201 WordPress Books

As part of my project to bring WordPress into colleges nationally, I did a quick survey of how many books have been published about WordPress.

I was asked by several major publishers to publish the first book in English on WordPress but had to decline due to my traveling schedule and work load, so it’s exciting to take pause and look back at all the books that have been published about WordPress since, and all the creative angles and perspectives these books have taken to approach WordPress. Topics include basic WordPress instruction, WordPress Plugin development, WordPress Themes, security, monetization, autoblogging, content management and strategies, code, programming, tricks, tips, and techniques…with some surprises tossed into the mix such as using WordPress within a library system.

More 200 books have been published on WordPress since 2006 – as listed on Amazon.com. I haven’t researched the Library of Congress or international book publishers lists. I took the lazy way out. Amazon features WordPress books by major technical and textbook publishers as well as self-published books and a lot of self-published ebooks, proving that anyone with some simple computer skills can whip out a book on WordPress. This is delightful as one of the great joys in working with WordPress is helping people have their say, and a lot of people say it with and about WordPress. I also didn’t include DVDs and CDs, nor the multiple titles for the same ebook, and books which combined WordPress with too many other subjects, trying to stick to readable material fairly focused on WordPress.

The list is below the jump but here are some interesting bits of WordPress book publishing trivia I uncovered.

The first book in the world published exclusively about WordPress was “WordPress Compactly” (roughly translated) by Stephan Lamprecht in German consisting of 140 pages and published by Internet Magazines (IPro). The book featured the bare essentials of how to use WordPress and highlighted the the Witty Text and Spam Karma WordPress Plugins and how to modify the then default WordPress Theme, Kubrick.

The first book published about WordPress in English by a major publisher was “Building Online Communities With Drupal, phpBB, and WordPress” by Robert T. Douglass, Mike Little and Jared W. Smith on December 16, 2005. I’ve an advance copy of the book on my bookshelf that I can’t bring myself to toss, it’s such a part of WordPress history.

The first book published exclusively about WordPress in English is “WordPress 2” by my friend, Maria Langer and Miraz Jordan. It was published July 9, 2006.

The largest book ever published about WordPress is the “sequel” book to “WordPress for Dummies” by Lisa Sabin-Wilson titled “WordPress All-in-One for Dummies.” Additional authors include Cory Miller, Kevin Palmer, Andrea Rennick, and Michael Torbert. The book has a shipping weight of 3 pounds, consists of 912 pages, and is a combination of 8 hypothetical (not previously published) books on WordPress covering everything from the basics to WordPress MS. My advance copy has served well as a door-stop, and making it easy to grab on my way to training and educational programs along with a stack of other examples.

In 2012, according to Amazon.com, 56 books are scheduled to be published, re-released as new editions, or have been published so far this year (as of today’s casual count). Seriously, how many books should their be on WordPress? Not enough it seems. How exciting to see such energy, enthusiasm, and demand for WordPress topics nine years after WordPress hit the web.

Here is my quickly collected list of titles of WordPress books found on Amazon.com.

