Plugins are key components of any WordPress website. A well-written plugin can offer you security, functionality and performance whereas a poorly written plugin can slow down your site and leave a backdoor for hackers to exploit and enter.
WordPress Plugin Maintenance is of utmost importance but that does not mean that they should be updated automatically without consideration. Making sure you have both an online and offline backup of your website before you update plugins is important as a plugin update which conflicts another can have dire consequences which will break your site. On the other hand, if you do not update the site then you run the risk of leaving an exploit open to hackers and having compatibility issues with the latest versions of other plugins or WordPress.
Note: Having too many plugins on your website can slow things down dramatically and any unwanted/ unneeded plugins should be deactivated and removed as soon as possible – run a backup before making any changes. This will not only stop your website from loading unnecessary data but it will also stop hackers from being able to exploit any issues in the code of the plugins. We aim to use the minimum number of plugins that we can and use code for as much as possible for reasons of speed, stability and security.
Adding, Activating & Updating Plugins
Adding a plugin is a fairly simple and painless process.
- Create a backup of your website.
- Hover over “Plugins” on the left-hand menu in your WordPress Dashboard.
- Select “Add New”.
- You can either search the WordPress Plugin repository through the search bar or you can upload a ZIP file if you have one.
- Once uploaded or the “Install” button is clicked, click on the “Activate” button and you will be redirected back to the “Plugin” page.
- To access the plugin you can find it on the “Plugin” page or often in the Dashboard sidebar menu.
- You can then keep your plugin up to date via the plugin upload or through the “Update” which appears under the plugin.
Deactivating & Deleting Plugins
Any plugins that are not used should be deactivated and deleted if they are not to be used again. Deactiviating a plugin can help to speed up the website as it stops the plugin from loading extra code onto the page but deleting it is best practice.
To delete a plugin from your website:
- Create a backup of your website.
- From your Dashboard click on Plugins.
- Find the plugin and click deactivate. It is important to deactivate the plugin before you delete it.
- Once the plugin has been deactivated you can go ahead and click the delete option. This will remove the plugin from your website. There are plugins that will leave tables in your database and some files on your site. It is recommended to talk to a WordPress expert/ Developer before trying to remove these yourself. You are welcome to contact WPDesigns to help if you need it.
If you have any further questions for WPDesigns, don’t hesitate to get in touch through the Live Chat, email or this form below.
