Creating a basic HTML markup before trying to add PHP and platform-specific functions can help to speed up the WordPress development process.

It can be pretty tempting to just dive into a various template files found in an existing WordPress theme and start modifying them to create your own custom site. But I have found that it can often be faster to develop and draft HTML markup first. Then convert the pieces and parts of that markup into the necessary WordPress template files.

In this article, I am going to share the first draft of the home page markup for a site that will ultimately sell digital products. The site, Alien Authority, will sell — as odd as it seems — alien abductions and vacations.

This article is the eighth in a seri...