1. 10 Steps to Success with WordPress by Carla Alvarez
2. 101 WordPress Tips by Gregory A White
3. 3 Surefire Ways to Back Up Your WordPress Blog by Ron Wilder
4. 30 Minutes to a WordPress Website by Eric Allyn
5. 5 Step Guide to WordPress Blog by Sanjeev Mohindra
6. A N00b’s Guide to WordPress: A Beginners Guide to Blogging the WordPress Way by GadChick
7. A Quick Guide on How to Make a WordPress Website by Ramsay McKee
8. A Simple guide to Installing WordPress and Blogging for Beginners by Jose Serenil
9. A Step by Step WordPress Tutorial For Beginners by Mati H Fuller
10. Advanced WordPress Tutorials by Quintin Brown and Yasmine Collyer
11. Mastering WordPress (Smashing eBook Series) by Smashing Magazine
12. Backup Up WordPress Reliably and Automatically, a Step-By-Step How-to (Technology Quick Guides) by Percy Kwong
13. Beginning WordPress 3 (Expert’s Voice in Web Development) by Stephanie Leary
14. Beginning WordPress Themes by Ian Stewart
15. Blended Learning with WordPress blogging software by Marc Kürsten
16. BLOG Revelation, WordPress blog construction and operation by Hu Jia Xi Zhu
17. Blogging For Income: The Fast Track Plan For High Traffic & Big Profits by Brandon Connell
18. Blogging Money Machine: WordPress Mastery & Setup, How to build Massive Traffic by Michael Chastain
19. Blogging with WordPress 3 for Beginners by B.M. Harwani
20. Blogging with WordPress by Blogging Article Collection
21. Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself (Que Biz-Tech) by Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy
22. Build a Successful WordPress Blog (The Internet – No Place For Dummies) by Carl Hruza
23. Build A WordPress Website In 7 Days Or Less: A Beginner’s Step By Step WordPress Tutorial On Web Hosting, Installing WordPress, Page Build And Easy by Mark B. Infante
24. Build Your Own Wicked WordPress Themes by Alan Cole, Raena Jackson Armitage, Brandon R. Jones and Jeffrey Way
25. Building a WordPress Blog People Want to Read by Scott McNulty
26. Building A WordPress Business Website For Beginners – A Step By Step Plan For Getting Your Small Business Online Using WordPress
27. Building Online Communities With Drupal, phpBB, and WordPress by Robert T. Douglass, Mike Little and Jared W. Smith
28. Building Relationships and a Social Media Following (Practical Online Marketing Tips for Everyone) by Steven A. Lowe and Kevin Ball
29. Building The Perfect WordPress Blog! by ki
30. Building Your Blogging Cash Machines: A Step by Step Guide To Building, Optimizing and Generating Non-stop Income Every Single Day With Your Very Own WordPress Cash Machine! by Eldon Bankston
31. CMS Security Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide for WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Plone by Tom Canavan (
32. Create a Network with WordPress Multisite by Andrea Rennick
33. Creating An Automated WordPress Blog by Tim Carter and Yasmine Collyer
34. David Busch’s Quick Snap Guide to Photoblogging with WordPress: An Instant Start-Up Manual for Creating and Promoting Your Own Photoblog by David D. Busch and Rebekkah Hilgraves
35. Defining WordPress Terms – A Glossary for Beginners by Erica Mueller
36. Digging into WordPress by Chris Coyier and Jeff Starr
37. Easy WP Guide WordPress Manual by Anthony Hortin
38. Essential WordPress PlugIns by Gregory A White
39. Facebook Marketing All-in-One For Dummies by Amy Porterfield, Phyllis Khare and Andrea Vahl
40. Fast Professional Websites with WordPress for Newbies by J. C. Benson
41. Fire Your Webmaster! Create your own WordPress site and save yourself a fortune by Alun Richards and Kevin Bermingham
42. FREE WordPress Plugins: Find & Install Free Plugins to Make Your Site Run Faster and Smarter by Walter Monroe
43. Getting Started with WordPress: Design Your Own Blog or Website by Todd Kelsey
44. Guide to Easy Website Transfers – WordPress Blogs by Lita A.
45. Head First WordPress: A Brain-Friendly Guide to Creating Your Own Custom WordPress Blog by Jeff Siarto
46. How to Build a Successful Website with WordPress by Matt Preston
47. How to Build a Website from Scratch Using Cpanel and WordPress by Richard Arblaster
48. How To Build a Website With WordPress…Fast! by Kent Mauresmo and Anastasiya Petrova
