Training course · Windsurf · WordPress

Windsurf for WordPress Developers

Develop with the Windsurf AI IDE and its Cascade agent: flows, memories, rules, workflows and safe use across the team.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

This course connects Windsurf with the everyday processes of WordPress. Participants work on realistic scenarios and leave with prompts, workflows and checklists they can use straight away.

Windsurf is an AI-powered development environment built around its agent, Cascade. Cascade understands the structure of your project, follows your actions in the editor and terminal, and works with you according to the flow principle: you and the agent take turns on the same task without having to re-explain context over and over. In this two-day course you will learn how to use Cascade effectively for features, debugging and refactoring, and how to make the most of intelligent completion in your daily development work.

To keep results consistent across a team, you steer Cascade with global and workspace rules, rely on memories for lasting project knowledge and automate recurring procedures with workflows that run from a slash command. You will connect external tools through MCP, control how terminal commands are executed and decide which data Cascade is allowed to see. Finally, you will define rules for code review, security and data protection so that Windsurf can be used responsibly within your organisation and its existing processes.

WordPress powers a large share of all websites, from corporate sites and WooCommerce shops to complex portals. Development has changed considerably along the way: block themes, full site editing, Gutenberg blocks built in React and the REST API now sit alongside classic PHP plugins and long-lived themes. AI coding assistants and agents help you build custom blocks and plugins faster, modernise legacy code, track down security flaws such as missing escaping or nonces and analyse performance issues. Because WordPress projects are often maintained by small teams or individuals, the productivity gain is especially noticeable. In this course you learn to apply AI in line with the WordPress coding standards, combine it with WP-CLI and local development environments and ship plugins that are secure and maintainable.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • WordPress theme and plugin developers
  • Web agencies and freelancers specialising in WordPress
  • WooCommerce developers
  • Frontend developers building Gutenberg blocks
  • Technically minded website owners

Typical challenges we address

  • Long-lived themes and plugins with outdated PHP code and hard-to-maintain dependencies
  • Security flaws from missing escaping, missing nonces and unsafe database queries
  • Performance issues caused by plugin bloat, unnecessary queries and poor caching
  • Moving from classic themes and page builders to block themes and full site editing

What you will be able to do

  • You use Cascade productively in flow for features, debugging and refactoring.
  • You steer Windsurf’s context precisely and keep sensitive content protected.
  • You maintain memories and rules that reliably enforce your project conventions.
  • You automate recurring procedures with workflows and connect external tools via MCP.
  • Develop Gutenberg blocks, plugins and block themes with AI support in line with the WordPress coding standards.
  • Systematically find and fix security and performance issues in existing WordPress installations.
  • Automate maintenance, deployment and content migrations with WP-CLI and AI agents.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 Getting to know Windsurf and Cascade
  • Installation, importing existing editor settings and basic configuration
  • Cascade in code and chat mode: when the agent edits and when it only advises
  • The flow principle: how Cascade takes your editor and terminal actions into account
  • Intelligent completion and inline commands in everyday development
Module 2 Steering context
  • Understanding codebase indexing and referencing relevant files or directories
  • Bringing documentation, web sources and terminal output into context
  • Excluding sensitive content from context with ignore files
  • Structuring sessions and starting afresh when the topic changes
Module 3 Memories and rules for consistent results
  • Reviewing and maintaining auto-generated and manually created memories
  • Creating and versioning global and workspace rules
  • Expressing architecture, style and testing guidelines as effective rules
  • Activating rules selectively by file pattern or occasion
Module 4 Workflows and automation
  • Defining recurring procedures as workflows and launching them via slash command
  • Building workflows for release preparation, testing or code maintenance
  • Connecting MCP servers for issue trackers, databases or internal services
  • Controlling terminal command execution with allow and deny lists

Day 2

Module 5 Quality, review and governance
  • Tracing Cascade’s changes, accepting them partially or reverting them
  • Using a test-driven approach and preview features for verification
  • Team settings, data protection options and handling of secrets
  • Defining review processes and accountability for AI-generated code
Module 6 Practice lab: WordPress
  • Developing Gutenberg blocks
  • Building and modernising plugins
  • Running a security audit
  • Analysing performance
  • Extending WooCommerce
  • Automating maintenance
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • WordPress projects handle form, customer and order data: you learn not to pass unfiltered database dumps to AI services, to respect GPL obligations for plugins and generated code, to protect credentials in wp-config.php and to implement GDPR requirements for tracking and forms.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Developing Gutenberg blocks

Generate custom blocks with block.json, React components for editor and front end, block attributes and style variations, and implement dynamic blocks with server-side rendering in PHP.

