Description
For my WordPress Development class final project, I decided to have some fun and build a site for one of my favorite authors — John Green. Since The Fault in Our Stars is his most iconic book, I used the cover design as inspiration for the theme. The result was a clean, playful look powered by Bootstrap, with functionality that went beyond just a simple fan page.
One of the coolest parts of this project was creating a custom WordPress plugin from scratch. With it, I added:
- Custom post types, meta fields, and taxonomy for organizing books and reviews.
- A way to showcase the latest books and random reviews using shortcodes/custom blocks.
- A user review system so visitors could share their thoughts, which would then appear right on the book’s page.
On top of that, I built a full admin settings page that made the plugin more flexible. Admins can:
- Toggle the Gutenberg editor on/off for books and reviews.
- Decide whether to show reviewer locations.
- Personalize the homepage greeting.
- Choose how many recent books display at once.
This project really let me combine my love for problem-solving and building user-friendly experiences. It wasn’t just about design, it was about making a site that feels alive, interactive, and customizable. Plus, it gave me the chance to sharpen my skills in WordPress plugin development, database handling, and front-end/back-end integration, while geeking out over an author I genuinely admire.
Technologies
- Bootstrap
- CSS
- HTML
- MySQL
- PHP
- WordPress
Screenshots
John Green website - Homepage
About page
All books page
