Plugin Boilerplate for WordPress (PB4WP): A Modern, Lightweight Foundation for Plugin Development

pb4wp logo on line background

Plugin Boilerplate for WordPress (PB4WP) is a lightweight starter kit designed for developers who want to build WordPress plugins quickly without sacrificing code quality.

Unlike bulkier frameworks, PB4WP focuses on a “best-practice” architecture, providing a clean slate that follows modern PHP standards and WordPress coding conventions.

Plugin Boilerplate for WordPress (PB4WP) is available on GitHub.

View GitHub Repository

Features of PB4WP

PB4WP gives you a modern foundation for building WordPress plugins faster:

PSR-4 Autoloading
Standards-compliant Composer autoloading to keep your plugin code clean and maintainable.
Modern Development Stack
Includes Webpack, PNPM, and modern PHP practices for efficient development and production builds.
Asset Build Pipeline
Bundle, optimise, and minify CSS/JS assets using a production-ready build process.
Internationalisation Ready
Automatic generation of .pot/.mo/.json files and built-in language file structure.
Lifecycle Management
Handle activation, deactivation, update logic, and clean uninstalls with ease.
Code Quality Checks
Integrates PHPCS with WordPress standards and Prettier formatting to enforce consistent code quality.
Production Zipping
Create distribution-ready plugin ZIPs with proper exclusions and version consistency checks.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
Works across macOS, Linux, and Windows (WSL) with flexible asset handling and tooling support.
View GitHub Repository

Built for Real-World WordPress Development

PB4WP isn’t a demo boilerplate – it’s designed for plugins that ship. Spend less time wiring things together and more time building features that matter.

The boilerplate provides strong defaults without locking you in. Follow the structure as is, or adapt it to your own conventions as your plugin grows. Whether you’re building a small utility or a complex product, PB4WP gives you a solid foundation.

PB4WP is a strong fit for:

  • Freelance WordPress developers building custom plugins for client projects
  • Agencies that need a repeatable, standardised foundation across multiple plugins
  • Product teams developing commercial or open-source WordPress plugins
  • Developers modernising legacy workflows without abandoning WordPress conventions
  • Anyone who cares about clean, maintainable code and long-term project health

Setup & Contributions

PB4WP is fully open-source and ready for you to jump in. Fork or clone the repo and follow the included setup instructions to get up and running fast.

Feel free to submit pull requests, suggest features, or report issues on GitHub.

View GitHub Repository

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