Six years ago, I opened a WordPress theme file, added a few lines of PHP, and felt like I’d unlocked a secret world. Back then, making a div change color with CSS felt like victory. Fast forward: today I’m working on headless WordPress setups, building custom Gutenberg blocks, and optimizing performance for high-traffic sites at what.digital.
The path here wasn’t smooth. My first tech jobs offered little support and no real mentoring. I had to teach myself by breaking things, fixing them, and breaking them again. Freelancing forced me to solve real client problems quickly. And working in teams showed me that writing good code isn’t enough — you need to write code others can live with.
Here are the lessons that actually mattered.
Lesson 1: The Plugin Ecosystem Is Your Friend (And Enemy)
Early on, I installed plugins like candy. Contact form? Plugin. Font change? Plugin. Need a single CSS tweak? Definitely a plugin.
Then I learned the hard way: every plugin is a liability. In freelancing and client projects, I saw bad plugins take down entire sites.
The real skill isn’t knowing which plugin does what — it’s learning to evaluate them like you’re hiring a developer. How’s the code? Do they update regularly? Is there support? If not, walk away.
Lesson 2: Performance Isn’t an Afterthought
One of my first client sites went down during a campaign because I had no idea about caching or scaling. Explaining that to a client wasn’t fun.
Over time, I learned performance isn’t a “bonus” — it’s the difference between a site that works when it matters and one that collapses. Object caching, database query optimization, CDNs, image handling… these aren’t “advanced tricks,” they’re survival tools.
Lesson 3: Custom Fields Changed Everything
In the early years, I avoided Advanced Custom Fields because it looked complicated. Huge mistake. Once I understood structured content and flexible layouts, client projects got ten times smoother. No more broken shortcodes or panicked clients deleting a div.
That shift also taught me to see WordPress as more than a blog tool. It’s a content management framework when you use it properly.
Lesson 4: Security Isn’t Someone Else’s Problem
Nothing makes you take WordPress security seriously like a hacked site. I’ve cleaned infected installs and dealt with malware warnings — not fun.
Now it’s non-negotiable: staging for updates, tested backups, proper permissions, and only giving access people actually need. Most “hardening tricks” matter less than just keeping things updated and controlled.
Lesson 5: Elementor Changed the Game
When I was working as a Medienfachmann, Elementor felt like magic. I could design full websites without touching a single line of code. For a while, I mastered it — building site after site, fast and flexible.
But eventually, I ran into its walls. Clients wanted features and performance that Elementor couldn’t deliver. That frustration was the push I needed to start learning code seriously.
Elementor gave me my entry point, but its limitations forced me to grow into a developer. Looking back, I’m glad it did.
Lesson 6: Code Standards Are Everything
In my first jobs, I worked with no mentor and wrote code that “just worked.” The problem? Six months later, I couldn’t even understand my own logic.
Working with teams at what.digital showed me the real importance of WordPress coding standards, proper hooks, prefixes, and comments. You don’t just write code for yourself — you write for the next developer, who might be you with memory loss.
Lesson 7: Clients Need Education
When I freelanced, I thought my job ended when I handed over the site. Wrong. Clients who don’t understand their website end up breaking things or ignoring updates until it’s a crisis.
Now, I spend time teaching basics: updating content safely, when to call me before updating plugins, and how to spot issues early. It saves time, money, and relationships.
Lesson 8: Not Every Problem Needs a Custom Solution
I went through the “I’ll custom-build everything” phase. It felt professional, but really it was overkill. Sometimes a client just needs a simple form or a lightweight plugin. Starting simple and scaling when needed is almost always the smarter path.
Looking Back and Forward
Six years taught me that WordPress development is less about memorizing functions and more about judgment. Which solution scales? Which plugin is safe? What’s the simplest way to solve the client’s problem without turning their site into a ticking bomb?
Right now, I’m focused on performance, accessibility, and staying current with JavaScript frameworks while keeping WordPress reliable. The tech keeps changing, but the principles don’t: build solutions that last, teach clients, and never stop learning.
