{"id":1847,"date":"2020-03-10T18:30:30","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T22:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newmediaproduction.mynmi.net\/?page_id=1847"},"modified":"2022-01-25T18:41:35","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T18:41:35","slug":"plugins","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/web\/plugins\/","title":{"rendered":"Plugins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/newmediaproduction\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/01\/outlet-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Outlets in the wall.\" \/><figcaption>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@paul_\">Paul Hanaoka<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>A WordPress plugin is essentially a bit of code that \u201cplugs in\u201d to your self-hosted WordPress site. In human terms, that means a WordPress plugin is something that adds new functionality to your WordPress site or extends existing functionality on your site.<\/p><cite>&#8220;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"What is a WordPress Plugin? (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/kinsta.com\/knowledgebase\/wordpress-plugin\/\" target=\"_blank\">What is a WordPress Plugin?<\/a>&#8221; by Kinsta<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">There&#8217;s a plugin for that<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No WordPress toolkit is complete without plugins. You&#8217;d be hard-pressed to find any WordPress site today that doesn&#8217;t include a plugin or two or thirty. They&#8217;ve been around since WordPress 1.2, back in the day when dinosaurs first began selling artisan handmade dinosaur products on the  internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A plugin is something (a bit of extra PHP) installed to your WordPress site that adds new features, complements a theme, and more\u2014much like installing an app on your phone. In WordPress circles, there&#8217;s a saying: &#8220;There&#8217;s a plugin for that,&#8221; no matter how broad or niche <em>it <\/em>happens to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might install a plugin to&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Create expansive photo galleries <\/li><li>Embed an Instagram feed<\/li><li>Build custom contact forms<\/li><li>Inform users of cookies on your site <\/li><li>More marketing-specific features: embed MailChimp emails, Google Analytics, optimize keyboards for SEO, and more.<\/li><li>Open a store with the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/woocommerce.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">WooCommerce<\/a> plugin (hint, hint)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to install plugins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kinsta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/add-plugin-wordpress-dashboard-1.jpg\" alt=\"Installing plugins from the WordPress dashboard.\" \/><figcaption>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/kinsta.com\/knowledgebase\/how-to-install-wordpress-plugins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Kinsta (opens in a new tab)\">Kinsta<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While there&#8217;s a few ways to install plugins, the easiest way is directly from your dashboard. Navigate to plugins, search for a plugin of your choice, and select Install Now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kinsta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/activate-wordpress-plugin-1-1.png\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption>Photo by <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/kinsta.com\/knowledgebase\/how-to-install-wordpress-plugins\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kinsta<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve installed a plugin, you&#8217;ll have to hit the Activate button to put it into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While installing plugins may be fairly simple and straightforward, using them is not so cut and dry. Depending on the functionality offered by your plugin, finding and using your plugin will vary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some plugins will appear in your dashboard, like WooCommerce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/artdriver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/woocommerce-dashboard-wordpress.jpg\" alt=\"WooCommerce in the WordPress dashboard.\" \/><figcaption>Photo by <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Oleksiy (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/artdriver.com\/blog\/how-to-use-wordpress-for-ecommerce\/woocommerce-dashboard-wordpress\" target=\"_blank\">Oleksiy<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Others will appear as new blocks in your WordPress pages and posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn4.wpbeginner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ultimateaddonsforgutenberg.png\" alt=\"New, purple block options appear in a WordPress post from the Ultimae Addons Blocks plugin.\" \/><figcaption>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpbeginner.com\/showcase\/best-gutenberg-blocks-plugins-for-wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"WP Beginner (opens in a new tab)\">WP Beginner<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Less common these days, some plugins will generate shortcode (snippets of <em>short<\/em> <em>code<\/em>) that you add to pages, posts, widgets, etc. Here&#8217;s an example of a gallery plugin shortcode: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>&#091;ngg src=\"galleries\" ids=\"1\" display=\"basic_slideshow\"]<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>The short answer to <strong>&#8220;Where is my plugin?&#8221;<\/strong> is to do a bit of investigating. Read about your plugin. Most will come with installation instructions and FAQ if you click on the links in the plugins section of your dashboard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Behind bars: plugin edition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Plugins get a bad rap. You may have heard the rumors that plugins negatively impact performance, security, and the reliability of your WordPress site. ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to performance, plugins can impact your site performance by the following, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpbeginner.com\/opinion\/how-many-wordpress-plugins-should-you-install-on-your-site\/\">WP Beginner<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Making additional HTTP requests<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 Some plugins (mainly front-end ones) may require custom styling or scripts to work properly. Because of this, they may add extra JS and\/or CSS file(s). Loading these files require making additional HTTP requests which slows down your page load time.<\/li><li><strong>Additional DB Queries<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 Some plugins may increase your database queries. For example, plugins to display&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpbeginner.com\/plugins\/5-best-popular-posts-plugins-for-wordpress\/\">popular posts<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpbeginner.com\/plugins\/5-best-related-posts-plugins-for-wordpress\/\">related posts<\/a>, or anything else that pulls database elements and displays it on the front-end.<\/li><li><strong>Background Processes &amp; Database Writes<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 Some plugins can take up a lot of server resources while running background processes such as checking for broken links, monitoring and recording analytics like post views, etc.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When you&#8217;re installing any type of software, there&#8217;s usually a chance it could make your site more vulnerable to security threats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s also a chance, especially with free plugins, that your plugin of choice will stop undergoing updates and be discontinued. Then your beautiful site that relies entirely on plugins will be obsolete. Yikes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While these fears can&#8217;t be avoided 100%, there&#8217;s a few smart practices to implement when installing plugins. Often, it&#8217;s the <strong>quality<\/strong> of plugin that causes these issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Install only the most <strong>high-quality plugins:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Check out the ratings<\/li><li>Read reviews<\/li><li>Examine when it was last updated<\/li><li>See how many active installations it has<\/li><li>Be sure it&#8217;s compatible with your version of WordPress (5 or later)<\/li><li>If in the future, your plugin becomes outdated, kick it to the curb! Deactivate and delete.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All of this information can be found when you search for plugins:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/wordpress.org\/support\/files\/2019\/01\/add-plugins.png?fit=1047%2C578&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Adding plugins on WordPress.\" \/><figcaption>Photo by <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"WordPress.org (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/support\/article\/plugins-add-new-screen\/\" target=\"_blank\">WordPress.org<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember, if you&#8217;re having trouble with plugins, it&#8217;s much easier for your web developer, tech support, IT person (or cough cough <em>instructor<\/em>) to troubleshoot with one plugin rather than say, 15. The more plugins, the more there is to manage. For this reason, stick to only downloading only the <strong>most essential plugins<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Read more about plugins:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"What is: Plugin (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wpbeginner.com\/glossary\/plugin\/\" target=\"_blank\">What is: Plugin<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/kinsta.com\/knowledgebase\/wordpress-plugin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"What is a WordPress plugin? (opens in a new tab)\">What is a WordPress plugin?<\/a><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"How many WordPress plugins should you install? (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wpbeginner.com\/opinion\/how-many-wordpress-plugins-should-you-install-on-your-site\/\" target=\"_blank\">How many WordPress plugins should you install?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A WordPress plugin is essentially a bit of code that \u201cplugs in\u201d to your self-hosted WordPress site. In human terms, that means a WordPress plugin is something that adds new functionality to your WordPress site or extends existing functionality on your site. &#8220;What is a WordPress Plugin?&#8221; by Kinsta There&#8217;s a plugin for that No &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/web\/plugins\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Plugins<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1847","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1847"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3323,"href":"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1847\/revisions\/3323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmi.cool\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}