{"id":157,"date":"2020-02-12T10:36:49","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T10:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/support\/knowledge-base\/wordpress-plugins-explained\/"},"modified":"2022-03-31T10:13:50","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T10:13:50","slug":"wordpress-plugins-explained","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/support\/articles\/wordpress-plugins-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"What are WordPress plugins?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the WordPress world, plugin is a piece of software\/code that can be used to extend the functionality of WordPress beyond the standard install.<\/p>\n<p>They allow you to add different features and functionality to your site &#8211; things like email sign-up forms, galleries and back-up tools?<\/p>\n<h3>Why does WordPress need this you might ask?<\/h3>\n<p>A standard WordPress install has been designed to be lightweight and bloat-free, meaning it doesn\u2019t come bundled with lots of functionality you might not need. WordPress leaves it up to you to choose the type of plugins your website needs.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>A plugin can perform almost any function you could imagine. Popular plugins include\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>SEO plugins \u2013 to help optimise your content and pages to rank well in the Google search results.<\/li>\n<li>Security plugins \u2013 to stop hackers from gaining access to your website.<\/li>\n<li>Contact forms \u2013 so visitors can email you via a form on your site.<\/li>\n<li>Gallery plugin \u2013 to help you effortlessly create a stylish gallery for your site.<\/li>\n<li>Back up plugins \u2013 an automated plugin to perform backups for your site in case you ever need to restore a previous version of your website.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That\u2019s just a few examples \u2013 there are literally thousands of plugins available via the official <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/browse\/popular\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WordPress Plugin Directory<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"screenshot\" src=\"\/support\/articles\/attachment\/713\/inline\/original\/1530618256\/wordpress-plugins-1.png\"><\/p>\n<p><i>A selection of plugins as shown in the \u201cPlugins\u201d area of the WordPress dashboard<\/i><\/p>\n<p>If you can think of something you want, chances are there\u2019s a plugin that does it for you.<\/p>\n<p>Like themes, there are free plugins and premium plugins.<\/p>\n<p>The pros and cons of each are the same as free vs premium themes.<\/p>\n<p>Free plugins cost nothing to try out, and if downloaded from the official WordPress Plugin Directory, they would\u2019ve been vetted by WordPress.<\/p>\n<p>Premium plugins will nearly always offer an excellent level of support and tend to be more consistently updated.<\/p>\n<p>The best course of action to take when looking for a plugin is to check when it was last updated, and find some recent reviews and ratings for it.<\/p>\n<p>A plugin with thousands of downloads, but a poor rating is not likely to be worth your time, so look for an alternative that does the same thing.<\/p>\n<h3>Plugins sound great, are there any negatives?<\/h3>\n<p>They are great, and they are a big reason as to why WordPress is so universally popular. But with everything popular and well-used, there are some draw backs too.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few things you need to know when installing plugins\u2026<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Does the plugin work with my version of WordPress?<\/h3>\n<p>When downloading a plugin from the WordPress Plugin Directory you can check to see if it works with your version of WordPress.<\/p>\n<p>Just click on the plugin within the directory and you\u2019ll see the \u201cCompatible up to\u201d information on the right hand side.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"screenshot\" src=\"\/support\/articles\/attachment\/714\/inline\/original\/1530618260\/wordpress-plugins-2.png\"><\/p>\n<p>You can also see when the plugin was last updated and how many active installs it currently has. This will give you some insight as to how popular and well-supported the plugin is.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Keep your plugins up to date!<\/h3>\n<p>Out-of-date plugins is a very common reason why WordPress websites get targeted by hackers so frequently.<\/p>\n<p>Plugins are not perfect, and very often (like any software), may contain flaws that malicious hackers can exploit. Regular updates often fix these security holes.<\/p>\n<p>Not only that, but updates also contain many improvements to plugins, such as feature and performance enhancements.<\/p>\n<p>So, make sure to <strong>keep your plugins updated<\/strong> to keep your site protected and make the best of all the functionality they offer.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Plugins may clash with each other<\/h3>\n<p>Plugins are designed to work with WordPress \u2013 but not necessarily to work with each other.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s fairly rare, but two plugins can cause a conflict which can sometimes cause problems. Issues as simple as one plugin not working since you installed another, right up to breaking your entire site!<\/p>\n<p>The good news is these issues are usually quite easy to detect and avoid by simply deactivating all of your plugins until you work out which one is the culprit.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"want-to-know-more-about-wordpress\">Want to know more about WordPress?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Our FREE WordPress for Beginners e-Book will take you through the process of creating a website, installing plugins and optimising for SEO. You&#8217;ll learn about the WordPress framework and functions, as well as discover a host of useful tips and tricks that will make your WordPress adventure much easier!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/landingpage.lcn.com\/wordpress-ebook\">Download your FREE WordPress for Beginners e-Book<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the WordPress world, plugin is a piece of software\/code that can be used to extend the functionality of WordPress beyond the standard install. They allow you to add different features and functionality to your site &#8211; things like email sign-up forms, galleries and back-up tools? Why does WordPress need this you might ask? A [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[15],"ht-kb-tag":[8],"class_list":["post-157","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-creating-a-new-website","ht_kb_tag-wordpress-hosting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What are WordPress plugins? - LCN.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What are WordPress plugins, how do they work and what can they do to improve your website and visitors experience.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/support\/articles\/wordpress-plugins-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What are WordPress plugins? 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