WordPress Plugin Development Workflow

Overview

When to Use This Workflow

• Creating custom WordPress plugins
• Extending WordPress functionality
• Building admin interfaces
• Adding REST API endpoints
• Integrating third-party services

Workflow Phases

Phase 1: Plugin Setup

Skills to Invoke

• app-builder

  - Project scaffolding

• backend-dev-guidelines

  - Backend patterns

Actions

1. Create plugin directory structure
2. Set up main plugin file with header
3. Implement activation/deactivation hooks
4. Set up autoloading
5. Configure text domain

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @app-builder to scaffold a new WordPress plugin

Phase 2: Plugin Architecture

Skills to Invoke

• backend-dev-guidelines

  - Architecture patterns

Actions

1. Design plugin class structure
2. Implement singleton pattern
3. Create loader class
4. Set up dependency injection
5. Configure plugin lifecycle

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @backend-dev-guidelines to design plugin architecture

Phase 3: Hooks Implementation

Skills to Invoke

• wordpress-penetration-testing

  - WordPress patterns

Actions

1. Register action hooks
2. Create filter hooks
3. Implement callback functions
4. Set up hook priorities
5. Add conditional hooks

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @wordpress-penetration-testing to understand WordPress hooks

Phase 4: Admin Interface

Skills to Invoke

• frontend-developer

  - Admin UI

Actions

1. Create admin menu
2. Build settings pages
3. Implement options registration
4. Add settings sections/fields
5. Create admin notices

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @frontend-developer to create WordPress admin interface

Phase 5: Database Operations

Skills to Invoke

• database-design

  - Database design

• postgresql

  - Database patterns

Actions

1. Create custom tables
2. Implement CRUD operations
3. Add data validation
4. Set up data sanitization
5. Create data upgrade routines

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @database-design to design plugin database schema

Phase 6: REST API

Skills to Invoke

• api-design-principles

  - API design

• api-patterns

  - API patterns

Actions

1. Register REST routes
2. Create endpoint callbacks
3. Implement permission callbacks
4. Add request validation
5. Document API endpoints

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @api-design-principles to create WordPress REST API endpoints

Phase 7: Security

Skills to Invoke

• wordpress-penetration-testing

  - WordPress security

• security-scanning-security-sast

  - Security scanning

Actions

1. Implement nonce verification
2. Add capability checks
3. Sanitize all inputs
4. Escape all outputs
5. Secure database queries

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @wordpress-penetration-testing to audit plugin security

Phase 8: Testing

Skills to Invoke

• test-automator

  - Test automation

• php-pro

  - PHP testing

Actions

1. Set up PHPUnit
2. Create unit tests
3. Write integration tests
4. Test with WordPress test suite
5. Configure CI

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @test-automator to set up plugin testing

Plugin Structure

plugin-name/
├── plugin-name.php
├── includes/
│   ├── class-plugin.php
│   ├── class-loader.php
│   ├── class-activator.php
│   └── class-deactivator.php
├── admin/
│   ├── class-plugin-admin.php
│   ├── css/
│   └── js/
├── public/
│   ├── class-plugin-public.php
│   ├── css/
│   └── js/
├── languages/
└── vendor/

Quality Gates

• Plugin activates without errors
• All hooks working
• Admin interface functional
• Security measures implemented
• Tests passing
• Documentation complete

Related Workflow Bundles

• wordpress

  - WordPress development

• wordpress-theme-development

  - Theme development

• wordpress-woocommerce

  - WooCommerce