If your website is built using wordpress then the installation and activation of wordpress plugin to add or extend a function in wordpress is something you will get to do, when ou want to add or extend a function on your wordpress.
So in this blog post titled what is a wordpress plugin I will be explaining to you what is a wordpress plugin, how to install and activate them on your wordpress website.
what is a wordpress plugin.
A wordpress plugin is a software that contains a piece code that which when installed and activated on your website will either add or extend a function on your website, if you want to build a custom wordpress website then you will need to install plugins on your wordpress website.
WordPress Plugins are different from wordpress theme here is a guide on what is a wordpress theme here
Do I need plugins for my WordPress?
Weather you need a wordpress plugin or not will be depending on you and the type of website you want to create.
If you are building just a simple or one page website/blog then you don’t need a plugin at all.
but if you are building more than just a simple one page website then you need a plugin depending on the type of website you are creating.
How many plugins should I use in WordPress?
You can install and activate as many plugin you want on your website but what you should not do is to install two plugin with same function.
No matter the number of plugin you install you should try not to install and activate more than 45 plugin the maximum number of plugin you should install should be around 20-35.
Which plugin is mostly used in WordPress?
Well as a beginner who is new to website development using wordpress, you will be woundering which plugin are the most used plugin in developing a website using wordpress, wordpress have many Plugin but some plugin are mostly used more than others.
So for this reason I have made a list of the mostly used plugin in wordpres
1.Rnakmath (an sEO plugin.)
2.Wordfence(A plugin for securing your wordpress website)
3.Monsterinsight.
4.WPforms.(A wordpress plugin for creating forms)
5.Google analysis.
6.Classic editor.(A plugin for editing the content on your wordpress pages, post blog as well)
7.elementor.(A plugin for creating beautiful and customable page and blog post.)
8.Recnet post (A Plugin used for displaying recent post)
9.Newsletter ( A plugin for creating beautiful newsletter)
Do WordPress plugins cost?.
This is over 5,000 plugin you can install on your website and most of them are free and have a paid plan if you want more function from the plugin, while some are freemuim, premium and
What are the benefits of WordPress plugins?
There are so many benefit that comes when you have a particular wordpress installed and activated on your wordpress website.
some of the benefit are as listed below.
1.Build custom wordpress website.
2.SEO benefits.
3.build custom contact us page.
4.Securing your wordpress installation.
How to install plugin in WordPress?
There are three ways or method of installing a wordpress plugin, the first method involves is automatically, manually and uploading a plugin via an Ftp client.
1.Automatically.
This method is by installing a wordpress plugin via your wordpress admin dashboard, to install a plugin via this method login into your admin area and click on plugin and then Add new after clicking on add new using the plugin
search bar at the top right hand corner search for the plugin, once you found the plugin you want to install, click on install and wait for the installation process which is usually three seconds and click on activate.
Note: After install any plugin you need to activate the plugin for the plugin to function properly.
2.Manually installation.
This method of installing a wordpress plugin involves you uploading a wordpress plugin you have already downloaded,you may not need this option but you should still learn how to do it just in case the need arise, this method of wordpress installation is what you will be. using to install any wordpress plugin or theme you downloaded from the plugins website.
How to install a plugin manually.
Login into your wordpres admin dashboard and click on plugin under the drop-down you will see installed plugin and add new, now click on the Add new and click on upload
Now locate the folder or file you have downloaded, after that wait for the plugin to install and click on activate.
3.Installing a plugin via an FTP client.
With this method of installing a wordpress plugin involves you uploading a wordpress plugin via an FTP client, you don’t need to be am admin to be able to install a wordpress plugin via this method, all you need is the FTP client login credentials from the admin.
What are the disadvantages of plugins in WordPress?.
There are no disadvantage of installing and activating a wordpress plugin on your website but the disadvantage of a plugin are as followed.
1.They can conflict with each other.
Installing more than one plugin with same function on your website, will lead to a plugin conflict for instance Rankmath and Yeaost plugin are two different plugin with same SEO function
2.They can slow down page speed
3.They can leave your site vulnerable to hack from hackers.
Not updating an installed wordpress plugin.
can leave vulnerability on your wordpres website., giving hackers a room to turn in an hack attempt.
4.They limit functionality
Should I use SEO plugin in WordPress?
If you care about making your website appear on SERP and ranks in search engine such as google, then installing and activating a SEO plugin is more than a must.
What is top 10 plugin in WordPress?
here is a list of 10 types of plugin in wordpress.
1.Wordpress SEO plugin.
2.Wordpress Security plugin.
3.Wordpress Email plugin.
4.Wordpress text Editor plugin.
5.Wordpress Contact form.
6.Wordpress API plugin
7.Wordpress Rss feed plugin
8.Wordpress recent post plugin
9.Wordpress sidebar widget plugin.
10.Wordpresss SMS plugin.
How do I find plugins on my WordPress site?
If you are wondering how to find a plugin you have installed on your website , then it is very easy, just click on
Before you install a plugin you will have to find it first
How to learn WordPress for beginners.
Now you have know what is a wordpress plugin, how to install and activate them on your wordpres website, but want to learn more about wordpress then you can learn more about wordpress and its functionality here.
1.wpbeginners.com
2.itiswp.com
3.Honesweb.com