Note: Plugins are only available for bloggers using WordPress on a self-hosted site. If you have a free WordPress.com site, you will not be able to install additional plugins. However, many of the best features from popular plugins are automatically included in your WordPress dashboard.
WordPress understands that we can’t all be developers, and that’s why they created plugins. Plugins let you use code created by talented developers and ‘plug it in’ to use on your WordPress site. In just a few clicks, you can add incredible features for your site!
Wait – What ARE WordPress Plugins?
WordPress plugins are pieces of code written with the purpose of extending the functionality of your WordPress site. There are thousands WordPress plugins (nearly 30,000 in the official directory!) available to you. With that many plugins available, you’re sure to find the right plugin to serve your site’s specific needs.
When you sign up for a free WordPress.com blog, the most popular plugin functionality is available automatically to you. As a result, you won’t see ‘Plugins’ listed on your WordPress dashboard. Plugins are only available to WordPress users with self-hosted blogs.
If you have a free WordPress.com blog, chances are you won’t miss having Plugins. The built-in features of your free WordPress blog are among the best (and most up-to-date) plugins available.
How to Use Plugins?
It’s easy to get started using Plugins. To explore available plugins, you can browse the Official WordPress Plugins Directory or through the dashboard for your WordPress site.
If you are installing an official WordPress-approved plugin, it’s easy to add it to your site. Click here for step-by-step directions on installing plugins.
There are a number of factors you should consider when selecting a plugin for your site:
- How often is the plugin updated?
- When was the last version released?
- Is it compatible with the current version of WordPress?
- Is there good documentation and does the plugin author seem to be available for questions/troubleshooting?
A good star rating and a high number of ratings are usually good indicators that the plugin developers are committed to keeping their code current and bug-free. If a plugin is not updated frequently, compatibility issues between the plugin and the current WordPress version or the template you’re using. These compatibility issues can cause loading issues for your site.
Recommended Plugins
In a world with tens of thousands of plugins, it can be hard to sift through all the options. The following four plugins should start you off on the right foot and should cover most of your basic site needs that WordPress does not offer by default.
When installing plugins, keep in mind that each additional plugin is additional data that must be loaded when someone visits your site. Clean and lean code = faster load times. Keep your page load times down and your readers happy by trimming the number of plugins you use to a minimum.
JetPack
JetPack is the kitchen sink of WordPress plugins. With JetPack, you can manage comments and subscriptions, customize social sharing, monitor site stats, customize photo albums — and that’s just scratching the surface. JetPack works well with most templates and will help transform your site from good to great.
WordPress SEO by Yoast
WordPress SEO by Yoast ensures that your site is optimized to be found and crawled by search engines. The content analysis tool will help you measure how well you’ve optimized blog posts for your target keywords, and help you create strong title tags and meta descriptions. The plugin will also automatically create an XML sitemap, which will help your entire site get indexed (crawled by Google so that it can show your blog in search engine results.
Akismet
One of two default plugins on your WordPress site, Akismet monitors your incoming comments and trackbacks to determine if they are spam. Akismet lets you “set it and forget it,” giving you more time to write for your blog rather than managing spammy comments.
Do you use WordPress plugins? Which are your favorites?
