Can ChatGPT Construct a Helpful WordPress Plugin That Really Works?

Can AI flip non-coders into professional WordPress plugin builders? To seek out out, we requested ChatGPT to construct a customized WordPress plugin from scratch after which had our crack staff of builders study the code…

AI is the world’s hottest two-letter phrase proper now. With all of the latest information headlines about whether or not AI will take our jobs away, we wished to know… can ChatGPT truly develop a practical and helpful WordPress plugin with out having to write down code from scratch? And does the plugin meet finest coding practices?

Luckily, WPMU DEV builds a few of the most strong WordPress plugins on this planet, so we’ve loads of skilled WordPress plugin builders who can put ChatGPT to the check.

The truth is, for those who take a stroll round our firm’s digital corridors, you’ll be able to’t assist however stumble upon WordPress coders and builders. It appears everybody round right here can take a look at a WordPress plugin and see PHP the way in which Neo sees the Matrix’s digital rain code.

What PHP code appears to be like prefer to skilled WordPress plugin builders. Supply: Giphy.com

Everybody, that’s …besides me!

I’m only a weblog author with no coding abilities and a burning need so as to add “immediate engineer” to my CV.

So, on this put up, we’ll discover leverage the ability of ChatGPT to construct a easy customized WordPress plugin rapidly and securely, even for those who lack in depth coding abilities.

We’ll do that by:

1) Asking ChatGPT to generate the code for a helpful plugin that we are able to check, and

2) Operating the code generated by ChatGPT previous our staff {of professional} plugin builders to allow them to evaluation it and supply their trustworthy suggestions.

We’ll cowl the next:

Step 1 – Outline the Plugin’s Performance
Step 2 – Generate Code Snippets with ChatGPT
Step 3 – Check the Customized Plugin
Suggestions from Our Skilled Plugin Builders
Can ChatGPT Flip You Right into a WordPress Plugin Developer?

Step 1 – Outline the Plugin’s Performance

Earlier than utilizing ChatGPT to generate code, we have to have a transparent understanding of the performance we wish our plugin to supply.

This begins by outlining the precise options, actions, or modifications we’ll wish to obtain with our plugin. It will then assist us generate correct prompts for ChatGPT and be certain that our AI-generated code aligns with our desired outcomes.

Step 2 – Generate Code Snippets with ChatGPT

To generate our code snippets utilizing ChatGPT, we’ll preserve issues easy (and free) and use the freely accessible interface supplied by OpenAI.

Take #1…

Observe: My first try at utilizing ChatGPT to create a WordPress plugin from scratch was means too formidable. I requested ChatGPT to construct me a easy WordPress time-travel dummy textual content producing plugin, utilizing the immediate beneath…

This immediate will certainly kick ChatGPT’s WordPress plugin growth tyres.

As somebody who spends quite a lot of time writing WordPress tutorials, I usually want dummy content material to check plugins, create screenshots, and so forth.

So, I assumed it might be nice to mannequin my AI-generated dummy content material plugin on a plugin I usually use referred to as FakerPress.

ChatGPT pushed again on my request and let me know that creating a totally practical WordPress plugin with all of the options I requested was past the scope of a single response.

Nonetheless, it did provide to supply me with a primary template, information me on implement a few of the options I discussed, and even gave me directions on create a plugin listing and file…

Mmm…perhaps my first try at making a WordPress plugin was too formidable!

At first, ChatGPT output code that appeared fairly spectacular…

To somebody who is aware of ‘zip’ about coding, the above code snippet certain appears to be like spectacular!

ChatGPT additionally output all the extra code required to finish the following steps.

Missing coding abilities, I relied on ChatGPT to information me by way of every step of the plugin growth course of.

With the plugin code output, the following step was to add the plugin to my check web site and check it to verify it really works.

Step 3 – Check The Customized Plugin

After importing the folder containing the plugin code to the wp-content > plugins listing of my check web site and activating it contained in the Plugins display screen…

And now for the second we’ve all been ready for [drumroll]…I bought a deadly error!

What an anticlimax…the bottom level of my WordPress plugin growth profession!

Assuming that perhaps I didn’t add the extra snippets that ChatGPT supplied accurately, I went again and requested for all of the code to be supplied as a single file that I might merely copy and paste to overwrite and replace the uploaded plugin file…

Why couldn’t it simply have given me your entire copy and paste code the primary time?

