What are WordPress Plugins? Kellys Web Designs

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This week’s web design blog – What are WordPress Plugins?

WordPress plugins add functionality to your website. You might have heard this before, but what does this mean?

It means it adds a function of some sort to your website, like a contact form, Google Analytics hook up or anything that “does” something. As its WordPress these things can be hard coded in, but it is much easier to simply add a plugin.

Here are a few plugins you might have heard of:

• WooCommerce (adds an E-commerce shop to your website)
• Yoast SEO (allows you to alter the meta data in your website)
• Contact Form 7 (adds a contact form to your website)

There are hundreds of Plugins and many of the same type, some work better than others. Meaning some have lots of extra code and some don’t!

Things to note about WordPress Plugins

Not every plugin will be compatible with your website. When looking at a Plugin in the “add new” section WordPress will tell you if the plugin has been tested with your version of WordPress. To save yourself a whole load of issues, ONLY upload those that have been tested with your version of WordPress.

Also, quick aside, just because the plugin has been tested with your version of WordPress, that doesn’t mean it will “work” on your website. There may be a conflict with another plugin or with your theme.

There is a ranking system for plugins, and it also shows how many people have download the plugin. The rule of thumb is the better the rating and the more people who have downloaded the plugin the more likely there is to be support for the plugin. But on the flip side, there is more chance that you will have to pay for the “pro” version for all the options available within the plugin.

Update your plugins!

Don’t forget that you will need to keep your plugins updated. ALWAYS make a back up before you update and plugin or theme. There is always a chance things could go wrong!