WordPress is much more than a blogging platform. If you have basic PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript experience you can use WordPress to develop fast, scalable, secure, and highly customized web apps, mobile apps, web services, and multisite networks of websites. Along with core WordPress functions and database schema, you'll learn how to build custom plugins, themes, and services for just about any kind of web or mobile application. In this updated second edition, Brian Messenlehner and Jason Coleman cover new features and functionality added to WordPress up to version 5.4. All code examples in the book are available on GitHub. Compare WordPress with traditional app development frameworks Use themes for views and plugins for backend functionality Get suggestions for choosing or building WordPress plugins Register custom post types (CPTs) and taxonomies Manage user accounts and roles, and access user data Build asynchronous behaviors with jQuery Use WordPress to develop mobile apps for iOS and Android Integrate PHP libraries, external APIs, and web service plugins Collect payments through ecommerce and membership plugins Learn how to speed up and scale your WordPress app Extend the WordPress REST API and create custom endpoints Learn about WordPress Gutenberg blocks development