There was quite a lot of code to output, so at any time when the method got here to a standstill, I instructed ChatGPT to proceed…

ChatGPT typically simply wants a bit of light encouragement to maintain going.

After repeating this course of a number of instances, ChatGPT output your entire code and even supplied some useful info.

After ready an entire 2 minutes…ChatGPT lastly output all the plugin code!

I uploaded the plugin file with the brand new code to my check web site, then jumped into the location’s admin space and activated the plugin.

It labored! Or, so it appeared.

ChatGPT gave the plugin its personal menu merchandise…

ChatGPT created all this!

And a settings display screen with a number of fancy packing containers and fields…

Appears spectacular…however will it work?

However I couldn’t see a discipline to specify what number of posts or pages to create, so I merely ticked some packing containers, entered some values, and clicked on the “Save Adjustments” button to see what occurs.

And now, for the second of reality…

And…completely nothing occurred!

The most recent lowest level of my WordPress plugin growth profession…a plugin that does nothing!

My fancy-ass plugin was all make-believe, identical to a type of youngsters’s playground spaceships that’s full of ineffective knobs you’ll be able to flip and buttons you’ll be able to press whereas pretending to be flying in outer house.

So, I reached out to one among our builders by way of Slack and requested them to take a look at the plugin file.

Among the feedback that got here again included the next:

“The plugin tries to generate random content material on each admin web page load”
“It calls a operate dummy_content_generator_generate_content_paragraphs which, in flip, makes an attempt to name dummy_content_generator_get_random_paragraph for each paragraph it tries to generate. The issue is that there is no such thing as a dummy_content_generator_get_random_paragraph operate.
“The web page masses to some extent, then it errors out as a result of there’s extra lacking stuff”
“Aside from all of the talked about points, there’s no validation in any way, and no escaping of the output, which is horrible”
“By way of having one thing as start line, it is a very, very poor one. By way of having a working plugin, that is nowhere close to that”

After some backwards and forwards discussions , it was deemed that there was rather a lot mistaken with the plugin, that it might take quite a lot of work to repair it, they usually recommended I scrap the undertaking.

At this level, nevertheless, I used to be too invested in my mission to easily abandon every part and quit. Recalling Sir Winston Churchill’s well-known phrases (“Fetch me one other brandy” “By no means give in, by no means give in, by no means, by no means, by no means…”), I made a decision it was time for…

Take #2…

Okay, so my first try and get ChatGPT to construct a WordPress plugin from scratch was a dismal failure. This in itself supplied some useful insights into ChatGPT’s potential to carry out advanced coding duties (or, as somebody within the staff put it, “you’ll be able to’t code utilizing ChatGPT with out having in depth coding data.”)

So, for “Take #2,” I made a decision to strive once more with a less complicated plugin request.

Going again to the drafting board, a genius lightbulb second lit up in my thoughts…why not ask ChatGPT to counsel concepts for easy WordPress plugins it might then generate the code for?

So, that’s what I did. Right here’s the immediate I promptly engineered…

My genius immediate.

And right here’s the listing of recommended plugins ChatGPT replied with…

The blueprint of my WordPress plugin empire.

I preferred the final suggestion, so I requested ChatGPT to generate the code for a practical content material duplicator plugin, and it instantly went to work.

That is what a license to print cash appears to be like like!

ChatGPT generated the next code for the plugin within the blink of a watch:

<?php
/*
Plugin Identify: Content material Duplicator
Description: Permits customers to duplicate posts, pages, or customized put up sorts with one click on.
Model: 1.0.0
Writer: Your Identify
Writer URI: https://yourwebsite.com
*/

// Add duplicate motion hyperlinks to put up row actions
operate content_duplicator_add_duplicate_link( $actions, $put up ) {
if ( current_user_can( ‘edit_posts’ ) ) {
$actions[‘duplicate’] = ‘<a href=”‘ . wp_nonce_url( admin_url( ‘admin-post.php?motion=content_duplicator_duplicate_post&post_id=’ . $post->ID ), ‘content_duplicator_duplicate_post’ ) . ‘” title=”Duplicate this merchandise” rel=”permalink”>Duplicate</a>’;
}
return $actions;
}
add_filter( ‘post_row_actions’, ‘content_duplicator_add_duplicate_link’, 10, 2 );

