WordPress, one of the web's most well-known and venerable content platforms, is not really for casuals. It may be relatively simple to set up a blog, but going beyond a template and some content requires a fair bit of patience, some technical savvy, and a lot of Googling.
One of the first things you'll encounter are plugins.
Plugins are extensions to WordPress that can be big flashy packages that change the whole way WordPress works, or a script that adds nicer social sharing buttons to your posts. Almost all WordPress sites will need a few plugins beyond the pre-installed ones, since WordPress runs on a 'platform' model, and is designed to be extended by custom code, themes, and plugins.
Before we dive in...
...if you install and activate a bunch of them all willy-nilly. Here's a scenario inspired by recent real-life events:
You're building a niche community site where people can create an account, log in and share content with each other. You don't like the default WordPress login screen, so you find a plugin that lets you have a much fancier one that lets new users register and gives you way more customization options.
You install the plugin, activate it, go over to its settings page, and fill in all the little fields the best you know how. It asks you what your login page is, so you select the WordPress one from the menu.
Oops - the plugin is now redirecting users from the WP login page to it's own login page. But you just configured it to point to the WordPress login page.
Now you have an infinite redirect loop, and because you're on WordPress Hosting, you can't even log in to /wp-admin to fix it.
You lose a day and some dignity waiting for WordPress support to bail you out.
Morals of the story here are:
Many plugins will add menu items to the LHS WordPress admin menu. Not all of these are immediately obvious as plugin menus, since they sometimes use the same names for stuff.
Sometimes the old WordPress menu item for that function is still there. Using both can cause bugs and conflicts. Sometimes plugins are configured via multiple menu items. It helps a lot if you're already familiar with what's there by default
A good example is header/menu builders. There are a plethora of wizzy navigation builders and plugins. Most of them draw from WordPress's built in menu creator, but some of them are weirdly unintuitive and will add a second header or simply not show on pages if not configured correctly.
To turn WordPress into something other than a blog, plugins are necessary. So are Themes. While a Theme is technically just a set of styles, many paid themes that offer enhanced functionality do so by installing an array of bundled plugins.
In fact, many of them will be attempts by the developer of a "cheaper" theme to monetize you further. Here's an example:
You get the idea. In some cases you can get around an undesirable plugin. But in most cases if a theme says it needs it, it probably does.
Plugins are pretty much JavaScript and other bits of code cludging up the place. The fewer you have the better, and any redundant ones should be removed. Check your site speed before and after adding a new plugin to see if it's knocked your performance down a peg.
Now that you're too scared to touch anything...
All WP sites need plugins, so here's how to go about it:
Map the functionality you're looking to build, and decide whether you need a plugin or whether WordPress offers good enough functionality for now
Quickly skimming the documentation will reveal whether this is a good idea or not. Some things to look out for:
Any of those mean you may run into issues if things don't go as planned.
Use Jetpack if you've got it, or any other way of backing up your site, before installing any plugins. It only takes a second. Most of the times you totally bork your WP site will be when installing plugins.
When trying to solve a problem building a site, the first thing you'll do is search for an answer to the problem, right? This will often bring up a blog post saying, "it's EASY to create a telepathic user interface in WordPress! Simply install the WPBrainLink plugin (you'll need the Pro version by the way) and then click these buttons".
Unsurprisingly, that's a trap. But we fall into it because we really like finding a blog post with a quick solution to an annoying problem.
Take your time, shop around for good plugins. Read reviews, look through documentation. It'll save time later.
Once you've installed an activated a plugin, go through the setup steps by following along with the documentation. Stop whining, yes it's annoying. Yes you know what you're doing. That doesn't mean there isn't some horrible workaround you need to avoid breaking your site, or that you're not supposed to turn on this toggle until you've put in your API key... you get the idea.
Many WordPress plugins offer functionality or customization that is already possible with WordPress and a bit of technical know-how.
Just remember this: if there's a bit of code that can help you make money, someone will be trying to make money from it.
That's usually because that thing is hard to do and their plugin makes it easy and good for them. It's often the case that there are lots of free plugins - and they're all garbage.
But sometimes - and this is important - the uninitiated are corralled into a web of nasty paid plugins that simultaneously cost you money while sucking out loud. Which is annoying when you're pretty sure you can do that thing for free.
There's a trade-off between beating your head against a difficult problem, and paying for a plugin license to solve that problem. In some cases it's better just to fork out the $99 and solve the problem. In other cases, a bit more research solves the problem for free.
Take your time, shop around, test things out, and try a few different options before building around any specific plugin.
Still lost and need a bit of WordPress guidance? We're old hands with WordPress, Elementor, BuddyPress and WooCommerce, and we'd love to help out. Just send us a message, and we'll take a look at your WordPress site help point you in the right direction
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