49. How To Build a WordPress Website (Anyone Can Build A Website) by Kedrick Mahoney
50. How to Create a Website Using Cpanel and WordPress by William Hall
51. How to Easily Showcase Images on Your WordPress Site (WordPress Minis) by Jacqui Carrel
52. How to Edit WordPress Pages by Michael Beecham
53. How to Master WordPress: Tips and Advice for WordPress Users by Fred Franklyn
54. How to Migrate Your WordPress Blog to a New Host by Lela Iskandar Suhaimi
55. How To Set-Up A WordPress Self-Hosted Blog: So you can be blogging in 30 minutes or less! (WordPress Blogging How-To Series) by Tracy Austin
56. How to Set Up a Blog or Website Using WordPress in Less Than 24 Hours by Lisa Walstad
57. How to Theme WordPress: From Blank to Beautiful in 2 Hours by Aleks Monahan and WEB|CMS Squad
58. How To Use WordPress – Great Tips To Creating a Professional Website Using WordPress by Michael Rutters
59. How To WordPress – 10 Easy Steps to Creating A Killer Website Using WordPress by Ciprian Gherghescu
60. Internet Marketing with WordPress by David Mercer
61. Learn WordPress by Jamela Stevens
62. Learn WordPress In Just 30 Minutes! The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Installing WordPress On Your Own Domain by Suzanne Smith
63. Learn WordPress: Resources and Tips for Using WordPress Today by Fred Franklyn
64. Learning from Libraries That Use WordPress: Content-management System Best Practices and Case Studies by Kyle M. Jones and Polly-Alida Farrington
65. Moving A WordPress Blog To A New Domain: A Complete Step-By-Step Guide by Jane Sheeba
66. My .99 cents Worth – A basic guide to setting up WordPress by Deborah Kunzie
67. Newbie’s Guide To Setting Up A WordPress Website by D. Jeon
68. Pimp My Flip: How To Create A WordPress Blog You Can Flip For Quick Cash by Kitwana D. Akil
69. Plugin Hot Shot! WordPress Plugin Creation Secrets (As Overheard by Eldi Abilo) (Deliciously Wicked Tricks) by Jason Fladlien and Eldi Abilo
70. Prick! A Collection of the Ranting and Raving of a WordPress Blogger by J Wylie
71. Professional Mobile Web Development with WordPress, Joomla! and Drupal (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) by James Pearce
72. Professional WordPress (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) by Hal Stern, David Damstra and Brad Williams
73. Professional WordPress Plugin Development by Brad Williams, Ozh Richard and Justin Tadlock
74. Sams Teach Yourself WordPress 3 in 10 Minutes (Sams Teach Yourself — Minutes) by Chuck Tomasi and Kreg Steppe
75. Secure HTML Pages in WordPress CMS by Donald A. Miller
76. SEO For WordPress Secrets Video Tutorials by Matthew Bush, Yasmine Collyer and Matthew J. Bush
77. Set Up Your Blog With WordPress: Your Ultimate Guide by James Bruce
78. Setup E-commerce Using WordPress by Yasmine Collyer and Tim Carter
79. Smashing WordPress Themes: Making WordPress Beautiful (Smashing Magazine Book Series) by Thord Daniel Hedengren
80. Smashing WordPress: Beyond the Blog (Smashing Magazine Book Series) by Thord Daniel Hedengren
81. Social Media for WordPress: Build Communities, Engage Members and Promote Your Site by Michael Kuhlmann
82. Step-By-Step Guide to the Internet’s Best Content Management System: How to Use WordPress by Staci Jansma
83. SuperQuick WordPress: Easy, FREE and Fast Website, Smart Phone and e-Commerce Solutions! by M. Nicole van Dam
84. Teach Yourself VISUALLY WordPress by Janet Jane Majure
85. Tech Empowerment: An Intro to WordPress & GIMP by Eric Hamilton
86. The Business Guide To Building A Website: The Power of WordPress by Patrick Kammermeyer
87. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to WordPress by Susan M. Gunelius
88. The Designer’s Web Handbook: What You Need to Know to Create for the Web by Patrick McNeil
89. The DIY Guide to WordPress for Small Business by Ann Schutz
90. The Fast Track Guide To Blogging With WordPress: Step-By-Step Guide To Blogging! by Gregory A White
91. The Modern Day Printing Press: An Unofficial Guide to WordPress for Small Business by Mick Olinik
92. The Newbie’s Guide to Setting Up a WordPress Website by Melanie Bremner
93. The Quick & Easy Way to Setup Your Own WordPress Membership Site by Wendy Wood
