I've been learning to code for a while now. Progress is as expected: slow and steady. And that's a good thing.

I'm already quite happy using HTML and CSS to build things like landing pages and similar. I even know some basic JavaScript and am learning more on a daily basis.

Like pretty much everyone reading this who is still relatively new, I'm keen on one day being a really comfortable and confident developer, happy in my knowledge of selecting, and ultimately using, the right tool for the job. Today may not be that day, but it'll come. Of that, I am 100% certain.

One thing I do know already is WordPress. Back in 2009, I started a personal blog using the platform, and since then I've built quite a few WordPress sites.

Therefore, when I started to notice quite a lot of Tweets about people building websites in WordPress and earning an income doing so, my interest was most definitely piqued.

Given that these Tweets were by devs and coders, I assumed it was different from how I used WordPress. Way more advanced, perhaps.

Turns out, I was mistaken. Sure, some build custom themes and plugins, and have mastered PHP. But, many others are just out there churning out really nice-looking responsive websites without coding everything themselves.

Learning the basics

I decided to look a bit further into this. I therefore searched, and found, something appropriate aimed at beginners: How to Make a Website with WordPress - Full Course on freeCodeCamp.

Watching the video (which is indeed very good and really informative if you're keen to learn this skill), I had one thought: "But, I already know how to do this!"

Fine, I hadn't used Elementor before, but that's just an easier and more graphical method to achieve that which I already know how to achieve.

I immediately started to give this some serious thought. You know how sometimes your thoughts go down the rabbit hole, jumping from A to B to C until you're miles away from where you started? Yeah, this was one of those instances.

I want to freelance. Covid has somewhat negatively impacted my income, so I need to freelance sooner rather than later to make up the balance. Thus, why wait until I'm way more comfortable in coding to get started? I could start building basic websites using HTML and CSS soon. Or... I could start building full websites for clients using WordPress right now. Lightbulb moment!

Starting today...

So, here we are. I am starting to freelance by building client websites using WordPress. And, instead of simply doing so in the background, I figured I should share the journey and progress with all of you. My Tweets (and replies) about WordPress seem to attract quite a lot of engagement and questions, so there's clearly a desire by many to learn more about this path. Why not share the knowledge as I myself learn it?

Now all I need is some clients... Best I get marketing ASAP!

But, this isn't a new end-path for me. I have zero intention of focusing just on building websites in WordPress and calling it my new freelance side hustle. It will, however, be one of my side hustles going forward.

This is a means to an end: my desire to learn to code has in no way diminished. I will continue learning JavaScript. Then, perhaps, a framework. Thereafter, I'd like to improve my SQL skills. Somewhere in the future, I have every intention of learning Python. And the list goes on.

However, if I can ALSO get competent at creating decent websites using WordPress and generate some additional income in the process, well, why not?

And so begins my second series on this blog: Freelancing with WordPress.

Many more posts, coming soon...

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