Often beginner users ask what are WordPress plugins, how do they work and which ones do I need?
Plugins are an important part of WordPress, and they are essential for building a sweet website using WordPress. They can extend any WordPress site to fit your individual website needs.
What are WordPress Plugins?
WordPress plugins are apps that allow you to add new features and functionality to your WordPress website. Exactly the same way as apps do for your smartphone.
There are more than 48,000 free plugins available right now on the WordPress.org plugin directory. Thousands more are available from third-party websites too. On top of that, there are also thousands of premium WordPress plugins that are sold by individual developers and companies.
What Can WordPress Plugins Do?
WordPress plugins are small software apps that integrate and run on top of the WordPress software. This allows you to create almost any kind of website with WordPress (not just blogs).
For example, you can:
- Start an online store with WordPress using the WooCommerce plugin
- Create a job board with WordPress using the Job Manager plugin
- Build a business directory with the best directory plugins for WordPress
- Build your photography website using the Envira Gallery Plugin
- Create a Wiki website using the Knowledge base plugin
- Start your own podcast website using WordPress
… and lots more!
There is a popular saying in the WordPress community, “There is a plugin for that”.
No matter what you are trying to do on your WordPress site, it’s possible. If the feature is not available in default WordPress, then there is certainly a plugin available for that.
There are WordPress plugins to improve SEO, boost performance, add contact forms, social media buttons, create galleries, and so much more.
Plugins can be small and offer just one tiny little feature (like adding an image to sidebar).
Or they can also be quite large and act as their own platform as well (Example: WordPress eCommerce plugins or WordPress membership plugins).
More feature rich plugins can have their own add-on plugins to extend them just like you would extend WordPress.
How to Find WordPress Plugins and Install Them?
WordPress plugins can be installed manually through FTP or through the WordPress dashboard. Here’s instructions on how to install plugins through your WordPress dashboard.
Step #1: Log into your site and go to Plugins » Add New page and search by typing plugin name or functionality you want to add. Search for the functionality you are looking for and check out the available plugins.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the options with plugins.
Pro-Tip: The best way to search through the list, is check out the ratings and how many downloads.
Step #2: Once you have picked on that you want to try, click “Install Now” and then “Activate”. Once you have it activated, go to that plugin in the left menu or in plugins dashboard. Each plugin will work differently, so you’ll just have to look to see where you have to edit the plugin.
Step #3: One you activate the plugin, look at the top for any special instructions on how to complete installation. Each plugin will have a unique message.
Pro-Tip: Keep in mind that not every plugin is going to be a good fit for you. Give it a try and if it’s not working like you want, get a new one. That’s the great thing about WordPress plugins, there’s a lot of options!
5 Essential WordPress Plugins Every Site Needs
WordPress is designed to be a flexible platform that users can customize in whatever way they want. Plugins are the easiest way to add functionality to any website.
Plugins can serve many purposes, from helping with social media, security, site performance, and more. If there’s something you’d like your site to do, chances are there are several plugins that may suit your needs.
In short, no matter what you need “there’s a plugin for that”!
- W3 Total Cache – improve speed and overall performance of your WordPress site with caching.
W3 total cache works by using caching. This involves temporarily storing recently used site information to improve site speed. With W3 total cache, pages load faster. It compresses bandwidth to allow for faster downloads and helps keeps people on your site longer.
- Jetpack – increase site security
It boasts enhanced WordPress security, faster load times, content tools, and visitor engagement components. It helps create a site that is responsive, so great for viewing on phones or tablets.
Other features of Jetpack include spam-free comments, social sharing, related posts, and post by email. This tool has many features rolled into one handy plugin.
- Akismet – fight against spam comments
Spam comments can easily overtake your site, so defense against spam is important. Akismet is a popular plugin to guard against spam. It filters out spam comments on WordPress sites.
Visitor comments are compared to Akismet’s program to determine whether they look like spam. A log of comments that the plugin flagged as spam is available to the site administrator.
- Google Analytics Dashboard for WP – see real-time Google Analytics stats from your WP dashboard.This plugin allows users to see statistics for their site, right from the WordPress dashboard.
- Yoast SEO – optimize your pages and posts for search engines
SEO helps optimize your site using search engine optimization (SEO). This ensures your site gets more traffic from search engines.
It chooses focus keywords and helps embed the focus keyword throughout content. Yoast SEO checks your pages and provides information about how your content can be improved to drive site traffic. You are able to control how your content looks in search engine results.
FAQs About WordPress Plugins
- I cannot see or install plugins on my WordPress blog?
Are you using WordPress.com? You can only install WordPress plugins on self-hosted WordPress.org websites. See our guide on the difference between self hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com blog.
- How many WordPress plugins are too many?
A common misconception among users is that too many plugins can slow down their website. It is NEVER too many plugins that are slowing down your site. It is always poorly coded plugins that degrade performance.
- How to choose between free vs paid plugins?
There are thousands of free plugins and there is a good chance that you can find a free plugin offering the same functionality as a paid plugin. If it works good for you, then use it.
Please keep in mind that free plugins are offered as they are, with no warranties, and no promise of support. Plugin author can stop working on a plugin at anytime they want.
If you feel you will need lots of support, and you want regular updates, then paid plugins do a much better job at it.
- How do I get support for free WordPress plugins?
Free WordPress plugins are offered without the promise of support. However, most good plugins offer limited free support for their plugins through the official WordPress support forums. Simply visit the plugin page and click on the support tab to post your question.
I hope you found this article helpful!
What’s your favorite plugins?
One Response
Great job. Thanks for sharing.
I would like to add one more in this list which is User Activity Log Pro plugin for security enhance.