There are several ways to contribute to WordPress.
- Code WordPress Core.
- Translate WordPress to your language.
- Improve accessibility.
- Help in support forums.
- Write documentations.
- Test new features.
- Review themes.
- Teach others.
- Build features for core or default themes.
And the list goes on and on. Before I have mainly contributed by helping in support forums and building simple and accessible themes.
When Twenty Seventeen was announced I started to follow it’s development in Github. Then Morten Rand-Hendriksen opened issue about replacing icon fonts with SVG icons. That’s for me, I’m in!
I shared my experiences in Post Status what was it like to contribute SVG icon system to Twenty Seventeen.
It was definitely educational process and hail for the open source.
- I have lot to learn about Git workflow and automated tests.
- Technical ideas and code was based on two players:
- WebDevStudios have their own starter theme called wd_s which includes SVG icon system.
- Justin Tadlock have invented Social links menu system. I just converted that idea using SVG icons.
- Twenty Seventeen had great leadership, design, code, and over 100 contributors.
If you want to jump right into code, all the main SVG functions can be found in inc/icon-functions.php file.
Or you can read the whole story about contributing to Twenty Seventeen in Post Status.
Big thanks to Leland Fiegel who helped me write the article.