94. The Top 10 WordPress Plugins by Keith Dougherty
95. The Web Designer’s Guide to WordPress: Plan, Theme, Build, Launch by Jesse Friedman
96. The WordPress Anthology by Mick Olinik and Raena Jackson Armitage
97. The WordPress Hacked Report by Mandy Hardwick
98. Top 10 Tricks To Conquer Your Niche With WordPress! by David Pankhurst (
99. Top 10 WordPress SEO Plugins Revealed. by Rachel Rofe and Dennis Becker
100. Ultimate Blog Income System – How To Make Money Blogging with a WordPress Blog by Keith Junor
101. Ultimate Guide To WordPress Thesis SEO: Make The Most Out Of Thesis Theme’s SEO Features by Jane Sheeba
102. Unlocking WordPress – Easy Steps For Getting a Hosted Blog Up and Running Fast by Eddie Snipes
103. Using the Facebook Tab Manager Plugin for WordPress by Helen Stothard
104. Using WordPress as a Library Content Management System by Kyle M. L. Jones and Polly-Alida Farrington
105. Using WordPress by Tris Hussey
106. Web Design 4 The Creative’s Guide to Flash, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, CSS and WordPress
107. Website in a day: Creating your WordPress Website by Patricia A. Redmond
108. Wiz’s Baker’s Dozen WordPress Plugins by Rev. Stephen B. Henry. PhD
109. WordPress – Tweaks by Clemens Gull
110. WordPress – 10 Essential Plugins To Make Your Site Rock. (The Internet – No Place For Dummies) by Carl Hruza
111. WordPress – Best Tips Ever by Jeffry Thurana
112. WordPress – Blogging for Mind and Money – The Essential Guide to Starting and Operating a WordPress Blog (The Internet – No Place For Dummies) by Carl Hruza
113. WordPress – Contact Form 7 Made Simple by Wayne Hatter and Angel Hatter
114. WordPress – In a Day – Free Theme Edition (WordPress In a Day) by Christine Ely
115. WordPress 100 Success Secrets – Start your Blog Today: WordPress Complete – Everything you need in easy steps to create your Blog and tell the world about your Passion by Jeff Harris
116. WordPress 2 by Maria Langer and Miraz Jordan
117. WordPress 2.7 Complete by Hasin Hayder and April Hodge Silver
118. WordPress 2.7 Cookbook by Jean-Baptiste Jung
119. WordPress 2.8 Theme Design by Tessa Blakeley Silver
120. WordPress 2.8 Themes Cookbook by Nick Ohrn and Lee Jordan
121. WordPress 2.9 E-Commerce by Brian Bondari
122. WordPress 24-Hour Trainer by George Plumley
123. WordPress 3 Complete by April Hodge Silver
124. WordPress 3 Cookbook by Ric Shreves
125. WordPress 3 Essential Training by Morten Rand-Hendriksen
126. WordPress 3 For Business Bloggers by Paul Thewlis
127. WordPress 3 Plugin Development Essentials by Brian Bondari and Everett Griffiths
128. WordPress 3 Search Engine Optimization by Michael David
129. WordPress 3 Site Blueprints by Heather R. Wallace
130. WordPress 3 Ultimate Security by Olly Connelly
131. WordPress 3.0 jQuery by Blakeley Silver Tessa
132. WordPress 3.1 for Designers by George Plumley
133. WordPress 3.2 For The Novice by Michael Ross
134. WordPress 3.2 Theme Design: Beginner’s Guide by Tessa Blakeley Silver
135. WordPress 3: Creating and Editing Custom Themes by Chris Coyier
136. WordPress 3: Niche Site Building by Eric Tompkins
137. WordPress All-in-One For Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson, Cory Miller, Kevin Palmer and Andrea Rennick
138. WordPress and Ajax: An in-depth guide on using Ajax with WordPress by Ronald Huereca and Vivien Anayian
139. WordPress and Flash 10x Cookbook by Peter Spannagle and Sarah Soward
140. WordPress and Social Media Empowered Content Distribution. (The Internet – No Place For Dummies) by Carl Hruza
141. WordPress Auto Content Generator by Gino Zhao
142. WordPress Awards Guide 2012: The Ultimate Guide to The Best Tools & Options For Creating, Optimizing and Maximizing Your WordPress Website or Blog in 2012 (WordPress Awards Guides)
143. WordPress Bible by Aaron Brazell
144. WordPress Blog Set-Up Made Easy by David Hurley
145. WordPress Blog: How to Start a WordPress Blog in 15 Minutes or Less by Rory T Watson
146. WordPress Blogging for Beginners (Quickfire Guides) by Jerry Holliday
147. WordPress by Ronald Cohn and Jesse Russell
148. WordPress Complete: A comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to set up, customize, and market your blog using WordPress by Hasin Hayder (Nov 17, 2006)
