How To Connect GitHub to Your WordPress site

Around 100 million developers worldwide use GitHub to store code, share code, and communicate with one another. As mentioned in Forbes, GitHub can be considered the Facebook for developers.

Beyond developers, some well-known organizations keep their code on GitHub, like NASA and their Apollo 11 mission source code. In fact, all WordPress source code is stored on GitHub as well.

Why is GitHub so popular? It allows developers to build their workflow, introduce version control, work in a team, and deliver projects faster. GitHub was also one of the first to introduce AI (Artificial Intelligence) by providing developers access to GitHub Copilot.

Why connect GitHub to WordPress

GitHub allows developers to build workflows to automate and control delivery. This includes documenting issues, development, testing, and deployment of the code to your website.

With regards to WordPress, you can add any theme or plugin to your website right from the GitHub repository and keep full control over customizations.

Such an approach means great advantages and benefits to your business and development processes:

• Automated delivery: Whenever you work on customizations and deploy your code to GitHub, your WordPress site receives an update. This removes the necessity to update your themes and plugins manually in order to apply the latest changes

• Bulk updates: You can connect the same repository to multiple WordPress sites which means updating the same plugin on all of your sites at once. This will you to improve your maintenance processes.

• Faster and secure testing: GitHub branches allow you to quickly test the new functionality by applying a different version of your theme or plugin.

• Reduce human error: Automating delivery helps you to avoid human errors that are made during delivery.

• Less time to recover: In case of an issue, you can quickly revert the changes and avoid downtime that can lead to losses.

All this leads to reducing the time your team spends on web development and maintenance. As an agency or solo developer, you are able to handle more projects. As a business, you can feel more secure about keeping your website functioning properly and being up to date.

How to connect GitHub to WordPress locally

Many developers prefer to work on their projects locally before deploying to production (live sites).

 Here are the steps you can take to connect the GitHub repository of your theme or plugin to your local environment:

On GitHub, navigate to the main page of your theme or plugin repository.

1. Above the list of files, click on the “Code” button.

2. Copy the URL of the repository (you can use HTTPS, SSH, or GitHub CLI depending on your preferences).

3. Open Terminal.

4. Navigate to your theme or plugin folder.

5. Type git clone, and then paste the URL you copied from GitHub.

6. Press Enter to create your clone locally.

You can now go to your local WordPress admin panel – your newly added theme or plugin should be listed on your site.

How to connect GitHub to your live WordPress website

While connecting GitHub to your local WordPress installation gives some benefits, the true power unlocks when you do that for your live WordPress site. This is where you can experience automated delivery, version control, and seamless maintenance.

 There are two ways to connect GitHub repositories to your live WordPress site:

1. Choose the WordPress hosting that offers GitHub integration as a part of its feature set. It will help you to avoid configuration or the necessity to install additional plugins.

2. Use a WordPress plugin, like WP Pusher, that allows you to connect GitHub to your WordPress site.

Conclusion

Connecting GitHub to WordPress allows you to automate part of your development and delivery processes. It reduces the time and resources you spend on maintenance and helps to avoid human errors. You can easily introduce and test new features and improvements as well as push those changes to all of your WordPress sites easily.