I confess to being a late convert to WP Plugins. For those who do not know what a plugin is… it is an ‘add-on’ that is used to add functionality to a WordPress blog or site.
In the past when I have wanted to add something to a blog, I would commence battle and try to hard code the elements into it. That was until I tried to put a form into a post. I stubbornly tried and tried to find a way of doing it, before deciding to take a look at some forums. I then conceded to go the plugin route and have since been a little addicted to them.
It was a bit like discovering Aladdin’s Cave, all these add-ons that people had sweat, bled and cried over when building, available to simply browse and install at will. There are plugins for all sorts, from funky image galleries to e-commerce solutions. You have to be prepared to sieve through a fair amount of results and sometimes the plugins won’t have the desired outcome but you have to remember, you are getting cool functionality for free and ultimately less work than building it yourself!
There are quite a few sites that offer WP Plugins, I find the best way is to go to WordPress’ own plugin directory http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/ . There are over 6000 plugins to search through and each display information like how many downloads it’s had, version compatibility, screenshots and a star rating system.
Implementing WP Plugins is relatively easy. The traditional way of doing it is to download it and then upload it to the plugins folder (wp-content/plugins). You can then activate them in your admin area. However WordPress have made it even easier to install plugins if you have or have updated to one of the later versions (2.8.2 onwards). You can now search install and activate plugins all from your admin area (you will need your ftp details to complete the installation).
Plugin Menu in the WP Admin
Just before you go down the rabbit hole and into the wonderful world of plugins; as with everything good there are always some downsides and here are some that I have noted.
1. Some plugins are only compatible with certain versions of WordPress. So you could update your wordpress only discover it has broken one of your plugins. Remember to check version compatibility before installing a new plugin.
2. It can take a lot searching and trial and error to get a plugin working how you want it to. Try and consult the installation instructions.
3. Because they are free some plugins might not have as much support and guidance as you may like.
4. Whilst plugins appear to provide general solutions for most things. They might not provide the exact solution you are looking for and you may find you have to compromise or end up trying to customise it yourself.
That’s about it I reckon; now go get stuck into some plugins!
Image credit Whatleydude