149. WordPress Domination – Beginner to NINJA in 7 Days by Lambert Klein
150. WordPress Entrepreneur: How To Setup, Customize & Use A WordPress Website by John Cook
151. WordPress Essentials (Smashing eBook Series) by Smashing Magazine
152. WordPress for Beginners (everything you need to know to get started in WordPress) by Dave Harfield
153. WordPress for Beginners by Imagine Publishing
154. WordPress for Business Bloggers: Promote and grow your WordPress blog with advanced plug-ins, analytics, advertising, and SEO by Paul Thewlis
155. WordPress For Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson
156. WordPress For Dummies, 3rd Edition and Professional Blogging For Dummies, Book Bundle by Lisa Sabin-Wilson and Susan J. Getgood
157. WordPress for Education by Adam D. Scott
158. WordPress for Web Designers by Ian Anderson
159. WordPress Foundations 2.7 Second Edition: Your Simple Step-By-Step Guide To WordPress by Jason Annas
160. WordPress Guide Step-by-Step Tutorial to Creating a WordPress Blog by Logan Daniels
161. WordPress Guide for Business Websites by Kyle Brady
162. WordPress Hotshot: How to Create WordPress Plugins on a Shoestring Budget by Jason Fladlien
163. WordPress in 10 Minutes 1st (first) edition Text Only by Chuck Tomasi
164. WordPress In Depth (2nd Edition) by Bud E. Smith and Michael McCallister
165. WordPress In Depth 1st edition Text Only by Bud E. Smith
166. WordPress Installation and Optimization Guide by Gregory A. White
167. WordPress Money Magnets [With Illustrations] Make Money Online With WordPress Blogs by Manuel Hendrix
168. WordPress MU 2.8: Beginner’s Guide by Lesley A. Harrison
169. WordPress Plugin Development (Beginner’s Guide) by Vladimir Prelovac
170. WordPress Plugin Development Cookbook by Yannick Lefebvre
171. WordPress Plugins For Small Business Websites by Matthew Brown
172. WordPress Plugins Guide – A guide into the Best WordPress Plugins by Rodrigo Flamenco
173. WordPress Plugins the Top Rated and Most Popular Plugins by Lambert Klein
174. WordPress Power Guide – Using WordPress to Blog Your Way to Success – Blogging Guide by Lambert Klein
175. WordPress Power Guide To Great 100 Plugins by Albert F A Matthews
176. WordPress Quickstart Guide by Michael Hayslip
177. WordPress Recipes: How to Make a Band/Comedian/Entertainer Website with WordPress by Peter Prins
178. WordPress Revenue Secrets by Joel Comm
179. WordPress Search Engine Success: How To Maximize SEO & Income From WordPress Websites by Kathy Burns-Millyard
180. WordPress Security – Keeping your WordPress Site Safe from Hackers by Scott Gardiner
181. WordPress Security: Protection from Hackers and Crackers by Lambert Klein
182. WordPress SEO: 7 Day Boot Camp for Higher Ranking Blogs!
183. WordPress Shield (How To Stop WordPress Hackers from Robbing you BLIND) by Kevin Byrne
184. WordPress Theme Design: A complete guide to creating professional WordPress themes by Tessa Blakeley Silver
185. WordPress Themes the Top Rated and Most Useful Themes – Intro Price by Lambert Klein
186. WordPress Themes: How-to easily edit free WordPress blog themes yourself! (WordPress Blogging How-To Series) by Tracy Austin
187. WordPress To Go – How To Build A WordPress Website On Your Own Domain, From Scratch, Even If You Are A Complete Beginner by Sarah McHarry
188. WordPress Top Plugins by Brandon Corbin
189. WordPress Tutorial – Tips and Tricks For Your WordPress Site by Lorette Lyttle
190. WordPress Tutorials (Smashing eBook Series) by Smashing Magazine
191. WordPress Unleashed by Neil Oliver
192. WordPress Users Guide by Kathy Drewien
193. WordPress Web Design For Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson
194. WordPress Website in a Weekend by Sue Thomas
195. WordPress Websites for Writers by Ava Fails
196. WordPress.com Essential Training with Maria Langer
197. WordPress: From Beginner to Expert by Christopher Masiello
198. WordPress: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald
199. WordPress: Visual QuickStart Guide (2nd Edition) by Matt Beck and Jessica Neuman Beck
200. WP Network Website Manual (WP Pro Business Guides) by Adam W. Warner
201. WP Pro Simple Security (WP Pro Business Guides) by Adam W. Warner

