WordPress is an excellent software, which is becoming more well-known and popular every day, since it allows creating web pages, blogs or some types of applications. It is open source, which means that it is open-collaborative, so you have access to the source code.
To be able to carry out work in this type of software, it is necessary to know how does the boilerplate plugin work? But before we focus on how it works, you need to know what the boilerplate plugin is about.
Why does this plugin arise?
This type of plugin arises from the need that has been presented among programmers and developers, to have a tool that allows them to work in WordPress in an orderly and stable way. It is in this way that the boilerplate plugin was created with which the organization of files can be carried out in a unified way and also quite standardized for each of the projects.
What is the boilerplate plugin?
The boilerplate plugin is a base program. This means that it has the necessary configuration to be able to start creating your own plugin in an organized way. This will be accomplished if you follow the proper steps and by doing so you will be able to create many types of advanced enhancements with WordPress software.
When you learn how to use it, with the right applications, you can create your own plugins, following WordPress code patterns, as well as known documentation patterns.
How does the boilerplate plugin work?
This type of plugin uses a very practical file and document organization scheme. It helps you to properly distribute the functions and codes, such as the back-end or the administration area. Which allows you to separate it from that area that is visible on the web or in the public folder.
Another way that the boilerplate works is through the use of external shelves such as the includes folder. If this is not enough for you, we tell you that this plugin can differentiate those blocks that are destined for Gutenberg.
Among the things that this type of boilerplate plugin contains are some of the ones that will best help us to manage WordPress, such as:
- .gitignore. It is used to drop some records from the repository.
- CHANGELOG.md. The list of changes in the initial project.
- README.md. The file you are currently reading.
- A plugin-named directory containing the source code: a fully executable WordPress plugin.
Installation
To use it, you need to create a folder in which you will have all the required structure and organization from which you will start to create and develop your boilerplate plugin.
Once you have filled in all the form, the folder, and all the required organization (files, classes, etc.), it will be created immediately in the plugin with its name. When you have it ready, this folder will be downloaded and this is where the WordPress installation comes from.
What follows is to copy and paste this downloaded folder in the “wp-content / plugins” folder where you have WordPress installed. When you have done this step, then you go to the WordPress administration site, where you are going to press the Installed Plugins option, in the Plugins panel, you will find the plugins with the name chosen by you and that you have just installed.
Once you install it, then you can activate it immediately. The boilerplate plugin does not have true functions, so this will not add more elements in the WordPress menu, neither the metaboxes as well as those personal disclosures as long as you do not enter the necessary code.