Top 12 Wordpress Developer Skills to Put on Your Resume

In today’s web, WordPress still anchors a colossal share of sites. Demand hasn’t cooled; it’s sharpened. Your resume has to show the real craft—skills that ship clean code, fast pages, maintainable themes, and features that don’t buckle under traffic. Make it obvious. Make it relevant. And make it current.

WordPress Developer Skills

1. PHP
2. JavaScript
3. HTML5
4. CSS3
5. MySQL
6. Gutenberg
7. WooCommerce
8. REST API
9. jQuery
10. Git
11. Elementor
12. SEO Optimization

1. PHP

PHP powers WordPress at the core. Themes, plugins, hooks, templates—everything leans on it. If you’re shaping functionality or sculpting custom behavior, PHP is the lever.

Why It's Important

WordPress runs on PHP. To extend, customize, and harden a site, you need to read the core patterns, write secure code, and bend the platform without breaking it.

How to Improve PHP Skills

1. Master the fundamentals: Syntax, arrays, functions, error handling, and standard library usage. Know them cold.

2. Learn WordPress-specific patterns: Actions, filters, template hierarchy, WP_Query, and the Settings, Options, and Transients APIs.

3. Use OOP thoughtfully: Namespaces, autoloading, dependency injection, and SOLID principles help keep large plugins sane.

4. Security first: Escape output, sanitize input, and verify intent (nonces). Respect user capabilities.

5. Performance: Cache aggressively, avoid expensive loops, and profile hotspots. Keep database calls tight.

6. Debug smart: WP_DEBUG, error logs, and step debugging with Xdebug will save hours.

7. Stay current: Track PHP and WordPress releases; use supported PHP versions for speed and safety.

8. Build, then refactor: Real projects expose edge cases. Ship something, then polish the architecture.

How to Display PHP Skills on Your Resume

2. JavaScript

JavaScript breathes motion into WordPress. Blocks, interactions, async requests, subtle polish—JS ties the front end to your data and makes it feel alive.

Why It's Important

Modern WordPress leans hard on JavaScript, especially in the block editor. Interactivity, custom blocks, and headless builds depend on it.

How to Improve JavaScript Skills

1. Go deep on vanilla JS: DOM, events, promises, fetch, modules. Less reliance on libraries, more control.

2. ES6+: Arrow functions, destructuring, async/await, classes, and bundling with tools like webpack or Vite.

3. WordPress context: Data stores, block registration, and scripting in the block editor.

4. Debug well: Browser DevTools, network inspection, performance profiling.

5. Performance: Code-split, defer, throttle, and debounce. Avoid layout trashing.

6. React basics: Gutenberg uses React. Components, hooks, state, and context matter.

7. Practice: Build custom blocks, admin UI, and small utilities. Repetition sticks.

8. Keep pace: Read weekly digests and changelogs. JS moves fast; you don’t have to chase everything—just the right things.

How to Display JavaScript Skills on Your Resume

3. HTML5

HTML5 sets the structure. Semantic tags, accessible layouts, media that plays nice—your themes stand taller when the markup is meaningful.

Why It's Important

Clean, semantic HTML improves accessibility, SEO, and maintainability. It makes CSS simpler and JavaScript less brittle.

How to Improve HTML5 Skills

1. Use semantic elements: header, nav, main, article, section, aside, footer. Screen readers and search engines benefit.

2. Responsive images: picture, srcset, sizes. Serve the right image for the right device.

3. Accessibility: Landmarks, labels, roles only when needed, and thoughtful tab order.

4. Forms: Native validation, input types, proper labels and error messaging.

5. Media: video and audio with captions, transcripts, and controls; consider lazy loading.

6. Progressive enhancement: Start with robust HTML; layer interactions carefully.

7. Performance: loading="lazy" for images/iframes, lean markup, fewer wrappers.

8. Iterate: Audit templates, validate markup, and keep up with evolving specs.

How to Display HTML5 Skills on Your Resume

4. CSS3

CSS3 paints the picture. Layouts that flex, components that scale, details that feel crisp on any screen—this is where your theme’s personality emerges.

Why It's Important

Responsive, accessible, and fast UI is non-negotiable. CSS3 gives you grid, flexbox, variables, and animation tools to deliver it cleanly.

How to Improve CSS3 Skills

1. Strengthen fundamentals: Specificity, cascade, layout flow, stacking contexts.

2. Responsive strategy: Fluid type, modern units (rem, vw, ch), container and media queries, and robust grid systems.

3. Preprocessors: Sass for variables, mixins, partials, and a tidy architecture.

4. Frameworks (when it fits): Bootstrap or Tailwind can speed delivery—use judiciously.

5. Motion with purpose: Transitions and keyframes that guide, not distract. Reduce motion options for accessibility.

6. Keep learning: Follow CSS-focused blogs and communities like CSS-Tricks and discussion threads on developer forums.

7. Debug ruthlessly: DevTools, layout overlays, and performance audits. Trim, refactor, simplify.

How to Display CSS3 Skills on Your Resume

5. MySQL

MySQL stores the lifeblood of WordPress—posts, users, options, orders, you name it. Well-tuned queries and a tidy schema keep the site nimble.

