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Every new WordPress user must first learn how to install a WordPress plugin after setting up WordPress. WordPress plugins can be thought of as the equivalent of apps for your WordPress website. With their assistance, you can expand WordPress with new features like a contact form, slideshow, shopping cart, and more.
What is WordPress Plugin
Plugins are pieces of software created to add a particular kind of feature or carry out a specific set of tasks to any self-hosted WordPress site. Only self-hosted WordPress sites can use plugins. Although hosted versions like WordPress.com typically provide options for themes to customize websites, it is not possible to install plugins without restriction on these platforms.
PHP, the same programming language used to create WordPress, is used to create plugins. With WordPress plugins, you can quickly “plug” the one you want into an already-existing WordPress website without having to know any code. WordPress can power a wide variety of websites, including small personal blogs, online portfolios, and eCommerce shops. With the power of plugins, it is possible to increase the functionality of WordPress sites while building completely original websites.
Premium and free Plugin
The WordPress.org Plugin Directory offers countless WordPress plugins for free download. Additionally, there are paid or premium WordPress plugins.
Even though the plugin directory is home to thousands of free plugins, paid plugins typically come with a full-time support team and developers who work to keep their security and compatibility with the most recent version of WordPress as well as with other themes and plugins up to date.
The core of WordPress and other plugins generally get along well with plugins, but occasionally a plugin's code will get in the way of another plugin, leading to compatibility problems. It's just nice to know you have support staff with a paid plugin who can assist you if anything happens.
This step-by-step article will walk you through the process of installing a WordPress plugin.
Why you can’t install the WordPress plugin
However, before you begin the installation, there are a few things you should be aware of. Some people have written to me complaining that they are unable to install plugins on their WordPress.com websites, but the reality is that you cannot install plugins if you are using WordPress.com.
Because you are using the constrained WordPress.com, you are unable to see the plugins menu in their WordPress dashboard. If you don't upgrade to the business plan on WordPress.org, you can't install plugins. On the other hand, you can immediately begin installing any plugin you desire on your self-hosted WordPress.org website.
Three ways to install WordPress plugins
All three methods—uploading a WordPress plugin, manually installing a WordPress plugin using FTP, and using search—are covered in this article.
So, Let's get going.
1. Utilizing the WordPress Plugin Search to install a plugin
The plugin search is the simplest method for installing a WordPress plugin. This option's one disadvantage is that a plugin needs to be in the WordPress plugin directory, which only accepts free plugins.
The first thing you need to do is to
>>Click on Plugins
>>Then click on Add New view screenshot below
Then search for the plugin in the search box by typing the name of the plugin or function of the plugin and the name of the plugin will appear if spelled correctly or a bunch of other plugins related to your keywords will show if your spelling is wrong as a suggestion, see image below
Select your searched plugin
The plugin of your choice is available for selection. We will click the “Install Now” button next to metForms because during our search we were looking for it as one of the best WordPress contact form plugins.
As of right now, WordPress will download and install the plugin for you. After that, you'll see that the “Install Now” button has changed to “Activate.” See image below
If you don't activate a WordPress plugin after installing it on your website, it won't function. Therefore, proceed and click the activate button to begin using that plugin on your WordPress website.
All done, your first WordPress plugin has been successfully installed.
Setting up the plugin's settings is the next step. We won't cover those settings in this post because they will differ for each plugin. See image below
2. Using the WordPress Admin Plugin Upload, install a plugin
The WordPress plugin directory does not contain any listings for WordPress plugins. The first method cannot be used to install most of these plugins because they are usually premium.
WordPress offers the upload method to enable you to install these premium plugins for this reason, since they are premium mainly, although free plugins can also be used in this format.
With that being said, now let’s demonstrate how to use the upload feature in the admin area to install WordPress plugins.
The plugin must first be downloaded directly from the source (which will be a zip file). Then,
Click on Plugins
Then Add a New page in the WordPress admin area,
then select the “Upload Plugin” button at the top of the page.
The plugin upload form will then be displayed. In this window, you must click the “Choose File” button and choose the plugin file you previously downloaded to your computer.
After choosing the file, you must press the “Install Now” button. See image Below
The plugin file from your computer will now be uploaded to WordPress, where it will be installed. After the installation is complete, you will see a message indicating the success
To use the plugin after installation, click the link that says “Activate Plugin.” See image below
The settings would need to be adjusted to meet your needs. Since each plugin will have different settings, we won't cover that in this post.
3. Install a WordPress Plugin by Manually Using FTP
Occasionally, your WordPress hosting company might impose file limitations that would prevent you from installing a plugin from the admin area. Your best option in this case is to manually install the plugin using FTP.
You must first download the plugin's source code (it will be a zip file). The zip file must then be extracted on your computer.
A new folder with the same name will be created after the plugin zip file has been extracted. Using an FTP client, you must manually upload this folder to your website.
You would have to use the FTP manager to connect to your host. Contact your WordPress hosting company and ask them if you don't know your FTP username and password.
Using the login information provided by your web host, launch the FTP client on your computer and connect to your website. Once connected, you must navigate to your website's /wp-content/plugins/ folder.
Next, upload the folder you created after extracting it from the zip file to your web server's /wp-content/plugins folder.
You must visit the WordPress admin area and select the Plugins link from the admin menu after uploading the files. On the plugins page, you'll see that your plugin has been successfully installed.
To use the plugin, click the Activate link that is located beneath it.
You might need to adjust the plugin settings after activation. We won't go into detail about the settings that each WordPress plugin has because they vary from plugin to plugin, see the image above.
Final thought
It is advised to remove plugins from your website if you are not using them and if you are also confused about how many plugins to use on your website, WordPress plugins can be added in any number. Your website's speed is impacted by the quality of the plugins and your website optimization like image, not their quantity.
By going to the Plugins page in the WordPress admin area, you can uninstall a plugin. You must first deactivate the plugin if it is currently active before removing it. Then you can easily delete it from your website by clicking the delete link.
On the free WordPress plugin directory alone, there are more than 55,000 plugins. Additional some are accessible as premium plugins although not in the directories.
Finding the best plugin for the feature they require can be a little challenging for beginners as a result. I've compiled a list of every essential WordPress plugin that's required by the majority of WordPress websites and how to choose the best plugin
I hope this article was helpful, let us have your thought in the comment section, and please don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel… SHALOM.
