Hire Bedrock Developers

Bedrock is an open-source WordPress boilerplate developed by Roots. It reimagines the WordPress project structure to align with modern PHP development practices. The key changes from a standard WordPress installation are: Composer manages WordPress core and plugins as dependencies (rather than downloading them through the WordPress admin), environment-specific configuration uses dotenv files (rather than hard-coding credentials in wp-config.php), and the directory structure separates WordPress core from the web root and application code.

This structure makes Bedrock projects more suitable for version control, deployments, and team development than standard WordPress installations. WordPress core is a Composer dependency that is not committed to the repository. Plugins are also managed via Composer (using the WPackagist repository for WordPress.org plugins). Environment-specific settings (database credentials, API keys) live in .env files that are not committed to version control.

Bedrock is part of the broader Roots stack alongside Sage (a starter theme using Blade templating) and Trellis (a server provisioning tool). It can be used alone or as part of the complete stack. Developers with Laravel or Symfony experience find Bedrock’s approach familiar and more comfortable than standard WordPress project management. How To Create WordPress Child Theme.

Bedrock development work typically involves:

• Setting up a new WordPress project using Bedrock – initialising the project, configuring the directory structure, setting up the .env file, and installing WordPress and plugins via Composer.
• Migrating an existing standard WordPress installation to Bedrock – converting plugin management to Composer, restructuring the directory layout, and updating deployment processes.
• Configuring deployment pipelines for Bedrock projects – setting up automated deploys that run Composer install on the server after each deployment.
• Debugging Bedrock-specific issues – plugin not found after Composer install, incorrect paths after directory restructuring, or environment variable not loading correctly.
• Combining Bedrock with Sage and Trellis for the full Roots stack development and deployment workflow.

Bedrock requires familiarity with Composer and the PHP dependency management workflow. Look for developers who use Composer regularly in their WordPress work – not developers who manage all plugins through the WordPress admin and have never worked with Composer.

For deployment configuration, ask how they handle the Composer install step on the server. Bedrock projects require running composer install after each deploy to install or update dependencies. This needs to be incorporated into the deployment pipeline, whether manual or automated through a CI/CD system.

Ask whether they have experience with the full Roots stack or just Bedrock standalone. The full stack (Bedrock + Sage + Trellis) requires additional expertise in the Sage theme build system and Trellis server provisioning.

Common Bedrock problems: How To Set Up Bricks Builder.

• Plugin not loading after Composer install – the plugin was added to composer.json but the mu-plugins autoloader or the Bedrock plugin path is not configured correctly. Check that the plugin is being installed to the correct directory and that WordPress can find it.
• Environment variables not loading – the .env file is not in the correct location (Bedrock root directory, not the web root), or the Dotenv library version being used has changed its loading behaviour. Check the .env file location and the Dotenv configuration in config/application.php.
• WordPress admin redirecting incorrectly – the WP_HOME and WP_SITEURL constants in the .env file do not match the actual site URL. Update these values to match the environment being deployed to.
• Composer install failing in production – a memory limit or timeout on the server during Composer operations. Increase PHP memory limit for CLI operations or run Composer locally and deploy the vendor directory.

Bedrock projects use Composer for dependency management, which means updates are handled differently from standard WordPress. WordPress core updates are done by updating the roots/wordpress package version in composer.json and running composer update. Plugin updates follow the same pattern. This gives more control over when and which versions are deployed compared to WordPress auto-updates.

The .env file approach means environment-specific credentials are separate from the codebase, which is both a security improvement and a maintenance consideration – each server environment needs its own .env file maintained separately from the repository.

When posting a Bedrock project on Codeable, describe the hosting environment and deployment setup. Bedrock works differently depending on whether the server supports SSH and Composer, or whether the project needs to work on shared hosting. Also mention whether you are using the full Roots stack (Trellis, Sage) or Bedrock standalone.