Your platform

The admin, the content model and the theme system of your platform: what a client will see every day and what you will customise.

WordPress hosting and install

Also called wordpress.org vs wordpress.com, managed WordPress, WordPress.org, WordPress.com

What: WordPress.org is the free software you install on your own hosting; WordPress.com is a hosted service built on it. Most hosts offer one-click installs, staging and automatic backups.
Why: Hosting quality decides speed, backups and how much security work lands on you. Check PHP version, staging, backups and support before price.

Watch out

Choosing the cheapest shared plan for a store, then chasing slowness no plugin can fix.

Block editor

Also called Gutenberg, blocks, patterns

What: The WordPress editor where every paragraph, image and layout is a block. Patterns are saved groups of blocks; synced patterns update everywhere they are used.
Why: Clients edit content here, so a site built from sensible blocks and patterns is one they can keep up to date without you.

Watch out

Adding a page builder plugin on top of blocks by habit, which adds weight and a second editor for the client to learn.

Full site editing and block themes

Also called FSE, site editor, theme.json

What: Block themes build headers, footers and templates from blocks (templates/*.html), edited in the Site Editor, unlike classic PHP themes. theme.json sets colours, fonts, spacing and editor options.
Why: Global styles and locked choices keep a client inside the brand while still letting them edit layouts.

JSON

{
  "version": 3,
  "settings": {
    "color": {
      "palette": [
        { "slug": "brand", "color": "#0f766e", "name": "Brand" }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Child theme

What: A theme that inherits everything from a parent theme and only holds your changes. Its style.css header names the parent in Template:.
Why: Parent theme updates overwrite edited files. A child theme keeps your changes safe through updates.

CSS

/*
Theme Name: Bakery Child
Template: twentytwentyfive
Version: 1.0.0
*/

Watch out

Editing the parent theme directly, then losing the work on the next update.

Choosing plugins safely

Also called plugin directory, nulled plugins, choosing plugins

What: Plugins add features. Judge one by recent updates, active installs, support replies, tested WordPress version and the reputation of its author.
Why: Every plugin is code running with full access to the site. Fewer, well maintained plugins mean fewer security holes and faster pages.

Watch out

Installing "nulled" (pirated) premium plugins, a common way malware reaches client sites.

Posts, pages and custom post types

Also called CPT, taxonomies, custom fields, custom post type

What: Posts are dated entries, pages are standalone. Custom post types (such as Events or Team) and taxonomies (categories, tags or your own) model the rest.
Why: Structured content means one template renders every event the same way, and the client fills in fields instead of designing each page.

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