{"id":15462,"date":"2024-04-05T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/?p=15462"},"modified":"2025-05-21T19:09:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T02:09:14","slug":"become-a-wordpress-contributor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/become-a-wordpress-contributor\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Become A WordPress Contributor In Just 3 Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\u2019re not ashamed to admit it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We freakin\u2019 love open source!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open-source software encourages collaboration, transparency, and inclusivity in the website creation world \u2014 something that we need more than ever now that most of the digital community is based behind far-flung computer screens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress<\/a>, the behemoth that powers 43% of the internet\u2019s websites<\/a>, is the ultimate open-source project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s why we\u2019re obsessed with WordPress<\/a>, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress is an open-source platform developed and maintained by a dedicated community of contributors made up of awesome people like me and (soon) you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becoming one of these stalwart WordPress contributors and shaping the future of the platform is easier than you might imagine. Plus, there are many excellent avenues for contributing. Along with the obvious coding and development roles, you can get involved in design, translation, community outreach, photography<\/a>, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s first talk about what contributing to WordPress actually means and why you should do it. Then, we\u2019ll walk you through the step-by-step process of finding your niche and jumping into the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Note: WordPress.com<\/strong> & WordPress.org<\/strong> are different<\/a>! WordPress.org<\/strong><\/a> is free, open-source software that anybody can use to create a self-hosted website<\/a>. WordPress.com<\/strong><\/a> is a site-building and hosting platform from for-profit company Automattic. The basics are free, but there are plenty of paid upgrades. This article is all about WordPress.org<\/strong>. OK, back to it!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is A WordPress Contributor?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Funnily enough, \u201cWordPress contributor\u201d has more than one meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people who run their websites on WordPress, the term may already be familiar. It\u2019s the name of one of the core user roles. Inside a WordPress installation, a contributor is someone with permission to log in and edit or delete their own blog posts, but not publish anything or make any changes to others\u2019 posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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User Roles<\/h3>\n

Users in WordPress can be one of five default roles: Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, or Subscriber. WordPress provides a user role management system that defines what users are allowed to do on your website.<\/p>\n \n Read More <\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, that\u2019s not what we\u2019re talking about today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is all about people who actively contribute their time and skills in documentation, development, design, and more to help build and advance the user-driven, open-source WordPress project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"user<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With that cleared up, let\u2019s dive into the benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why You Should Consider Contributing To WordPress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WordPress\u2019 community is ultimately what made it the flexible, powerful platform it is today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a free and open-source site builder, WordPress is totally developed and maintained by a dedicated community of users. And it relies<\/em> on this community to keep it updated, add new features and functionality, provide testing and support, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Open Source<\/h3>\n

In software development, open source projects are free for anyone to download, use, modify, and distribute. WordPress is one great example of open source software, although it\u2019s far from the only one.<\/p>\n \n Read More <\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, you don\u2019t need to know anything about the larger world of WordPress to use the platform for your own websites. You can literally build a WordPress website<\/a> in just a few minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it may be worth your while to get involved in the platform\u2019s development if you\u2019re a fan and user. Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n