14 WordPress Interview Questions With Sample Answers

Updated 30 September 2022

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WordPress is one of the most common content management platforms, which helps businesses build their blogs and websites. With growing popularity, the career prospect in WordPress development is increasing along with an increase in competition for WordPress developers. To prepare for a role as a WordPress developer, it is ideal to familiarise yourself with popular questions employers ask WordPress developers during interviews. In this article, we list common WordPress interview questions and review sample answers to help you prepare better for your next interview.

14 Common WordPress Interview Questions

The following are 14 WordPress interview questions and sample answers that can guide you when trying to model yours:

1. What are some essential WordPress features?

This question further tests your knowledge of the content management system. It is also a question for entry-level roles. Answer this question by discussing the essential features of WordPress, such as responsive designs, plugins, SEO, social sharing and other features.

Example: 'WordPress is a dynamic content management system. You can set it up quick and easy, and can modify it to accommodate a website, including a complete e-commerce solution. It also supports more than one language and allows post scheduling. In addition, you can create and add plugins to increase the functionality of your site.'

2. What is a plugin in WordPress?

This question tests your knowledge of the WordPress features. The interviewer wants to know if you know about plugins and who can create them. Answer the question by addressing what a plugin is, who creates them and for what purpose.

Example: 'WordPress plugin are custom extensions created by WordPress developers to improve the website's functionality. Anyone managing a WordPress site can add it to their site from the plugin directory. The WordPress plugin directory is an open-source marketplace where WordPress developers can list the plugin they have created for users who want to add it to their site.'

3. What do you require to install WordPress?

This question tests your technical expertise. It aims to assess your knowledge of the server requirements for WordPress. You can answer this question by listing the different servers useful for installing WordPress.

Example: 'Server requirements for WordPress are PHP of version 7.2 and higher, MariaDB of version 10.0 and higher, or MySQL of version 5.6 and higher. Then there is the HTTPS support. Often, the Nginx server or Apache server suffices to instal WordPress.'

4. What is the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?

The interviewer wants to know how much you know about WordPress. Some candidates might feel they mean the same thing, which is not true. Answering this question correctly shows you can differentiate between the two and may know how to use both.

Example: 'WordPress.com is the official WordPress site managed by Automattic, WordPress' parent company. While WordPress.org is a self-hosted version of WordPress hosted by individual businesses operating their websites. Websites hosted on WordPress.com do not require paying for or managing a separate hosting, but require paying a monthly subscription fee. While websites hosted on WordPress.org manage their hosting. It is free to use WordPress.org.'

5. What is the difference between posts and pages?

This question is for entry-level WordPress developers. The interviewer wants to be sure you understand the tools used in WordPress. Answer by explaining what makes both tools different from each other.

Example: 'Posts are dynamic entries documented in reverse-chronological order on a WordPress site. They have dates, and you can add tags and categories. While pages are static entries on a WordPress site, it is not in a dated format and does not allow you to add categories and tags.'

6. What do you understand about hooks in WordPress?

This question tests your theoretical knowledge of WordPress. Answer this question by explaining what hooks mean. You can also fixate on how it works with WordPress themes or plugins.

Example: 'Hooks are functions you can add to a WordPress filter or action in a WordPress theme or plugin development. They are called action hooks if applied to a WordPress action. If applied to a WordPress filter, you can refer to them as filter hooks. When you use hooks, it does not change the core WordPress file.'

7. Are there limitations to the website created with WordPress?

The interviewer might ask this question to find out if you have had experiences creating websites using WordPress. If you have experience creating websites using WordPress in the past, you can add them to your answer to add value. Avoid using a yes or no answer and consider explaining accurately and concisely.

Example: 'There is no limit to the type of website you can create with WordPress. Whether you are building an e-commerce store, blog or website, you can do this efficiently with WordPress. You have the option to host your WordPress powered site on any web hosting solution and can create and customise WordPress themes and plugins to meet your requirements. At my previous job, I built a website for digital marketing on WordPress and its versatility helped improve the user experience significantly.'

8. Is it necessary to include a blog on your WordPress site?

This question is likely to come up if you are applying for a web developer position. It assesses your skill to prioritise efficiently when building a website. You can answer this question by considering the individual or company that requires the website.

Example: 'The blog comes with your WordPress copy by default. It may not always be necessary to include it in your WordPress site. You can keep or discard features you do not require with your WordPress site without hassle.'

9. What are WordPress template tags?

Another question they might ask candidates is about template tags. You can briefly explain the use of tags in WordPress. You can also consider listing the types of tags to demonstrate your theoretical and practical understanding.

Example: 'WordPress template tags are tags used within the WordPress template to customise your blog. They include bookmark tags, category tags, general tags, author tags, post tags, link tags. There are also the comment tags, post-thumbnail tags and navigation menu tags.'

10. Which is more secure between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?

This question further tests your knowledge of WordPress. It also checks to see how security conscious you are when building a website. You can answer this question by explaining why you consider one more secured than the other.

Example: 'Usually, businesses consider WordPress.com more secure between the two. This is because you have a limited option to edit a WordPress.com hosted site. In the WordPress.org hosted site, you can make as many edits as you wish, resulting in a security breach.'

11. What do you do if they hack your website?

Another security question to test your knowledge about website security. Answer the question by explaining how to reinstall a backup version or install a backup plugin. You can also discuss future security protocols to take with the website.

Example: 'You can reinstall the previously backed up version of your site. If you do not have your website previously backed up, you can prevent a future loss by installing a backup plugin and a security plugin to add more layers of security. The most common reason for a compromised WordPress site is if there is a password breach. To prevent future occurrences, change the password for every user with admin privilege to your site.'

12. When is WordPress not recommended?

This question tests your technical expertise and experience. You can answer this question by identifying the types of applications that are not suitable to build with WordPress. You can also give reasons for it.

Example: 'WordPress is not recommendable for building an enterprise-level application. It is a CMS designed to manage content and not complex applications. WordPress is not suitable if you need an enterprise intranet solution, an innovative approach to building a complex application or custom scripting.'

13. How do you choose a theme?

This question tests your ability to make effective decisions keeping in mind future requirements. Let the interviewer know the features to look for when choosing a team. Your answer shows you know how to select the best themes for specific websites.

Example: 'When choosing a theme, you look for the ones that give you lots of customisation options and have the needed valuable features. This way, you can tweak as many functions as you may require. You can also add as many features as you can require.'

14. When can you not see the plugin menu?

This question tests your knowledge of WordPress plugins. Explaining the situations that prevent you from seeing the plugin menu is necessary. You can provide as many scenarios as possible.

Example: 'If you are using the free plan of the WordPress.com hosted site, you may not see the plugin menu, as the free WordPress.com hosted plan does not support installing plugins. Likewise, if you do not have administrative privilege, you may not be able to add plugins and may not see the plugin menu.'

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