Learning WordPress is relatively straightforward, with a huge wealth of WordPress information, tutorials, and videos available online. This includes dedicated WordPress blogs, like the one you’re reading here at WPEka.

Not everyone learns best by staring at a computer screen, however. Some people prefer learning the good old-fashioned way – by reading books.

Online audiences tend to have a shorter attention span, and the popular WordPress blogs reflect this – lots of relatively short tutorials that users can skim through.

Books tend to target a completely different audience, and this allows them to tackle topics like WordPress development in a lot more detail. They can get deep into the complex, nitty-gritty issues that a WordPress professional needs to know, without worrying about the reader’s attention span.

If you want to take your WordPress skills to the next level, here are five fantastic WordPress paperback books. You won’t need to find a specialist to get hold of these, as all five books are available on Amazon.

Five Popular WordPress Paperbacks

WordPress for Beginners: A Visual Step-by-Step Guide to Creating your Own WordPress Site in Record Time, Starting from Zero – Dr. Andy Williams

If you’re looking to find your bearings with WordPress, this could be just the book you’re looking for.

WordPress for Beginners walks newbie WordPress users through the entire process of building a beautiful, functional website from scratch. For usability, each step is accompanied by high quality screenshots, making it easy to follow along.

In total, the book includes over 300 screenshots, and was recently updated for WordPress 4.

The book is available from Amazon for just $12.59.

Professional WordPress: Design and Development – Brad Williams, David Danstra, Hal Stern

If you’re looking to take the next step with WordPress, Professional WordPress Design and Development is the book that takes you from competent user into fully-fledged developer.

Currently on its 3^rd edition, the book’s latest update brought it up-to-date for WordPress 4.1. The book focuses on how to get the most from the complete range of functionality available to WordPress users. This includes sections on website migration, improving user experience, and the new ways WordPress is being used (complete with real-world examples).

If you’re looking to become a professional WordPress developer, this book is the essential guide. Pick it up from Amazon for $35.26.

Smashing WordPress: Beyond the Blog – Thord Daniel Hedengren

WordPress has moved on from its origins as a pure blogging platform, now operating as a fully-fledged CMS.

This is the focus of Smashing WordPress, a guide to using WordPress to build sophisticated websites using the full functionality available to you. This includes an in-depth look at custom post types, working with custom headers, and building custom login forms.

The book includes step-by-step guides for building a range of different types of websites, including the plugins you need to install.

The book is available from Amazon for $42.74.

WordPress: The Missing Manual – Matthew MacDonald

The Missing Manual is one of the most comprehensive guides to WordPress ever created.

Updated for WordPress 3.9, The Missing Manual walks you through the website creation process from start to finish. It teaches you how to build all manner of websites, how to get the most from WordPress’s functionality, and how to enhance your website with some well-chosen plugins.

There’s even a section committed to growing your website, by telling you how to craft great content, attract an audience, and improve your search engine rankings.

The level of detail makes this book suitable for beginners and experienced WordPress users alike. Well worth checking out, the book can be bought from Amazon for $22.67.

Professional WordPress Plugin Development – Brad Williams, David Danstra, Hal Stern

Another book in the Professional WordPress series, this time targeting plugins. If you’re contemplating developing WordPress plugins for a living, this book is a must.

The book takes an in-depth look at all things plugins, from very simple plugins right the way through to complex plugins adding sophisticated functionality.

There’s plenty of information available to all levels of plugin developers – how plugins work, how to create widgets and shortcodes, and how to secure your plugin.

You can pick this guide up for $33.25 from Amazon.

Final Thoughts

These books are updated regularly to keep up-to-date with the latest version of WordPress, and they discuss complex topics that are rarely tackled online. If you’re interested in garnering an understanding of WordPress beyond what you commonly find online, I highly recommend picking up a copy of one of these awesome WordPress paperbacks.

I’d be doing a lot of great WordPress authors a disservice if I said that these are the only books worth buying on Amazon. Feel free to share your favorite WordPress books in the comments below!