Why It's Important

Every page load touches the database. Understanding indexes, queries, and how WordPress talks to MySQL helps you ship faster, more reliable sites.

How to Improve MySQL Skills

1. Stay updated: Use supported MySQL and WordPress versions for better performance and security.

2. Optimize tables: Regular maintenance and table optimization keep things lean.

3. Index wisely: Index columns used in joins and WHERE clauses; analyze with EXPLAIN and fix slow queries.

4. Write efficient queries: Avoid SELECT *, limit result sets, and keep functions out of WHERE when possible.

5. Cache where it counts: Prefer a persistent object cache (Redis or Memcached) and full-page caching. The deprecated MySQL query cache is no longer a solution in modern MySQL.

6. Pick InnoDB: Row-level locking and transactions make it ideal for dynamic WordPress sites.

7. Clean regularly: Prune post revisions, spam, transients, and orphaned data.

8. Limit revisions: Configure WP to cap stored revisions for a smaller database footprint.

9. Right hosting: Choose WordPress-savvy hosting with tuned database stacks (providers like WP Engine or Kinsta are common choices).

10. Monitor: Use tools such as Query Monitor and APM platforms like New Relic to surface bottlenecks.

How to Display MySQL Skills on Your Resume

6. Gutenberg

Gutenberg—the block editor—landed in WordPress 5.0 and has grown into the standard editing and site-building experience. Blocks, patterns, global styles, and block themes give you a powerful system out of the box.

Why It's Important

It changes how content and design are built. Developers craft custom blocks, extend editor behavior, and deliver flexible, editor-friendly themes.

How to Improve Gutenberg Skills

1. Build custom blocks: Register blocks, define attributes, and render with React. Start with small, reusable components.

2. Tune performance: Ship lean scripts, use WebP, lazy load media, and keep dependencies minimal.

3. Accessibility: Meet ARIA expectations, manage focus, and ensure keyboard navigation works in the editor and frontend.

4. Extend thoughtfully: Enhance the editor with custom controls, patterns, and styles instead of heavy bespoke UIs.

5. Track changes: Gutenberg evolves quickly—follow release notes and test against upcoming versions.

6. Contribute: File issues, test PRs, or submit patches. You’ll learn the internals faster than any tutorial can show.

How to Display Gutenberg Skills on Your Resume

7. WooCommerce

WooCommerce turns WordPress into a full storefront. Products, carts, checkout flows, subscriptions, analytics—it’s the de facto commerce stack in the ecosystem.

Why It's Important

It’s widely adopted, flexible, and extensible. If you can optimize WooCommerce, you can handle serious revenue-driving sites.

How to Improve WooCommerce Skills

1. Performance:

   • Caching: Page caching, persistent object caching, and careful fragment caching for carts.
   • Image optimization: Compress, convert to WebP/AVIF, and serve responsive sizes. Tools like Smush help.
   • Database care: Keep orders, sessions, and logs pruned; use WP-Optimize where appropriate.

2. User experience:

   • Responsive theme: Start from WooCommerce-ready themes like Storefront or build a block theme with commerce support.
   • Checkout polish: Reduce friction, streamline fields, and offer express pay options. Tools like WooCommerce Checkout Manager can assist.
   • Product discovery: Faceted filters and clear taxonomy. WooCommerce Products Filter is a common option.

3. Security:

   • Keep everything updated: Core, plugins, themes.
   • Hardening: Web application firewall and malware scanning (for example, Wordfence Security).
   • SSL everywhere: Enforce HTTPS site-wide.

4. SEO:

   • Plugins: Yoast SEO or similar to shape product metadata and sitemaps.
   • Structured data: Rich results via schema (e.g., All In One Schema Rich Snippets).

5. Customization:

   • Hooks and filters: WooCommerce is hook-rich—extend without hacking core.
   • Child themes: Keep overrides safe across updates; tools like Child Theme Configurator can help.

Always back up before major changes. Test checkout flows like a real customer would.

How to Display WooCommerce Skills on Your Resume

8. REST API

REST APIs let WordPress talk to the outside world. Read, create, update, and delete content over HTTP in a stateless way—perfect for decoupled sites and mobile apps.

Why It's Important

It unlocks headless builds, integrations, and custom dashboards. Content becomes portable, programmable, and future-friendly.

How to Improve REST API Skills

1. Correct methods: Use GET, POST, PUT/PATCH, and DELETE with clear semantics.

2. Security: Authentication, authorization, and capability checks on every write. Validate nonces where appropriate.

3. Shape responses: Paginate, filter, and trim payloads. Cache aggressively where safe.

4. Version endpoints: Avoid breaking consumers; support migrations gracefully.

5. Error handling: Return precise status codes and structured error messages.

6. Validate and sanitize: Never trust input. Enforce schemas.

7. Rate limiting: Throttle abusers and protect resources.

8. Document: Keep endpoints and schemas documented. Tools like Swagger or Postman help teams speak the same language.

9. Monitor and log: Track usage and errors; surface patterns early with server logs and tools like Query Monitor.

10. Follow coding standards: Consistency and readability pay dividends in APIs.

How to Display REST API Skills on Your Resume

9. jQuery

jQuery still ships with WordPress and remains common in legacy themes and many plugins. It smooths DOM work and quick interactions, though new work often favors modern JS and React-based blocks.

Why It's Important

Plenty of production sites rely on it. Knowing jQuery lets you maintain and modernize older stacks while planning an upgrade path.

How to Improve jQuery Skills

1. Know JavaScript first: jQuery makes more sense when the JS underneath is solid.

2. Core patterns: DOM selection, event delegation, animation, AJAX, and promises.

3. WordPress integration: Enqueue correctly, avoid conflicts, respect noConflict mode.

4. Build small utilities: Add modest enhancements to admin pages or front-end components.

5. Stay cautious: Avoid heavy jQuery for tasks where modern, native JS is faster and cleaner.

6. Optimize: Minify, defer, and bundle; trim plugins and redundant selectors.

How to Display JQuery Skills on Your Resume

10. Git

Git tracks history, tames collaboration, and makes risky changes safe. For WordPress, it’s the backbone of clean deployments and code reviews.

Why It's Important

Version control reduces chaos. Branches isolate work, pull requests surface issues, and rollbacks become painless.

How to Improve Git Skills

1. Master basics: Commit, branch, merge, rebase, stash, and bisect.

2. Branching strategy: Feature branches, release branches, and hotfixes keep main stable.

3. Commit well: Small, atomic commits with clear messages.

4. Merge vs rebase: Pick the right tool for collaboration or clean history.

5. Hooks and automation: Lint, test, and build before merging. CI makes quality habitual.

6. Use helpful tools: GUIs like GitHub Desktop or Sourcetree can speed certain tasks.

7. WP-friendly workflows: Manage mu-plugins, Composer dependencies, and environment configs; deploy via CI/CD.

8. Community learning: Join dev chats and forums; patterns from others save time.

9. Real projects: Nothing teaches Git like a thorny merge that you resolve calmly.

10. Keep evolving: New features and workflows appear; adopt what actually helps.

How to Display Git Skills on Your Resume

11. Elementor

Elementor offers a fast, visual way to compose pages. For teams, it can reduce handoffs and shorten iterations when used with restraint and solid standards.

Why It's Important

It enables non-technical editors to ship polished pages quickly, while developers extend with custom widgets, templates, and performance tweaks.

How to Improve Elementor Skills

1. Custom CSS: Go beyond defaults with scoped, maintainable styles.

2. Optimize media: Compress images, trim video weight, and lazy load assets.

3. Elementor Pro: Gain advanced widgets, theme builder, and dynamic content tools when a project needs them.

4. Code snippets: Inject targeted PHP/JS/HTML for bespoke features via a safe snippets approach.

5. Responsive rigor: Tweak breakpoints, typography, spacing, and interactions for touch.

6. Hello Theme: Start lightweight and add only what’s needed.

7. Keep things updated: Core, plugin, and theme updates keep sites stable and secure.

8. Good hosting: WordPress-optimized providers (e.g., SiteGround, WP Engine) help with speed and uptime.

9. Caching and minification: Use tools like WP Rocket or Autoptimize to cut load times.

10. Community: Learn patterns and pitfalls from other builders to avoid reinventing the wheel.

How to Display Elementor Skills on Your Resume

12. SEO Optimization

SEO isn’t just keywords; it’s technical health, content that answers intent, and site speed that respects users’ time. WordPress can shine here when tuned right.

Why It's Important

Organic traffic compounds. Strong SEO boosts visibility, conversions, and trust—without paying for every click.

How to Improve SEO Optimization Skills

1. Keyword research: Map topics to intent and weave terms naturally into titles, headings, and copy.

2. Quality content: Helpful, thorough, and fresh. SEO plugins like Yoast SEO can guide on-page basics.

3. Mobile-first: Responsive design, touch-friendly controls, and CLS-safe layouts.

4. Speed: Image optimization, caching, fewer requests, and careful script loading. Target fast LCP and low TBT.

5. HTTPS: SSL by default. Secure cookies and HSTS where appropriate.

6. Internal linking: Build a sensible graph of related content; surface cornerstone pages.

7. Backlinks: Earn links with content worth citing. Partnerships beat shortcuts.

8. Social signals: Share content where your audience actually lives; metadata tuned for previews.

9. Stay updated: Keep WordPress, themes, and plugins current; broken sites don’t rank.

10. Measure: Track search queries, click-through, and behavior. Adjust tactics with data, not hunches.

How to Display SEO Optimization Skills on Your Resume