Using Git to create WordPress

You may not understand the fuss about Git if you are not using Git powered tools like VersionPress, Reviser, WP Pusher and Gitium on your WordPress website. Version Control systems have come to stay and every WordPress professional developer is bound to embrace it. Git is a popular version control system that is used to keep track of collaborative projects when working with a team of developers.

This article is a research into the processes of using Git to create WordPress websites. However, before we will go into details of what Git does, advantages of using Git, and how to use Git for WordPress development, we shall first give a clear definition of what Git is.

What is Git?

Git is a free version control system, which is deployed in the background of your project to monitor every change that is made within your WordPress website. Once you make any changes on your codes, Git takes a snapshot of your WordPress project and registers such changes to your project timeline, in order that you may resurrect your changes as it were at any particular point in time. It is available for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Solaris.

As we have already said, one of the major advantages of using Git is that it is very helpful when you are working collaboratively with a group of developers on a project. It is also very helpful when you are working on a project that has many concurrent development versions or features. Hence, it will be clearer to see Git as a safe-load function in video games or post revision in WordPress.

What does Git do?

In the following paragraphs, we shall be discussing the usefulness of Git in document modifications, project tracking, project collaborations, project iterations and general modifications.

1. Documents Modification: It keeps history of every document before and after modification, and it allows you to add a note to every change describing why such changes were made. Since Git has the history of every changes and document created over time, it can track changes to any document from its inception.
2. Project Tracking: Git is not only meant for tracking documents in a folders; it can track changes to all activities in a folder and other related subdirectories to that folder. Since WordPress is composed of many files residing in folders and subdirectories, you can use Git to track all changes made within these folders and subdirectories, you can also configure Git to ignore some of the changes.
3. Project Collaborations: Git does not only keep track of project collaborations, it is generally useful in a collaborative environment, in that it keeps the central version of any project from where multiple contributors and developers can work on the project files simultaneously, while saving all their changes with the central version.
4. Project Iteration: If you are working collaboratively with a group of developers but you have an idea that you want to try out without halting the progress of the project or distracting the team with your new idea, you can use Git to create a new branch of the project, and work on the idea independently. You can discard the idea if it does not work out, or integrate it to the project if it seems viable, you can also save it as a new project.
5. General Modifications: You can decide to return to the previous versions of your work after thinking over your progress; Git will help you to undo your changes or modifications.

How do you use Git for WordPress Development Version Control?

Since Git is used for local development, you are supposed to have a local WordPress website to be able to use Git. If you do have a WordPress website, you can follow the systematic steps below:

1. Download and install Git from the Git website homepage; you will have to select the right version for your operating system.
2. Start the basic configurations by creating a user account and add your email, which will ensure that all changes assigned to you are forwarded to your email when working with a team.
3. Crate a local repository, which are directories where Git stores information on the changes in the tracked files.
4. Make the first commit by capturing the current state of the project you want to work on.
5. Track the changes in your directories, projects or iterations.
6. You can revert to previous versions by finding the changed files in the commit you would like to revert to.

Conclusion

WordPress is undergoing some serious transitions from being a bloggers platform to becoming the CMS solution. Hence, adding Git’s version control to your WordPress toolbox will surely be a cutting-edge development in improving your workflows.