// Duplicate the put up
operate content_duplicator_duplicate_post() {
if ( isset( $_GET[‘post_id’] ) ) {
$post_id = absint( $_GET[‘post_id’] );

if ( current_user_can( ‘edit_posts’ ) && wp_verify_nonce( $_GET[‘_wpnonce’], ‘content_duplicator_duplicate_post’ ) ) {
$put up = get_post( $post_id );

$args = array(
‘post_title’ => $post->post_title . ‘ (Duplicate)’,
‘post_content’ => $post->post_content,
‘post_type’ => $post->post_type,
‘post_status’ => $post->post_status,
‘post_parent’ => $post->post_parent,
‘post_author’ => get_current_user_id(),
);

$new_post_id = wp_insert_post( $args );

if ( $new_post_id ) {
// Duplicate meta fields
$meta_fields = get_post_custom( $post_id );
foreach ( $meta_fields as $key => $values ) {
foreach ( $values as $worth ) {
add_post_meta( $new_post_id, $key, $worth );
}
}

// Redirect to the duplicated put up
wp_redirect( admin_url( ‘put up.php?motion=edit&put up=’ . $new_post_id ) );
exit;
}
}
}
}
add_action( ‘admin_post_content_duplicator_duplicate_post’, ‘content_duplicator_duplicate_post’ );

It even supplied a set of directions after producing the code.

The code not solely comes with directions, however ChatGPT even says “Please”!

I then uploaded the brand new plugin file to the wp-content > plugins listing of my check web site utilizing The Hub’s file supervisor.

There’s quite a lot of motion to unpack on this screenshot.

And created a dummy put up to check the plugin with…

Did the plugin duplicate this tacky put up? Let’s discover out!

Listed here are the put up’s menu choices earlier than activating the plugin…

A default put up with default choices.

After activating the plugin…

“Activate Content material Duplicator” – Feels like a line from a Star Trek film.

Success!

A gratuitous screenshot proving that the plugin efficiently activated.

The plugin activated. However did it truly work?

Right here’s my check put up once more (observe that the plugin added a brand new “Duplicate” merchandise to the menu after activation). I then clicked on “Duplicate” to see what occurs…

ChatGPT even added a “Duplicate” menu merchandise tooltip to the code!

And a reproduction put up was created!

A replica of the unique put up.

Right here’s the desk of posts exhibiting entries for the unique and duplicated put up.

The unique put up and its cloned model.

I’m certain that with higher immediate engineering and a few code tweaking, the plugin might have been considerably improved. For instance, I would like if the plugin set the put up standing of the newly-duplicated put up to ‘draft’ as an alternative of publishing it, however ChatGPT delivered a easy WordPress plugin that labored. It was primary, however it did the job.

The final step was to ask somebody who codes WordPress plugins for a dwelling to scrutinize the code and get their opinion about utilizing a device like ChatGPT to code plugins.

Suggestions from Our Skilled Plugin Builders

Shortly after importing the plugin to one among our testing channels, I bought a ping from one among our builders. Listed here are a few of the key factors supplied of their suggestions:

“ChatGPT et al are respectable at answering questions you already know the reply to.”
“I additionally used it up to now to construct a easy plugin for me, however so long as I used to be giving extra advanced prompts, it began to mess issues round, so ultimately I manually debug the given code to work, trigger else it’d take ages for it to truly debug it line by line.”
“Mainly, it does what it says. Nonetheless, it does what it says very actually. As in, it is going to duplicate a put up and its corresponding postmeta (customized) fields. Nonetheless, it doesn’t look like it is going to propagate any taxonomies to the duplicated put up (the plugin ought to copy and assign the identical taxonomy phrases, akin to classes or tags, from the unique put up to the duplicated put up).”
If I used to be to be super-nitpicky about this, I’d additionally point out that it’s not L10n-ready – there gained’t be an choice to translate this plugin. However, that’s simply being very nitpicky – I don’t actually suppose, nor would I count on, a prompt-generated plugin to be generic sufficient to be needing one thing like that in any respect. To me, it’s extra of a “very particular drawback area” type of a factor, together with the language used. On the finish of the day, it does do what it says it is going to, which may be very good.”

