I would not recommend this book to the absolute beginner unless you really like jumping headfirst into the very deep end. You really need to have at least a moderate understanding of html css and php to get through this book. The author is able able to cover as much as he does in large part by assuming you can keep up.

The biggest problem with this book and the only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is the layout. I have heard this complaint regarding other books from smashing magazine and unfortunately it is very true. The guys at smashing mag are brilliant web designers but would do well to hire some equally brilliant print designers to layout their books. The biggest problem is the inner margins of the book. They have been designed as though this book were to be read on a vertical blog with identical margins on both pages instead of reflected margins resulting in having to force the book open to read the left page. Sorry to go on about this but it really is a big problem and I hope they will fix this in future versions (or at least in future publications).

Pros:

1. Spectacular content not found in any other single book

2. Covers up and coming wordpress features such as child themes

3. Tutorials for designing functioning job boards, faq knowledge bases, e-commerce sites, portfolio sites and more

4. 2 chapters on functions.php and plugin development

5. Too many great things content wise to list!

Cons:

1. Not recommended for the beginner

2. Layout of the book is quite poor and makes reading difficult

Overall:

If you are serious about creating your own wordpress themes and have experience with css html and php then this is absolutely the book you want.

Rating: 4 / 5

This book was an amazing for me because of where I am at in my wordpress development. Before reading this book I knew how to install wordpress, set up permalinks, work with .htaccess files, create posts, add plugins, and even do some minor tweaking. I did not however understand the core code concepts of wordpress that make it work, thus I could not advance beyond an “advanced beginner.” When I would go to read advanced wordpress books they were all written in techie speak and I always ended up feeling lost.

Enter Smashing Wordpress:

From the moment I started reading this book it was right at the level I needed. I had finished my knowledge of the beginner to mid level stages of wordpress and Smashing Wordpress took me to a solid level of advanced wordpress techniques and theme/plugin building. It is written in PLAIN ENGLISH and not techie speak like most advanced technology books (please remember you must have a solid beginner level understanding or this book will seem complicated).

If your looking to start understanding all that code that makes themes and plugins work and you have a solid understanding of the basics of wordpress this book is for you.

From the very first chapter this book I stated to absorb the wordpress code concepts and advanced techniques I was craving to learn. I am half way through this book and I am quickly becoming the advanced wordpress theme creator that I have been wanting to be. (This book will also give you a solid ability to modify even the most advanced themes)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO WORDPRESS USERS READY TO UNDERSTAND AND BUILD OR MODIFY WORDPRESS THEME AND PLUGINS.

Rating: 5 / 5

There is nothing here about ajax, which is a disappointment to me, so one star off. It is more and more prevalent and I was hoping to see at least a few examples of ajax queries occurring inside of the WP framework. I expected this topic to be covered but it is not even mentioned. Also, there is no coverage of using custom database tables for plugins that use more data than you’d be comfortable with in the WP Options table, so another star taken off. It does give decent coverage to using the WP Options table for data storage however. I would think that something intent on “smashing” wordpress would have taken it just that little bit farther. All in all however I am glad of the purchase because there is a ton of good stuff that I will definitely reference in customizing wordpress sites. Rating: 3 / 5

Sites That Soar will leave no doubt in your mind about each step needed to build your website even if you are completely clueless. The author gives you free resources for a professional magazine-style blog theme, so you do not have to go out and buy a theme to get started. She also describes in great detail the free plugins you need to make your blog run the way you want it to, and where to get the plugins. You will learn the difference between pages and posts, and how to build and maintain a blog website you will be proud of.

Each step in the process of building your blog is illustrated with screenshots and detailed explanations, leaving you with no doubt as to exactly what your next step will be. The author leads you through each setting you need to customize your blog and explains what each setting is and why you need it.

