Internal Mechanics

Now that you have a fair understanding of WordPress concepts, it’s time for you to learn how WordPress works. This will help you join all the puzzle pieces together.

First, you need to understand how bootstrapping works with WordPress and then, the role of the WordPress configuration file.

What is bootstrapping WordPress?

The process of starting up and hierarchically loading all the functionality / modules which are required for WordPress to fulfil a HTTP Request is called bootstrapping.

Bootstrapping forms a layer of abstraction between the environment and the logic.

Now that you understand how bootstrapping works with WordPress. Take a look at the Complete WordPress Initialization Flowchart

You can learn more about how it works from the below resources –

• Make sense of WordPress core load by Andrey “Rarst” Savchenko
• WordPress Files Codex
• How WordPress Actually Works Behind the Scenes (Infographic)
• WordPress directory structure

The WordPress configuration file (wp-config.php) is one of the most important files in any WordPress installation. You should know how it works and its role in WordPress development. wp-config.php is arguably the most important file present in the WordPress file directory because it primarily deals with WordPress security, database connection, and resource allocation.

Ideas to Explore:

• Go through the role of the wp-config.php file in the WordPress loading process, and how it is used to set up database connections and other essential configurations.
• Understand the WordPress bootstrapping process, including the role of index.php and wp-blog-header.php files in initializing the WordPress environment.
• What are the key components of the wp-load.php file, and how does it load WordPress core files and set up global variables and constants during the loading process?
• How does the wp-settings.php file contribute to the WordPress loading process, and what are its primary responsibilities in setting up the WordPress environment?