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WordPress Development Playbook

WordPress Developer playbook

Think of this as hiring Wendy to handle your WordPress development this week.

Speed up WordPress delivery, plugin integration, and troubleshooting while validating hooks and APIs before deployment.

Start here

Time to first useful output: 20 minutes

Tip: set your profile once in Business Profile and it will be injected into prompts automatically.

  1. Define target plugin/theme and exact behavior change.
  2. Collect current code snippets and error context.
  3. Run starter prompt and request real hooks only.

First win: A validated snippet + staging test checklist.

Starting rules

  • Use real hooks/filters only.
  • Always test in staging first.
  • List compatibility assumptions for plugins/themes.
  • Provide rollback steps with each code change.
  • Prefer minimal override over broad rewrites.

Starting prompt

Act as a senior WordPress developer. Propose a minimal implementation for this requirement using real hooks/filters only. Include code, where to place it, staging tests, and rollback steps.

ChatGPT and Claude setup examples

ChatGPT · GPT-4.1

Best for: Drafting snippets and fast troubleshooting flow.

  1. Paste plugin/theme versions and current snippet.
  2. Ask for real hook references.
  3. Request test steps for staging.

ChatGPT starter

Write the smallest safe WordPress snippet for this behavior and include validation steps.

Claude · Claude Sonnet

Best for: Comparing plugin integration approaches and risk.

  1. Provide business requirement and site constraints.
  2. Ask for two implementation options.
  3. Request recommendation with tradeoffs.

Claude starter

Compare two ways to implement this WordPress customization and recommend the safer long-term option.

Prompt library

Copy a proven prompt, run it, then iterate with your context.

Plugin customization

Ship plugin-level changes safely.

Library prompt

Implement this WordPress customization with real hooks only and provide staging verification steps.

Performance triage

Identify and fix slow site bottlenecks.

Library prompt

Audit this WordPress setup for performance issues and produce a prioritized fix plan with expected impact.

Theme override plan

Avoid fragile theme hacks.

Library prompt

Provide the safest way to override this theme behavior without breaking update compatibility.

WooCommerce checkout tweak

Improve checkout UX faster.

Library prompt

Create a WooCommerce checkout customization snippet and include rollback instructions.

Workflow Partner

Automate recurring work and speed up decisions

AutomaticWork gives your team structured AI workflows for repeat tasks, approvals, and handoffs, so decisions happen faster and less work gets stuck.

Explore AutomaticWork

What to hand off first

  • Faster custom feature shipping in WordPress
  • Cleaner plugin customization workflows
  • Improved reliability with test-first snippets

Examples you can run this week

Custom plugin extension workflow

  1. Define desired behavior, plugin constraints, and user role rules.
  2. Generate a hook-based implementation outline.
  3. Create test checklist for staging validation.

Example prompt

Help me extend this WordPress plugin safely. Propose real hooks to use, a minimal code patch, and staging validation steps.

Performance hardening pass

  1. Audit largest queries and plugin overhead patterns.
  2. Propose caching, script loading, and image fixes.
  3. Create implementation sequence to avoid downtime.

Example prompt

Audit this WordPress setup for performance bottlenecks and produce a prioritized fix plan with expected impact.

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