What You Need to Know About WordPress Plugins

Is your website built using WordPress and you are looking into all of the feature and customization options, but getting stuck when it comes to plugins? Not sure what they are exactly or how to fully take advantage of them?

WordPress is a free open source CMS that also has thousands of themes and plugins available, both free and paid, which allow you to customize the entire look and feel of your website, along with its functions and features.

There is a plugin available for almost anything you can imagine and you don’t need any coding skills. You just simply click the install options on the ones you want and then follow the setup instructions. Here are some important things to know when it comes to plugins.

Most Have Free and Paid Versions

The WordPress plugin directory only hosts free versions. While there are some that are free and give you access to all of the features, there are some plugins that offer an upgrade option that, for a small fee, unlock additional features.

“While the free version is suitable for most, the paid options do have more advanced features,” explains botox specialist Darryl Howard. “But most websites can get away with only running free plugins.”

Too Many Plugins Will Slow Your Website Down

It can get very easy to just go on a plugin installation spree, but that can actually do more harm than good. You have to remember to only install the plugins that will really contribute to helping your website.

“There is such a thing as too many plugins,” says the owner of National Pool Fences. “They all take up resources, so it can cause a big load on your server and slow down the entire site.”

Most websites can accomplish all they want and stay under 6 to 8 plugins. When a site starts to approach 20 to 25 plugins that is where the site will blog down big time and many of the plugins will conflict with each other causing issues.

Need a Custom Plugin? There Are Plenty of Developer Available

What is you can’t find a plugin that will do what you want? There are so many developers that specialize in custom WordPress plugin development that will make you whatever functionality you need.

Websites like Freelancer and Upwork are great places to find WordPress plugin developers. Want to create a custom slider to display these products in a new and creative way? Be sure to be very descriptive with your needs and wants and do plenty of due diligence before hiring a developer.

Opt for Conversion Focused Plugins

Make sure that you only use plugins that will help you accomplish your goals, whether that is keeping your readers on your blog longer, driving more sales, or acquiring more email addresses.

For example, if a plugin that displays exit-intent offers is going to help a luggage online store sell more check in luggage, then is it worth it? Yes. But, a plugin designed to play music does nothing to help with conversions, so that would be one to avoid.

Find plugins that will work for you, helping to accomplish your conversion goals.