Learn WordPress
Learn WordPress is the official, free learning site run by the WordPress open source project, with self-paced courses, short lessons and live online workshops. Pathways cover using WordPress, designing with block themes and developing themes and plugins. It is the best place to start because it teaches the current block editor rather than older ways of working.
Course
Web Development
WordPress.org
Self paced, courses of about 4 to 10 hours
All
Free
What Learn WordPress is
Learn WordPress (learn.wordpress.org) is the education site of the WordPress open source project, written and reviewed by contributors from the community. Everything on it is free. Content comes in three forms: structured courses made of many short lessons, standalone lessons and tutorials on single topics, and online workshops where you learn live with a facilitator and other learners (the schedule varies, and sometimes none are listed).
The courses worth knowing
As of 2026-09 the home page lists courses including Beginner WordPress User (about 4 hours, 24 lessons), Intermediate WordPress User (about 7 hours, 37 lessons), Beginner WordPress Developer (about 9 hours, 59 lessons), Intermediate Theme Developer (about 8 hours, 32 lessons) and a short project course on creating a four-page business website. Content is grouped into learning pathways: start using WordPress, design with WordPress, and develop with WordPress.
Why start here rather than a random video course
WordPress changed a lot with the block editor and full site editing. Many popular tutorials still teach classic themes, page builders and editing functions.php for everything. Learn WordPress teaches the way WordPress works now: blocks, patterns, block themes, theme.json and the site editor, then theme and plugin development on top. Because it is written by the same community that builds WordPress, it is also more likely to be current after a major release.
Who it suits
- Complete beginners who want to build and manage a site without code: the user courses.
- Designers and site builders who want to understand block themes and styles: the design pathway.
- Developers who know some HTML, CSS and PHP and want to build themes, blocks and plugins: the developer courses.
Prerequisites and time
The user courses need no coding. The developer courses assume basic HTML and CSS and help if you can read simple PHP. A course takes a few evenings; working through the user and beginner developer courses with practice is a realistic few weeks of part-time study.
Free or paid
Free. You can study without an account; logging in with a free WordPress.org account lets you track progress through courses.
What you can do after
After the user courses you can set up, structure and maintain a small business site. After the developer courses you can build a child or block theme, register custom blocks and write a small plugin, which is the base for client work.
Common questions
Is there a certificate? Treat it as learning, not a credential. Clients judge you on the sites you have built.
Does it cover WooCommerce? Only lightly. Use the WooCommerce documentation for store setup.
Is it enough on its own? For the fundamentals, largely yes. For depth, move on to the handbooks at developer.wordpress.org.
Ready to start?
Opens on WordPress.org in a new tab.
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