Along with analyzing the WordPress plugin code generated by ChatGPT and offering suggestions as proven above, our builders additionally agreed with the next key factors after assessing ChatGPT’s present capabilities to generate code:

1 – It’s essential to train warning and never blindly settle for ChatGPT-generated code as right.

ChatGPT can present solutions, however it’s as much as the consumer to evaluate whether or not the reply is right or not.
There’s a threat of receiving incorrect or nonsensical solutions from ChatGPT, each apparent and delicate.
It’s essential to train warning and never blindly settle for the generated code as right.
ChatGPT’s output ought to be handled as autocomplete, making life simpler however requiring warning and verification.

The power to discern good code from unhealthy or nonsensical code, nevertheless, implies that…

2 – Customers ought to have enough data and understanding of WordPress plugin growth to judge and modify the generated code as wanted.

ChatGPT will help simplify and expedite the method of constructing easy customized WordPress plugins, generate code snippets, and supply explanations. Something extra advanced, nevertheless, requires plugin growth expertise and coding abilities.
Utilizing ChatGPT with out enough data can result in destructive penalties or unreliable code.
Relying solely on ChatGPT with out important considering is much like blindly copying the primary reply from Stack Overflow (Stack Overflow threads present extra context, a number of solutions, and suggestions from different customers, making it a extra dependable useful resource, however Stack Overflow threads are typically extra generic, whereas ChatGPT can present particular solutions to particular person queries).

3 – Using different assets, akin to WordPress documentation, tutorials, and neighborhood boards, alongside ChatGPT can present a extra complete understanding of WordPress plugin growth.

As you discover the probabilities of utilizing ChatGPT for WordPress plugin growth, it’s useful to interact with the WordPress neighborhood. Share your experiences, ask for suggestions, and search steering from skilled builders. Collaborating in boards, attending WordPress meetups, or becoming a member of on-line communities can present useful insights and enable you refine your plugin growth course of.
Moreover, think about following WordPress safety finest practices to safeguard your web site from potential vulnerabilities. ChatGPT can present suggestions on safety measures you’ll be able to implement to guard your plugin.
It’s additionally important to take care of a transparent understanding of your required performance and totally evaluation and check the generated code and safe your customized plugins earlier than deploying them to a manufacturing setting.

Can ChatGPT Flip You Right into a WordPress Plugin Developer?

On this article, we’ve explored how one can make the most of ChatGPT to construct easy customized WordPress plugins, even you probably have restricted coding expertise.

In different articles, we’ve seen that AI-powered instruments like ChatGP can streamline your workflow, increase productiveness, and unlock new prospects (try our latest article on ways in which ChatGPT will help you as a WordPress developer).

Whereas there are over 60,000 free WordPress plugins accessible masking each kind of performance you’ll be able to think about, typically it’s possible you’ll want a customized resolution to fulfill a consumer’s particular necessities.

Past the core performance of your plugin, you can too leverage ChatGPT to generate code for customized consumer interfaces. With its potential to know prompts and generate HTML, CSS, and JavaScript snippets, you’ll be able to create intuitive admin interfaces, front-end elements, and interactive components that can improve the consumer expertise and assist you to ship a refined closing product.

By using the language mannequin’s capabilities, you’ll be able to generate code snippets, optimize performance, and create user-friendly interfaces. Nonetheless, it’s essential to know the generated code, evaluation and refine it, and totally check your customized plugins earlier than deploying them to your stay web site.

The generated code might also require changes to align with coding requirements, naming conventions, or particular undertaking necessities. This requires a specific amount of coding data and abilities, as does optimizing the code and making certain it follows WordPress coding pointers for higher maintainability.

The underside line:

Listed here are my findings after making an attempt to get ChatGPT to code me a plugin from scratch:

I couldn’t have gotten this accomplished with out the assistance of our skilled builders.
Utilizing ChatGPT to generate code with out coding data is actually difficult – it helps to know what you’re doing 🙂
Whereas ChatGPT is a robust and useful device, it doesn’t look like AI will exchange expert coders any time quickly.

Concerned with Creating WordPress plugins?

Try a few of our tutorials and articles on WordPress plugin growth:

Getting Began with WordPress Plugin Improvement
A Fast and In-Depth Information to WordPress Hooks
Creating WordPress Plugins in An Object Oriented Means