First WordPress site - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ component_behavior

intermediate

What happens when you activate a new WordPress theme?

After installing and activating a new WordPress theme, what is the immediate visible effect on your website?

A The WordPress dashboard becomes inaccessible until you deactivate the theme.

B All existing posts and pages are deleted automatically.

C The website's design and layout change to match the new theme's style.

D The website's URL changes to a new address.

💡 Hint

Think about what a theme controls in WordPress.

Activating a new theme changes the look and feel of your site by applying the theme's design and layout. It does not delete content or change URLs.

📝 Syntax

intermediate

Which WordPress function correctly includes the header template?

In a WordPress theme's template file, which function call correctly includes the header part of the site?

A get_header();

B include_header();

C load_header();

D header_include();

💡 Hint

WordPress has specific functions for template parts starting with 'get_'.

The function get_header(); is the standard WordPress function to include the header template file.

❓ state_output

advanced

What is the output of this WordPress loop code snippet?

Consider this WordPress loop snippet inside a theme template:

<?php if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
  <h2><?php the_title(); ?></h2>
<?php endwhile; else : ?>
  <p>No posts found.</p>
<?php endif; ?>

If there are no posts published, what will this code output?

A A PHP error will occur because the_post() is called without posts.

B Nothing will be displayed on the page.

C <h2></h2> repeated for each post.

D <p>No posts found.</p>

💡 Hint

Look at the else part of the if statement.

If no posts exist, the else block runs and outputs <p>No posts found.</p>.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does this WordPress shortcode not display content?

Given this shortcode function in functions.php:

function my_shortcode() {
  return 'Hello, world!';
}
add_shortcode('greet', 'my_shortcode');

When you add [greet] in a post, nothing appears. What is the likely cause?

A The theme does not call <code>the_content()</code> to process shortcodes.

B The shortcode is not registered because add_shortcode is missing a priority argument.

C The shortcode function must echo, not return, the string.

D Shortcodes only work in widgets, not in posts.

💡 Hint

Shortcodes need to be processed inside the content output.

If the theme does not use the_content() function to display post content, shortcodes won't be processed and will not show output.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

What is the role of the WordPress REST API in modern site development?

Which statement best describes the main purpose of the WordPress REST API?

A It replaces the WordPress database with a NoSQL system for faster queries.

B It allows external applications to read and write WordPress content using HTTP requests.

C It automatically updates WordPress plugins and themes without user input.

D It converts PHP templates into static HTML files for faster loading.

💡 Hint

Think about how apps or other websites might interact with WordPress data.

The REST API provides a way for external programs to interact with WordPress content through standard web requests, enabling headless setups and integrations.