I’ve corrected misspellings and capitalization errors in the titles as they were annoying, so the actual book title on Amazon might be titled slightly different from the list.

This list is not a recommendation of any of these books. Some are powerful examples of top notch WordPress expertise. Some are good enough but not enough. Others are time wasters with one or two bits of good information, and the rest are just hyperbole and marketing hooks. Popular technical publisher series follow the track of the books that came before them, so they are familiar and safe for fans of the 24-hour, Dummies, Website in a Weekend, Complete, QuickStart, and other collections.

A problem since the first book on WordPress was published is how to stay current and updated with the content, especially the Administration Panel screenshots. Since 2010, the WordPress interface has stayed fairly consistent, making it easier for future writers and editors, but don’t dismiss the older books. I took another look at my 2006 copy of “WordPress 2” by Maria Langer and learned a few new tricks. There is a wealth of information out there so don’t completely dismiss a book because the version number has changed.

What’s Your Favorite WordPress Book?

Do I have a favorite WordPress book? In my training programs I bring a selection of books for the students and participants to look through but I don’t have a solid favorite. There are problems with many of them, and many are just fine, so I hone my collection to what is appropriate for my audience. Luckily, I have a lot of books to choose from, and the WordPress Codex, the online manual for WordPress Users, is still my first and most essential stop when I need to dig into WordPress.

However, I do have recommendations for my students beyond the WordPress Codex.

For beginner business people, the “WordPress 24-Hour Trainer“ by George Plumley is a comfortable book as it isn’t too big, it gets right to the point, and stays on topic, dealing with the core things that matter to typical WordPress users. “Using WordPress” by Tris Hussey is another good example for that audience.

For inexperienced computer and web users, “WordPress For Dummies“ can be a perfect choice or overwhelming. So many people dismiss this series but they serve a great audience and purpose.

The “Smashing WordPress“ series by Thord Daniel Hedengren and Smashing Magazine is great for those savvy enough to get into trouble with WordPress and offer great tips and information to keep these close to you when you need them on your shelf.

For coders and programmers, those who really want to get their teeth into what makes WordPress tick, “WordPress Plugin Development (Beginner’s Guide)“ by Vladimir Prelovac, “Professional WordPress Plugin Development“ by Brad Williams, Ozh Richard and Justin Tadlock, “Digging into WordPress“ by Chris Coyier and Jeff Starr, “WordPress Bible“ by Aaron Brazell, and “WordPress 3 Essential Training“ (book and CD) by Morten Rand-Hendriksen and Lynda.com are excellent choices to add to your technical bookself.

Got some WordPress book favorites of your own?

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen.