Development workflow Practical
Adding an SCSS build, and whether to commit the output
WordPress themes are expected to deploy without a build step, which leads to the opposite conclusion from ordinary application code — and to its own costs.
Technote
WordPress know-how, from real work Technotes worth picking
16 articles· Development workflow · Developers
Development workflow Practical
Running scripts with eval-file, and the argument trap
It runs your own PHP file inside a fully loaded WordPress. Flags starting with -- never reach your script, though, because WP-CLI consumes them first.
Development workflow Practical
pre_get_posts: miss two guard lines and the admin changes too
This hook fires for every WP_Query — menus, widgets and admin list tables included. Without guards, screens you never meant to touch change quietly.
Development workflow Practical
Database sync: why a raw SQL replace corrupts serialised data
WordPress stores serialised PHP arrays in options and meta, with string lengths written inside them. A SQL REPLACE changes the value and leaves the length behind.
Development workflow Practical
Your own endpoint: namespace, permission callback, schema
permission_callback is not optional. Omit it and the route is public, with a core warning to match. An args schema then keeps validation out of your handler entirely.
Development workflow Practical
Safe search-replace: serialisation, guid and dry runs
Replace a domain with raw SQL and widget and theme settings quietly go blank. Serialised data stores string lengths — and switching tools removes the problem entirely.
Development workflow Practical
Priority wars: whoever speaks last wins
Priority is a queue position, not authority. Raising your number is a move the other side can also make, and jumping behind a translation filter sends the untranslated…
Development workflow Intro
Exposing a post type and its meta with show_in_rest
A post type opens with one line. Meta does not: it needs a registered type, an auth_callback governs writing, and reading opens regardless.
Development workflow Intro
Posts and terms from the command line: list before you change
Bulk-edit accidents almost always come from selecting the wrong set. Split selection and action into two commands and you get to see what will change before it changes.
Development workflow Intro
Hook timing: before init, the world is not there yet
The same code on the same hook behaves differently depending on when it runs. Taxonomies, post types and translations all see an incomplete world before init.
Development workflow Intro
What to commit in a WordPress repository, and what to ignore
One rule decides it: did we write this? Credentials and generated content are not source, and once they are in the repository the problem is no longer reversible.
Development workflow Intro
The REST API you already have
You are already using it even if you never go headless — this is how the block editor saves your posts. Knowing the response shape halves your client…
Cited
Technotes worth reading next
Topics outside WordPress are collected on Dongji Communication Tech Insights, run by the same team. The summaries below are quoted from the originals; the titles link to them.
-
Working with AI
Writing a CLAUDE.md — teaching an AI coding assistant your project
AI coding tools such as Claude Code, Cursor and Copilot do better work the more precisely they know your project. Here is a structure and a set of principles that hold up.
-
Working with AI
Prompting an AI for UI design — drafting with Claude and GPT
Asking an AI to "make a nice button" gets you a disappointing button. Structured prompts that carry constraints, references and a defined role get you the design you meant.
-
Themes & plugins
SCSS from the ground up — variables through module structure
The core syntax of SCSS (Sass) and what it solves that plain CSS cannot: variables, nesting, mixins, @use and module structure — organised around patterns you can use immediately.
-
Themes & plugins
Design tokens and theme colour systems — brand identity in SCSS variables
How to turn a colour palette from a pile of hex codes into a system that means something — semantic token structure and SCSS variable patterns, from a real project.
-
Performance optimization
Designing a responsive typography system — the science of readability
Hard-coded pixel font sizes are over. Type scales, fluid sizing with clamp(), Korean webfont optimisation and line-height ratios — building typography that reads well on any screen.
-
Development workflow
From Figma to SCSS — a designer-developer handoff guide
Minimising what gets lost between a Figma file and the code: extracting tokens, naming components, keeping the spacing system in sync — the whole workflow, step by step.