WordPress Plugin Installation

WordPress Plugin Installation FAQs

To wrap up, let’s go over some frequently asked questions related to installing, using, and uninstalling WordPress plugins on your site.

What are WordPress plugins?

A WordPress plugin is a piece of software that adds new functionality or extends existing functionality on a WordPress website. There are plugins for enhancing SEO, social sharing, and security, just to name a few.

Many WordPress plugins, including any plugin downloaded from the WordPress Plugin Directory, are free to use. There are also premium WordPress plugins available from third-party vendors. Free plugins often have the option to upgrade to a premium version that offers improved functionality.

Since anyone can create and distribute a WordPress plugin, plugins will vary in quality. For this reason, it’s important to research your options each time you want to install a new plugin, and check recommendation lists and plugin reviews to check for quality.

How do I find WordPress plugins?

There are almost 60,000 ready-to-install plugins in the WordPress Plugin directory (which you can search on the online site or in your dashboard), and premium plugins are available from third-party websites and marketplaces like CodeCanyon.

To narrow down your options, you can look for popular and well-reviewed plugins in the WordPress directory, or look at recommendation lists — our best WordPress plugins list is a great place to start.

What does activating a plugin mean?

When you install a WordPress plugin, you’re putting the plugin’s code files into your WordPress directory. However, the plugin will not work until you activate it. Activating a plugin can be thought of as “turning on” the plugin on your site.

You can also deactivate a plugin to stop the plugin from working on your site. This is helpful if you’re troubleshooting a problem, or if you need to temporarily disable a plugin to resolve some issue on your site. You can activate and deactivate plugins from the plugins admin page (Plugins > Installed Plugins).

How do I update a plugin?

Quality plugins will release updates every once in a while to keep up-to-date with WordPress core updates. When a plugin needs updating, you’ll see a notification in your dashboard next to the Updates tab. Click this tab to see the updates listed.

It’s possible to set plugins to update automatically or install updates manually — see our guide to updating WordPress plugins to learn how.

How many WordPress plugins should I install?

WordPress allows you to install as many plugins as you want, and there’s no set recommended number for how many plugins you should use. However, the more plugins you install, the more likely they are to impact your website’s performance.

This isn’t to say that more plugins equal a slower website. Rather, the quality of a plugin’s build is more likely to affect site speed. You could install a dozen high-quality plugins and experience no issues, then install one poorly coded plugin and see an immediate decrease in performance. Plugins may also interact in certain ways and affect your website negatively.

For these reasons, you should only install plugins when you need them, and delete any plugins you aren’t using. Additionally, when you do need a plugin, stick to well-reviewed options that receive frequent updates, and test each one after installing for compatibility with the rest of your site.

How do I uninstall a WordPress plugin?

To uninstall a WordPress plugin, go to your plugins admin page (Plugins > Installed Plugins). Under the plugin, click Deactivate if the plugin is currently activated, then click Delete.

Add Plugins to Improve Your Site

Plugins are essential for increasing the functionality of your WordPress website. They're quite simple to install, add, and use — follow the steps we’ve outlined above to get started using your newest plugins.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.