Considering a career change to WordPress is exciting. As a company that has been hiring WordPress professionals for well over a decade, we’ve seen firsthand how this platform has created numerous job opportunities.
WordPress powers 43% of all websites on the internet, making it a stable and growing field. This widespread use means there are many different career paths available, from development and design to content creation and management.
Changing careers is a big decision, and it’s important to understand all your options. We’ve helped many people transition into WordPress careers and have a deep understanding of the skills and roles that are in demand.
In this article, we’ll guide you through the best WordPress career options available today. We’ll explain what each role involves, the skills you need, and the potential for growth.
Why Choose WordPress Careers?
WordPress is a highly successful content management system. It’s one of the best website builders, it’s free and open source, and it powers 43% of sites on the internet.
Note: When we talk about WordPress, we are referring to the self-hosted WordPress.org instead of WordPress.com. To learn the differences, you can see our complete guide to WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com.
Since the WordPress platform is so popular, you may be wondering if you can make your living with it.
The good news is that pursuing a new job in WordPress can be safe and rewarding. The demand for WordPress professionals remains high due to the platform’s popularity and constant growth. Plus, there are lots of WordPress careers for individuals with a wide range of skill sets.
You could get started as a freelancer building WordPress websites for others, make money by flipping websites, or build your own WordPress site as a side business.
Or you could apply for job listings with one of the most successful WordPress companies today, such as Automattic, WP Engine, or WPBeginner’s management company, Awesome Motive.
Note: While other tech companies have been struggling in today’s economy, Awesome Motive has continued to hire WordPress developers, support specialists, technical content writers, and more. We now have more than 300 employees in over 50 countries.
That being said, let’s look at the best WordPress career options for making a living with WordPress.
WordPress Developer
WordPress developers are responsible for creating and customizing WordPress websites, eCommerce sites, plugins, and custom themes using programming languages like PHP, JavaScript, CSS, MySQL, HTML, and more.
You will spend time adding functionality, optimizing performance, and resolving technical issues. While this can mean writing new code, you will also need to enhance old code, diagnose and fix bugs, update legacy code, and provide feedback to other developers.
Employment of web developers and web designers is projected to grow 13% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations. WordPress developers, including both back-end and front-end developers, are in especially high demand since WordPress powers 43.2% of all websites.
If you are interested in becoming a WordPress developer, then you can get started by reading our guide on how to learn WordPress for free.
Related: See our article that debunks the myth that WordPress will replace developers.
WordPress UI/UX Designer
UI/UX designers are responsible for the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) of WordPress plugins and WordPress themes. You will focus on creating visually appealing and user-friendly interfaces and perform UX audits to provide a good user experience.
While developers are more focused on the technical side of software development, UI/UX designers focus on the user experience. Developers typically work with code, while UI/UX designers usually work with images, text, and other visual elements.
However, there is some overlap between the two roles, and many developers and UI/UX designers have skills in both areas. Ultimately, the goal of both developers and UI/UX designers is to create software that is both functional and enjoyable to use.
The best way to decide whether you want to be a developer or a UI/UX designer is to consider your own strengths and interests. If you are most interested in creating visually appealing and user-friendly interfaces, then you might be a good fit for a UI/UX designer role.
WordPress QA Engineer
A QA engineer, or quality assurance engineer, is responsible for ensuring the quality of software. They do this by finding bugs before the software is released to the public. This involves designing and running tests, analyzing test results, and reporting bugs to developers.
They will often automate these tests to save time and improve the efficiency of the testing process. After that, they look for bugs in the test results and decide whether they are critical.
They need to communicate the bugs to the developers in a clear and concise way so that they can be fixed as quickly as possible. This can involve working with the developers to find the root cause of the bug and develop a fix.
If you are looking for a career where you can use your analytical and problem-solving skills to make a difference, then QA engineering may be the right career for you.
Marketing Specialist
Marketing specialists do market research and make marketing strategies to drive the sales of a WordPress company’s plugins, themes, or services.
This can include planning promotions and content marketing, and you will often be responsible for managing the company’s social media channels. You may also work with partners to advertise their products and services using an affiliate referral program.
Marketing specialists spend a lot of time working with other team members, including developers and designers. You will typically need to design and optimize landing pages and create an email newsletter to generate leads and sales.
You will also need to build relationships with potential customers and influencers in the industry. This will often mean attending WordPress events and conferences like WordCamp.
