{"id":161,"date":"2020-02-12T10:36:49","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T10:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/support\/knowledge-base\/how-to-install-and-activate-wordpress-plugins\/"},"modified":"2020-02-12T10:36:49","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T10:36:49","slug":"how-to-install-and-activate-wordpress-plugins","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/support\/articles\/how-to-install-and-activate-wordpress-plugins\/","title":{"rendered":"How to install and activate WordPress plugins"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Installing and activating a WordPress plugin<\/h2>\n<p>Installing or adding a plugin is very similar to adding a theme. Just look for the \u201cPlugins\u201d link on your WordPress dashboard. From here you\u2018ll see a list of plugins you already have installed \u2013 here you can activate\/deactivate, amend the settings, or delete a plugin.<\/p>\n<p>Also on this page, towards the top, you\u2019ll see the \u201cAdd New\u201d button.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"screenshot\" src=\"\/support\/articles\/attachment\/715\/inline\/original\/1530618320\/wordpress-plugin-install-1.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Upon clicking \u201cAdd new\u201d you\u2019ll be directed to a page where you can add a new plugin in two different ways\u2026<\/p>\n<ol class=\"step_by_step\">\n<li><strong>Add a plugin from the official WordPress Directory<\/strong>\n<p>On this page you\u2019ll see a list of plugins from the official WordPress Directory, which you can view by \u201cFeatured\u201d, \u201cPopular\u201d and \u201cRecommended\u201d filters. If you can\u2019t find what you\u2019re looking within these filters, you can simple search for a suitable plugin via the \u201cSearch Plugins\u201d box.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"screenshot\" src=\"\/support\/articles\/attachment\/716\/inline\/original\/1530618325\/wordpress-plugin-install-2.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>When you find the plugin you\u2019re after, just hit the \u201cInstall Now\u201d button.<\/p>\n<p>Your plugin will automatically install in a few seconds, at which point you\u2019ll need to revisit the \u201cPlugins\u201d overview page to activate \u2013 remember, <strong>just because a plugin is installed, it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s active.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"screenshot\" src=\"\/support\/articles\/attachment\/717\/inline\/original\/1530618330\/wordpress-plugin-install-3.png\"\/><\/li>\n<li><strong>Upload a plugin<\/strong>\n<p>If you\u2019ve bought a premium plugin, or just downloaded one you\u2019ve found online (after confirming it\u2019s safe of course!), you can upload a plugin manually.<\/p>\n<p>When you download any plugin to your computer, it will be in a .zip file format.<\/p>\n<p>To upload this plugin, simply navigate to the \u201cAdd New\u201d area of the \u201cPlugins\u201d section of your dashboard and then click the \u201cUpload Plugin\u201d button (near the top of the page).<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"screenshot\" src=\"\/support\/articles\/attachment\/718\/inline\/original\/1530618335\/wordpress-plugin-install-4.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>From here, select the \u201cchoose file\u201d button to select your plugin (.zip file on your computer) and then hit the \u201cInstall Now\u201d button. Job done!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"screenshot\" src=\"\/support\/articles\/attachment\/719\/inline\/original\/1530618340\/wordpress-plugin-install-5.gif\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Remember, you can manage your plugins (deactivate, delete and adjusting individual plugin settings) at any time via the \u201cPlugins\u201d section of your dashboard.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst some plugin settings can be found in this area, others create their own separate administration areas that can be found in the left hand side dashboard menu (this is entirely up to the plugin developer).<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"screenshot\" src=\"\/support\/articles\/attachment\/720\/inline\/original\/1530618345\/wordpress-plugin-install-6.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>As the example above shows, these two particular plugins can be managed directly via their own respective links within the dashboard menu.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Don\u2019t install too many!<\/h3>\n<p>A site with 20+ plugins all working at the same time is likely to significantly slow down your page load times \u2013 a disaster for your visitors who probably won\u2019t hang around waiting for slow pages to load.<\/p>\n<p>Keep plugins under 20 if possible, or just only use what plugins you really need. Don\u2019t have active plugins waiting around that aren\u2019t be use, as not only could they slow down your site, they could also end up being hacked if you\u2019re not keeping them up to date.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s it! You now know how to install and activate WordPress plugins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Installing and activating a WordPress plugin Installing or adding a plugin is very similar to adding a theme. Just look for the \u201cPlugins\u201d link on your WordPress dashboard. From here you\u2018ll see a list of plugins you already have installed \u2013 here you can activate\/deactivate, amend the settings, or delete a plugin. Also on this [&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-161","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>How to install and activate WordPress plugins - LCN.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How to install and activate WordPress plugins to extend the functionality of your WordPress website.\" \/>\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\/how-to-install-and-activate-wordpress-plugins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to install and activate WordPress plugins - 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