WordPress Plugin Installation Guide. After installing WordPress, one of the first things every beginner needs to know is how to install WordPress plugins. How to install WordPress Plugins Guide for Beginners .
WordPress plugins are basically apps for your WordPress site. They let you add new features such as a contact form, a slideshow, a shopping cart, and many more.
WordPress plugins come in a variety of forms, both free and paid.
In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through the process of installing a WordPress plugin.
If you’re using WordPress.com then you can’t install plugins. We often hear from users who complain that they don’t find the plugins menu in the WordPress dashboard. It’s because WordPress.com has its limits.
WordPress.com does not support plugins. You can only install plugins on your WordPress.org site once you upgrade to the WordPress.com business plan. You can also install any plugin on your self-hosted WordPress.org site directly from the WordPress.org business plan. (See the Difference Between Self-Hosted WordPress.org and WordPress.com)
To migrate from the WordPress.com site to the WordPress.org site, you need to follow our step-by-step instructions on how to migrate from WordPress.org to WordPress.com.
Let’s move on to the installation of WordPress plugins on your site.
👉 How to Install a WordPress Plugin
However, if you only want to follow text instructions, then you can check out our step-by-step instructions on how to install WordPress plugins.
So far, we have covered all three ways of installing a WordPress plugin:
✔️ using search to install a plugin
✔️ uploading a plugin
✔️ manually installing a plugin using FTP
👉 Install a Plugin using WordPress Plugin Search
Using the plugin search is the simplest way to install a WordPress plugin. The only issue with this method is that the plugin needs to be in the WordPress Plugin Directory, which is reserved for free plugins only.
The first thing you need to do is go to the Plugins page in the WordPress admin area and click Add New Page.
You can choose the plugin that is most suitable for you. Since we were searching for WPForms, which is the best contact form plugin for WordPress, we will click on the 'Install Now' button right next to it. WordPress will then download and install this plugin for you.
After that, you will see that the 'install Now' button will turn into the 'activate' button.
Yes, you can install a WordPress plugin on your site. However, it won’t work unless you enable it.
Click on the Activate button to enable the plugin and start using it on your WordPress website.
You are now ready to install your first plugin!
Next, you need to set up the plugin’s settings.
These settings will vary from plugin to plugin, so we won’t cover them here.
👉 Install a Plugin using the WordPress Admin Plugin Upload
WordPress plugins that are paid are not available in the plugin directory. Therefore, these plugins cannot be installed with the first method. This is why WordPress comes with an upload method to install these plugins. In this post, we will show you how you can install WordPress plugins by using the upload method in the admin area of WordPress.
To install the plugin, you will need to download it from the source (it will be in a zip file).
Then, go to the WordPress admin area and click on Plugins » Add new page.
Now, click on the 'Upload Plugin' button at the top of the page.
This will open the Plugin upload form. Here, click on the 'Choose File' button and choose the plugin file you previously downloaded to your computer.
Once you have chosen the file, click on the 'Install Now' button. WordPress will then download and install the plugin file on your computer. After the installation is complete, you will see the following:
Once you’ve installed the plugin, click the Activate Plugin button to begin using it.
To use the plugin, you’ll need to set up the following settings:
These settings will differ for each plugin, so we won’t cover them in this post.
👉 Manually Install a WordPress Plugin using FTP
Sometimes your WordPress hosting provider has file restrictions that prevent you from installing plugins from the admin area
In such cases, your best option is to manually install the plugin using FTP
FTP manager is the most beginner-friendly method
First, download the plugin's source file (it'll be a zip file)
Then, extract the zip file from your computer
Once extracted, you'll create a new folder named "plugins" with the same name
This is the folder you'll need to upload to your site using a FTP client
To access your host, you'll need to use the FTP manager.
If you don't have your FTP username or password, contact your WordPress hosting providers and ask them
Open your FTP client
Connect to your website using your web host's login credentials
Once you're connected, go to the "plugins" folder on your website
Upload the folder extracted from the plugin zip file to your web server's "plugins" folder
Once you have uploaded the files, go to the WordPress admin area, click on Plugins in the admin menu, and you will see your plugin on the plugins page.
To use the plugin, click the Activate link under the plugin.
Once you have activated the plugin, you will need to set up the plugin. WordPress plugins have their own settings, which vary from plugin to plugin, so we won’t explain them here.
FAQs About Installing WordPress Plugins
If you’re just starting out with WordPress, you may have a few questions. As the biggest WordPress resource, we’ve heard them all.
So, here are some of the questions you’ll want to know about installing WordPress plugins:
1️⃣ How do I find the best WordPress plugins to install on my website?
There are over 55,000 plugins available on the WordPress free plugin directory alone. There are many more available as premium plugins as well. This can make it a bit challenging for a beginner to find the right plugin for the feature that they are looking for.
2️⃣ What is the difference between installed and active plugins?
In WordPress, you can install a plugin and never use it. You need to ‘activate’ a plugin in order to use it on your site.
To view active plugins, go to the WordPress admin page and click on ‘Plugins.’ You’ll see the active plugins highlighted in blue.
3️⃣ Should I delete inactive plugins?
If you don’t use a plugin, then you should remove it from your site.
4️⃣ How many plugins I can install in WordPress?
Yes, you can install as many plugins as you want. It’s not how many plugins you install that affects your website’s speed, it’s the quality of the plugins you install.
