matt Medeiros‘ latest effort: PluginTut.com. I’ve known Matt for a long time and have been a big fan of his work concerning interviewing people in the WordPress community.

WordPress Tutorials - PluginTut.com

Furthermore, I’m a fan of what he and his team have done in building products like Conductor, and now, most recently, bringing more information to the community-at-large specifically about plugins.

Here’s the thing: The site comes in two flavors:

  1. A review site
  2. An interview site

First, the reviews are straightforward enough. For many who read this site, it may not be of as much interest. Even still:

[Our] motivations are to provide a best in class WordPress plugin tutorial experience. We’ll be aiming to publish based along a particular theme (i.e. marketing, site management, security, etc.) and create a mixture of written and video content for each plugin.

So if you’re someone who’s new to WordPress or looking for how to use a particular plugin, it’s going to be a valuable resource.

For others, it’s likely going to be a more on the entry-level.

But there’s a second component to the site that I’m excited about. Specifically, it’s called PluggedIn Radio. And this is the part that I find most interesting.

Easier Excerpts Interview

In short, Matt sits down with people who have created plugins and shares both a video and podcast from the conversation. The topics of discussion are especially interesting for developers because it talks about the problems that are attempting to be solved and then explores the decisions about the architecture of plugin.

On top of that, it helps to share and evangelize something you may not have found. The first few episodes include the following:

  1. Easier Excerpts (by yours truly). I hate being self-promotional but I was proud to be a part of the pilot.
  2. FacetWP with Matt Gibbs.
  3. Event Calendar by JJJ.

There are more to come, and I’m excited to follow along especially with the interviews.

So if you’re someone who’s just started out with WordPress, or you’re an experienced developer looking to learn more from others in the field, I recommend the podcast.