WordPress Support Specialist
Support specialists make sure that customers can successfully use their plugins and themes on their own WordPress websites. You will troubleshoot errors, answer customer questions, and provide solutions to ensure a positive user experience.
Technical support is more focused on resolving specific problems, while customer support focuses on providing a positive overall experience. However, there is some overlap between the two, and many technical support representatives also have strong customer service skills.
Customers may contact support staff via a toll-free phone number, email, a help desk, or live chat. You will aim to build relationships based on trust by listening to your customer’s needs. This will result in happy, passionate, and loyal customers.
This means that a support specialist is one of the best WordPress careers if you are patient, understanding, and able to place customers at ease. You also need to provide confident and timely answers by being familiar with the product’s documentation and common issues.
WordPress Content Writer
A content writer creates engaging and informative content for WordPress plugins, themes, and services. You research and write documentation, tutorials, marketing materials, and blog posts to promote and support your company’s products.
This will involve writing accurate descriptions for the plugin or theme’s landing page, marketplace listings, or sales pages. You will highlight key features and benefits and include screenshots and unique selling points to attract and educate potential customers.
You may also be responsible for writing technical documentation for WordPress plugins and themes. This means you need to have a strong understanding of WordPress and its features.
You will collaborate closely with the development team to understand new features, updates, and bug fixes. You need to keep track of upcoming changes and ensure that the documentation reflects the most current version of the plugin.
Professional WordPress bloggers and writers will also need to optimize their content to improve search engine rankings. This includes doing keyword research, writing meta descriptions and tags, optimizing titles and headings, and following search engine optimization (SEO) best practices.
Video Content Creator
A video content creator is responsible for creating videos to promote the company’s products, such as WordPress plugins or themes. You may also make tutorial videos that explain how to do specific tasks and cover different use cases.
As a video creator, you will need to plan content, write scripts, and find ways to present complex topics simply. You will research trends, analyze audience preferences, and identify the topics that need to be covered.
You will shoot high-quality videos using cameras, lighting equipment, and other necessary tools. Plus, you will set up appropriate backgrounds, props, and settings to improve the visual appearance of the videos with proper framing, focus, and audio quality during recording.
You will need to edit the video and optimize it for online viewing, though, at this point, another team member may take over. You will also add appropriate metadata, such as titles, descriptions, and tags, to improve video SEO.
Finally, you will upload the video to a streaming service such as YouTube or Vimeo and then embed the video in WordPress so that it can be viewed on the website. You may also work with the marketing team to promote the videos.
Graphic Designer
Graphic designers create the visual elements, icons, logos, and overall aesthetics for WordPress plugins and themes. You work closely with developers and other team members to improve the products’ visual appeal, usability, and branding.
Usability principles are important when designing WordPress plugins and themes. WordPress designers focus on creating clear and understandable visual cues, buttons, and icons, making it easier for users to interact with the product and achieve their goals.
You may also create graphics for blog posts, social media posts, and video thumbnails. Plus, you will collaborate with marketing teams to create promotional materials, banners, and graphics.
FAQs About WordPress Careers
Do you have any questions about the best way to get into a WordPress career? Here are some of the most frequent questions we are asked about WordPress careers by our readers.
Are WordPress jobs in demand?
Yes. With WordPress powering 43% of all websites, freelance WordPress developers and other roles are in high demand. When visiting online job boards, you can be confident there will be plenty of WordPress careers being advertised.
How can I prepare for a WordPress career?
The best way to prepare for a WordPress career is to become familiar with WordPress. You can learn a lot of WordPress skills by reading WPBeginner tutorials and watching content on our YouTube channel. You can also take advantage of our paid courses at WP101.
It’s also important to get involved in the WordPress community. There are many ways to get involved, like going to WordPress meetups, participating in forums, and contributing to open-source projects.
WordPress plugins and themes are written in PHP, so if you want to become a developer, then it is important to have strong coding skills in PHP. You can also learn JavaScript and MySQL, which are other important languages for WordPress development.
How long does it take to learn WordPress to get a job?
It can take beginners between 6 months to a year to become familiar with WordPress, depending on how much time you spend learning and using the platform.
However, if you want to become a skilled WordPress developer, then you will need to invest even more time in learning WordPress and the PHP programming language.
Can someone who doesn’t know how to code get a job in WordPress?
