WordPress powers over 40% of the web, yet it’s built entirely by contributors. And they aren’t all developers, either: people contribute through design, writing, translation, testing, organizing, and promotion, as well as through building code.
Want to help? We’re building pathway guides that give you concrete steps to start contributing — what you’ll need, where to go, and what to do when you get there. You’ll find them in the index below, grouped by the type of contribution. Where we don’t have a guide yet, we’ve linked directly to team handbooks so you can still get started.
Not sure where to start? Read Before You Begin if you’re brand new, then try one of the categories below. Or, try the contributor wizard for a guided recommendation.
If you’re an existing contributor and your team needs more help, feel free to suggest a pathway or learn more about Pathways.
Build
- Team: Contribute to GatherPress – Join the team, start with testing and triage, and work up to fixes
- Project: Create a Playground Blueprint – Build a WordPress Blueprint and submit it to the Blueprint Gallery
- Project: Create a Playground Blueprint for a Community Plugin or Theme – Help theme and pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. contributors get started faster by creating a Playground Blueprint for their project
- Team: Contribute to Theme Check Plugin – Help maintain the plugin that checks themes against directory standards
Design
- Project: Review Themes – Help review themes submitted to the WordPress directory
- Project: Contribute Photos – Help build the WordPress Photo Directory with CC0-licensed photos
- Team: Help Moderate Photos – Keep the WordPress Photo Directory reliable by approving community submissions
Write
- Project: Document a WordPress Release – Help document what’s new in an upcoming WordPress release
- Task: File a Documentation Issue – Found a typo, outdated info, or broken link? Report it so it gets fixed
- Task: Work on Existing Documentation Issues – Pick up a reported issue, work on a fix, and submit it for review
- Project: Create a Pathway Guide – Turn a pathway idea into a finished guide
- Project: Write Content for Training – Write, update, or review lesson plans, tutorials, and workshops
Translate
- Task: Translate Plugins and Themes – Focus on plugins and themes maintained by the WordPress Foundation and local communities. Get started with Polyglots
- Project: Enrich Your Locale’s Glossary – Contribute to consistent translation
- Team: Become a Translation Editor – After contributing translations, apply to review for your locale
- Task: Help Translate Playground – Contribute translations for WordPress Playground
- Task: Localize Video Content – Add subtitles to training and WordPress.tv videos
Test
- Task: Review a Pathway Guide – Walk through a guide to ensure it’s clear
- Team: Help test Patches – Test patches with the team to help make WordPress more stable
- Task: Audit GatherPress Documentation – Test GatherPress docs against the live plugin and report any needed updates
Organize
- Task: Suggest a Pathway – Help grow this index by suggesting a new guide
- Project: Organize a Student Club – Help organize a WordPress Student Club at your school or university
- Project: Volunteer at a WordPress Event – Assist with event logistics, registration, and other support
- Task: Label Documentation Issues – Organize documentation tasks by labeling GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged by the repository owner. https://github.com/ issues
- Team: Become a GitHub Issues Coordinator – Lead coordination for documentation issues
Promote
- Task: Add Captions to WPTV Videos – Help make WordPress.tv accessible to a wider audience
- Project: Promote a Local WordPress MeetupMeetup All local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area. – Help your local meetup grow by spreading the word on campus, at work, or through local networks
- Project: Conduct Surveys – Gather insights about how people use WordPress, and identify areas where awareness is low. Share in #community and with your local group
