A Brief Introduction To WordPress Plugins & How To Use Them?

WordPress is the favorite website platform for many web admins and successfully runs various high-end websites on its platform. What makes WordPress a comfy medium to publish and manage content?

Yes! The feature that makes WordPress different and better from the other niche website platforms is a plugin.

Let me give a brief intro on WordPress plugins in this post!

introduction-wordpress-plugins

What Is a WordPress Plugin?

WP plugins are just extensions of WordPress. The popularity of WordPress is due to its ease of workability.

A user with no coding knowledge can bring out significant changes in the WordPress website by the optimal use of plugins.

Let us take an example! If a user wants to add a popup on the homepage of their website!

The conventional method is to add a proper code on the site at the exact place. A precise and crisp coding knowledge is required for the same.

But for an amateur, this difficult task can be done quickly using an excellent WordPress plugin. This is the beauty of WordPress. You need no coding knowledge to implement the additional features.

You may add a plugin from the WordPress Plugin Repository, which will be done in a few seconds.

How to Add a WordPress Plugin?

To add a plugin, you need practically nothing.

Just go to your Dashboard. Click on the Plugins section and then select Add New button.

add-wordpress-plugin

Now, you can see the search bar with the text Search Plugins.

In the box, write down the plugin name you want to install. The installation will take place in a few minutes. After that, you can use the plugin on your WordPress website.

How Many WordPress Plugins One Can Use?

There is no limit to the number of plugins a user can use for WordPress. But it’s always a good thing to keep the number below 20. (Opinion may vary with other WordPress users.)

Having more plugins means more complex coding in your website. Thus, there are many chances of crashing the website using more than a reasonable number of plugins.

There are various instances where two plugins are not compatible with each other, thus causing the site to crash frequently. The best practice is to create a backup of the whole website before installing a new plugin on your WordPress site.

How to Remove a Bad WordPress Plugin?

Suppose a bad WordPress plugin crashes your website, and you cannot log in. The first key is immediate access to your hosting account, where your entire website database is saved. 

Patience and persistence are the essential rules here. Then, you can directly go to your file manager. In the file manager, search for the public_html file. In the file, search for the wp_plugins and then rename the plugin’s folder, causing the error.

For example, if the plugin, namely XYZ, is causing the error. Rename the folder of that plugin in your database; it will turn off the plugin on your website.

The other method is to delete directly the folder of the plugin. But it should be avoided as it can cause a severe crash on your website and a bad user experience.

What Happens When You  Use Many WordPress Plugins?

Depending on the WordPress Plugin that you have installed and how they are coded, below are the few possible negative consequences that you may face

  • Crashing of WordPress website
  • Increases the database queries and affects the page loading speed
  • Invite hackers 
  • Compatibility issues (If no updates)

If you don’t wish to tackle any of these possible issues, then it’s always recommended to use a limited number of specific plugins. The only way through which you can limit to a small number of plugins is by making use of multitasking plugins that are capable of performing more than one task related to your website.

How to Choose the Best WordPress Plugin?

If you are confused about which plugin to choose, the first rule is to check the compatibility of the plugin with your version of WordPress. The following rule is to go for those plugins which have higher numbers of ratings. It is a good practice to check the reviews and known issues with that plugin.

If any change is required before installation, that should be done without fail.

The last step is to check the features of the plugin. If you do not want to buy the pro version of the plugin, you should look at the functions that are provided in the free version of the plugin.

The fundamental idea is that most plugin developers lure users by making tall claims in the description. Still, in reality, all the features are available in the pro version. There might exist some free WordPress plugins with the same function available in the paid ones. The choice should be made according to the needs of the user.

Repeated installation of bad plugins can cause lower readability of your website. It will also diminish the standard of your website, which results in a lower Google page rank.

However, you may look at the best WordPress Speed Plugins and Security Plugins and install the best extensions according to the requirements! 

Final Words

WordPress plugins can act as a boon if used properly. Without WP plugins, the WordPress CMS would be a restricted platform, and thus, we need to choose the best WordPress plugins to make our site look impressive and stand out from the crowd.

However, they can also cause a website to crash if anything goes wrong. The usage should be optimal and according to the prescribed description of the plugin. Also, backing up your database file before installing any WordPress plugin would help you to avoid unnecessary problems. 

If you wish to add a new WordPress plugin, check the speed of your website with the Google pageSpeed insights tool before and after installing that WP plugin. Also, keep your installed WordPress plugins up-to-date to make your site less vulnerable to spammers.

I hope that you have grabbed the essential details of WordPress plugins. How many plugins do you have installed on your WordPress site? Do you have any bitter experiences with the plugins that you have chosen? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section.  

by Nirmala
Nirmala is an avid blogger, WordPress enthusiast who has been blogging since 2010. She loves to write useful WP tips & tricks on this active blog.

3 thoughts on “A Brief Introduction To WordPress Plugins & How To Use Them?”

  1. Hi Nirmala,

    Recently I deleted W3 total cache plugin to check compatible issues I am facing with other plugins, later on, I tried to reinstall W3 total cache but it has given so many technical errors because this plugin uses our .htaccess file even after deleting plugin its files will stay on our server.

    After reading this article I remembered this fault I did with W3 total cache WP plugin, just shared my knowledge about plugins, it is really a great to gain knowledge, thank you so much for sharing this information.

    Reply
  2. Very very informative,
    I am a new blogger. Don’t really know how to promote my blog. I haven’t installed any plugging so far. Is it OK to run blog without any plugging? If you don’t mind, could you please visit my site and suggest me what to do.

    cibisusheel.wordpress.com

    Thanks for your blog

    Reply
    • Hi Cibi,

      Welcome to my blog and thanks for reading my post.

      I have visited your blog just now. I would suggest you to blog with self-hosted domain to reap some major benefits.

      You have to purchase a domain and reliable hosting service to perform better. Then you need to install a good WordPress theme and essential plugins in it.

      If you need any help in getting a self-hosted WordPress domain and WordPress installation, you may reach me @ [email protected]

      I will try my best to help you. Thanks again for the visit, keep coming.

      Reply

Leave a Comment