Building and modernising plugins

Generate plugin scaffolding with namespaces, autoloading, hooks and settings pages and gradually move existing plugins to current PHP language features and the WordPress coding standards.

Running a security audit

Examine theme and plugin code for missing escaping, unvalidated input, missing nonce and capability checks and unsafe SQL without prepare, and produce corrected versions. Each finding is explained.

Analysing performance

Investigate slow pages with Query Monitor and profiling data, optimise expensive WP_Query calls, autoloaded options and asset loading order, and propose sensible caching strategies using transients.

Extending WooCommerce

Implement custom shipping methods, payment hooks, product fields and checkout tweaks while staying compatible with High-Performance Order Storage and the block-based cart and checkout pages.

Automating maintenance

Create WP-CLI scripts for updates, database search and replace, migrations between environments and content imports, and wire them into deployment pipelines for staging and production.

Possible hands-on projects

Block library for client sites

A plugin with reusable blocks such as teasers, FAQ accordions and contact boxes, including style variations from theme.json and full translation support.

Plugin security scanner

A command-line tool that searches plugin code for common security patterns and produces a prioritised report with remediation hints. It runs locally or in CI.

Content migration script

A WP-CLI command that imports content from a CSV or XML source, maps fields, brings over images and detects duplicates.

Prerequisites

You program regularly in at least one language and are familiar with Git and a modern IDE. You have practical experience with PHP and WordPress theme or plugin development; basic JavaScript knowledge helps for block development.

Technical requirements

Your own laptop with the Windsurf editor, Git and your usual toolchain installed; a Windsurf account with access to Cascade is required.

Data protection & compliance

WordPress projects handle form, customer and order data: you learn not to pass unfiltered database dumps to AI services, to respect GPL obligations for plugins and generated code, to protect credentials in wp-config.php and to implement GDPR requirements for tracking and forms.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Mon, 23 November 2026 – Tue, 24 November 2026 Online Request
  • Tue, 1 December 2026 – Wed, 2 December 2026 Augsburg Request
  • Mon, 14 December 2026 – Tue, 15 December 2026 Online Request
  • Thu, 14 January 2027 – Fri, 15 January 2027 Online Request
  • Wed, 27 January 2027 – Thu, 28 January 2027 Bremen Request
  • Mon, 8 February 2027 – Tue, 9 February 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

What does Windsurf mean by flows?

Flows describe the close collaboration between you and Cascade. The agent observes what you do in the editor and terminal and takes those actions into account in its next steps. As a result you do not have to keep explaining where you are, and you can move smoothly between doing the work yourself and delegating it to the agent.

How do memories, rules and workflows differ?

Memories store knowledge that Cascade has gathered while working or that you have explicitly recorded. Rules are guidelines you write that shape the agent’s behaviour permanently. Workflows are reusable sequences of steps for recurring tasks, launched with a slash command. Together they keep results consistent across the whole team.

Can I use Windsurf with my existing projects and languages?

Yes. Windsurf is language-agnostic and works with your existing toolchain, including build tools, package managers and test frameworks. Whether you work on back end, front end, data processing or infrastructure code, what matters is giving Cascade good rules and clear context. Each course variant adds the specific focus for your field.

Do AI assistants know the WordPress APIs well enough?

Core hooks, functions and patterns are well covered. For newer developments such as block bindings, the Interactivity API or editor changes, models sometimes suggest outdated approaches. Current documentation as context, project rules and automated checks with PHPCS and the WordPress coding standards fix this. You practise exactly this workflow in the course.

Can we use AI-generated code in commercial plugins?

In principle yes, but check the terms of your AI service and remember that WordPress plugins are generally licensed under the GPL. Generated code can resemble fragments of well-known projects, so review and, where appropriate, licence scanning belong in your process. In the course we discuss practical rules for agencies and product vendors.

How much does “Windsurf for WordPress Developers” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

More courses for WordPress Developers

More Windsurf courses

All 32 Windsurf courses

Windsurf · MunichWindsurf · SalzburgWindsurf · BerlinWindsurf · AugsburgWindsurf · HanoverWindsurf · BremenWindsurf · StuttgartWindsurf · KaiserslauternWindsurf · Online