If you have never installed a blog at a hosting service you will get more than one alternative just in case you get stuck. Never heard of SEO? The appendix tells you what free plugin you will want to download and optimize your site and improve your rankings with the search engines. If .htaccess is Greek to your ears, you will get detailed instructions and step-by-step screenshots that leave no doubt about what you need to do.

Building more than one Blog? Once you have followed the steps in this book and gained a little experience, you will be able to set up professional looking blogs, ready for your content, in three hours or less. If you only ever build one blog website, this is the book for you.

Like any book dealing with technical materials, you can expect that there will be a learning curve involved. With Sites That Soar, you will dramatically shorten that learning curve.

I build a lot of websites and this is one book that I will refer to often. I highly recommend it as an excellent book for anyone who wants to build a website they can be proud of.

Rating: 5 / 5

But the level of detail in this book is unbelievable.

No matter what your level, you’ll be sure to get everything setup correctly following these instructions. And the design does look great.

Who knew you site building could be so much more easier than just a few years ago.

I give it a big thumbs up. Rating: 4 / 5

Plenty of illustrations and screen-shots make it easy to understand and implement. Even a complete novice can follow these simple instructions and create a WordPress site like that looks terrific.

There are numerous options here that I probably wouldn’t have attempted on my own. But armed with these easy-as-pie steps, I can’t wait to see how it all turns out. I get the feeling the author was once in my shoes and understands the mindset and everything that goes with it.

This book makes it easy to not only get comfortable with WordPress, but to go way beyond the basic look, feel and functionality. It gives you the confidence to move forward without taking a class or reading through a 400-page textbook. It kind of feels like having a teacher you like in the room with you, ready to answer your questions as they arise.

Rating: 4 / 5

Of course there are some things you need to know on creating a WordPress theme. You could search the internet for resources on how to create your own themes on various websites, but that would take many hours and you probably would be misinformed about a few things and that would set you back awhile. Instead of wasting your time with all that, just get this book. It¡¦s a no brainer. º

This book written by Tessa Blakeley Silver, is the first book to help web designers and developers understand how to create a WordPress theme from start to finish. I have never seen a book about WordPress that covers a topic so completely. This book is definitely a book you should buy if you want to take your basic WP skills to the next level in learning more about WP in general as well as understanding how themes work and how to create them and modify existing ones.

This book has a little bit of everything¡K.From explaining the basics of WP, to the basics concepts of design, to explaining some example web site designs and how they work. Tessa goes to work (chapter 3) and explains the sections of a WP theme like the index.php, sidebar.php, header.php and footer.php. Of course the basics begin with talking about ¡§the loop¡¨ which displays all your posts in order and lets you display all your display properties of the main page. The second most important and fun part of your page is normally your sidebar.php page which you can include you main navigation, categories, search, display tagging, widgets, and other cool stuff. It is all explained in great detail with nothing left out.

I have been using WP for a while now and my site (http://www.javascriptworkshop.com) which uses WordPress is a simple design, but I cannot tell you how many hours I spent trying to figure out something that after reading this book would have helped me instantly. I wish this book came out a year ago. º

The rest of the book (chapter 5 ¡V 8) go through creating a theme from scratch as well as troubleshooting it. I love chapter 6 and its syntax reference in reviewing very common and not so common template tags. These are predefined PHP functions that allow you to pull information from the MySQL database that every WP installation uses. Every new version of WP, changes a few of these and this book has the most up-to-date information on it. You can also go to ¡§codex¡¨ section of the WordPress.org site (http://codex.wordpress.org/Main_Page) to get all the information you need as well. But it will take a lot longer than using this wonderful book.

Another great chapter is chapter 8 which shows you how to add some interactive Ajax forms and content on your WP site. Ajax is something that allows you to pull information from a database (MySQL in this case) without having to refresh the page. It looks cool and if done properly can really make you site standout from the rest.

The final chapter (chapter 9) gives you some great design tips that would take hours to figure out on your own. A great extra bonus chapter.

If you are using WordPress at any level, then I highly recommend this book. Rating: 5 / 5