The WordPress Training Team has recently introduced Learning Pathways and a website redesign to enhance the user experience for individuals looking to learn and navigate the WordPress platform. In the past, knowledge and training for WordPress have been scattered across various platforms such as official documentation, support forums, and community blogs. However, the new Learn WordPress website aims to centralize and streamline the learning process.
Managed by the WordPress Training team, Learn WordPress offers free workshops and courses that provide guided instruction on various topics, ranging from basic site customization to block development. With three more years of educational content now available, the team has decided to revamp the structure of the website to make it more user-friendly.
The new initiative known as Learning Pathways aims to address the architectural problems of the current website. It focuses on helping users find specific content that caters to their needs, whether they are beginners or experienced individuals looking to advance their skills. The content on the Learn site is currently organized like a blog, with the newest content displayed first. However, the new pathways will categorize courses based on three different types of learners: Users, Developers, and Designers. Each user type will have content organized by skill level, starting from Beginner and progressing to Intermediate and Expert.
The Learning Pathways are essentially comprehensive courses that consist of multiple modules with specific focuses and lessons to achieve desired learning outcomes. Existing courses are being repurposed as the foundation for these pathways, although not all content has been created yet.
One concern that arises from the vast amount of knowledge required to learn WordPress is how the team is handling the transition through the Gutenberg era. The team aims to create content that focuses on WordPress of today and the future, rather than dwelling on legacy features. While legacy APIs like the Shortcode API are still useful to know about, the team prioritizes teaching individuals about modern features like the REST API.
Alongside the introduction of Learning Pathways, the Learn WordPress website is undergoing a complete redesign. The new design will follow modern learning website design principles and UI/UX standards. Destiny Kanno, the Head of Community Education at Automattic, is overseeing the project and ensuring collaborative communication between the Training Team and Design Team. The redesign also includes a shift towards making more content available on YouTube instead of WordPress.tv.
The project faces technical challenges, particularly with multilingual content. Currently, there is no multilingual plugin on the site, leading to issues as the site continues to expand. Efforts are being made to reduce duplicative content creation and improve localized content efforts.
One exciting update in the works is the inclusion of interactive code blocks within lessons, powered by the WordPress Playground. The team behind WordPress Playground is working to address functionality and accessibility requirements to enable more interactive lessons in the future.
The ongoing redesign of WordPress.org is significant as it fully embraces block-based themes on a large scale. This commitment demonstrates the importance of this project for the WordPress community.
While the current pathways only cover three user types, there is potential for future pathways to be defined, such as a “contributor” pathway or a “marketer/SEO” pathway. The WordPress platform caters to a wide range of creators and organizations.
For now, the team remains focused on the Designer, Developer, and User pathways. Progress can be followed in the #training channel in Make WordPress Slack or on the project blog, Make WordPress Training.
Overall, the introduction of Learning Pathways and the website redesign for Learn WordPress aims to provide a more intuitive and comprehensive learning experience for individuals looking to navigate and master the WordPress platform. With a centralized approach and improved user experience, WordPress users can enhance their skills and utilize the platform more effectively.