Yes. While there are plenty of jobs for WordPress developers, there are also WordPress careers that don’t need any coding skills.
These include graphic design, creating written and video content, customer support, and marketing.
Where can I apply for WordPress jobs?
There are many places to find WordPress job postings when looking for new career opportunities.
You can start by checking online job boards like Indeed, Monster, and CareerBuilder. There are also a number of WordPress-specific job boards, such as WordPress Jobs.
Social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter can also be a good way to find WordPress-related job opportunities. You can also attend WordPress meetups and join online WordPress communities to network with WordPress companies.
Make sure you visit our Careers page to learn about the benefits of working at Awesome Motive and see the jobs we have available. We often advertise new full-time job openings, so make sure you come back regularly.
Expert Guides on Making Money With WordPress
We hope this tutorial helped you learn about WordPress careers. However, if you’re not ready to switch to a career as a WordPress professional, then you may like to see our guides on other ways to make money using WordPress:
- Proven Ways to Make Money Online Blogging with WordPress
- Low Cost and Easy Online Business Ideas that Make Money
- Proven Affiliate Marketing Tips to Grow Revenue From the Founder of Pretty Links
- Best Blogging Niches That Will Make Money (Easily)
- How to Start a Fashion Blog (and Make Money) – Step by Step
- How to Start a Travel Blog (to Make Money or Otherwise)
- How to Start a Food Blog (and Make Extra Income on the Side)
- How to Start a Video Blog (Vlog) And Make Money
- WPBeginner Income – How Much Money Does WPBeginner Make?
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Olaf
What’s great about WordPress is that it offers many ways to make a living. I chose web development, and it’s currently providing me with a good income. However, if my PHP skills were a bit better, I can easily imagine writing more complex plugins and earning money from them as well. There are countless opportunities, and anyone with a bit of business sense can take those opportunities into their own hands. The best part is that many of these things can be done online, giving you freedom over your time and where you work. That’s what makes this era and these opportunities so amazing.
Jiří Vaněk
I have built about 10 websites on WordPress, and they have never been hacked; they always worked well. I then decided to try setting up my own virtual server on Linux, where I now also have my own blog, and everything is working perfectly there too. I started to feel confident in my abilities. However, as I’ve been exploring this website and gaining insights into other WordPress-related matters, I’ve realized I’m just scratching the surface. There is so much more to learn. I’m currently learning Python, but I also need to add PHP because these professions simply require it. There’s really a lot that a WordPress developer needs to know. Building a website with Gutenberg or Elementor alone just isn’t enough.
Mrteesurez
You are absolutely right, Jirí.
There are really a lot that a WordPress developer needs to know. Everytime I come here I learn new thing, although I have built more Wordpress websites which I couldn’t even counted. I find that to be a complete WordPress developer, one has to include PHP to his toolset. I am now learning PHP code to be able to develop a professional themes and plugins, though I have plugins I have created but need to go deeper in PHP and React. I am happy to have learnt so many things since I started reading WPbeginner article.
Mrteesurez
Because WordPress is popular and more people and businesses are using it. This create a more jobs space and career opportunities.
I love WordPress and I have used it to design multiple websites. I have decided to start a career as WordPress developer.
But my question is: In Awesome Motive Career page, the skills and codes required for WordPress developer are more than what you just mentioned in this post, can you list all things one needs to know about WordPress that will make him suitable for a WordPress developer role especially at AM ??
WPBeginner Support
It would depend on the specific role a developer is attempting to fill for if they need more than what we cover in this article. For what needs to be known to join Awesome Motive it would be on the listing itself
Admin
Mrteesurez
Ok, thanks.
I can see now that having knowledge in PHP, HTML, Css and Javascript is not enough to secure a role as a WordPress developer. I see react, Vue Js, jQuery, DevOps and some others there.
Planning to learn these too.
Thanks.
Ralph
I think the easiest way of earning money with wordpress is blog/youtube about building websites where you can earn money with affiliate marketing from themes, plugins, domains and hostings.
But if you have better skills and can create your own theme, then this is the winner. I have seen a lot of great themes sold in thousands of copies only on envato market and there are other sites where you can sell them. Of course outside of your own website.
Famous Onyemah
Great Piece. Thanks for the info. Do you have employees in Nigeria?
WPBeginner Support
Yes we do
Admin
Rizwan Dawood
This is a Awesome Article.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you!
Admin