WordPress is a very popular website building platform in today’s time. And the simple reason is it is very easy to use and offers enough functionalities that are required for a website. Although if you want some additional features that WordPress does not offer by default then you have the option of adding a plugin as well. Thanks to the ever-growing WordPress community, you have literally tens of thousands of options of free and paid plugins to choose from. And there are a lot of third-party plugins also available in WordPress. Now the main question comes: How to Select the Best Plugin on WordPress.
If you have been wondering the same for quite some time now then do not worry. Here we are going to explain how you can pick the right plugin for your WordPress website.
How to Select a Good Plugin?
A plugin helps you to add some extra functionality to your website without doing much. But if you make a wrong decision while picking one for your website, it can lead to serious damage to your website. A lousy plugin can totally ruin the user experience of your website and this will directly affect the no. of visitors. Or even worse, some plugins can make your website sluggish. And as you know no visitor would want to stay on your website or want to come back if it takes ages to load. Some other plugins can create security risks as well.
So before deciding on a plugin, you should follow a few steps:
Figure Out the Type of Plugin You Want:
Before installing a plugin on your website, you have to decide what are the things that you are looking for in a plugin. Once you have figured out what purpose that plugin should serve, you will be able to make a better choice. Just have a look at all the options and then compare them. If you are looking for a plugin to do the SEO of your website then you have several options like Yoast SEO, All-in-One SEO etc.
Also if you need to add multiple different functionalities in your website then there is no need to use several different plugins for that. You can pick one that serves all the required purposes. There are many such options available,
Picking a Plugin with Good Ratings:
Checking the ratings of a plugin is the easiest way to find out if it is a suitable one. The very first step is to check the average user rating. When you open the plugin page within the WordPress plugin repository you will clearly see the ratings given by the users.
When someone uses a plugin, he/she has the option of giving between one to five stars on the basis of the performance. You should use a plugin that has at least four stars.
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Check the User Reviews:
If you are not able to make your decision just by checking the ratings of a plugin then you can go one step further. Like any product that is available online, users also write reviews about plugins. There will always be some mixed reviews but you should go with the ones that have a majority. Reading a handful of them will surely give you a clear idea. If you find that most of them are negative then this is surely a red flag for the plugin. You can find the reviews for a plugin under the tab named ‘Reviews’ itself.
Check the no. of Active Installations:
You can consider this one as a rule of thumb also. Before installing a plugin you should always check the number of active installations. If it has a high number of active installations then it means you can obviously rely on this plugin. Because this number explains everything. It is being used by a lot of WordPress websites now so it means it must be doing a pretty good job.
If you are wondering how to check the number of active installations, do not worry. It is very easy. Every WordPress plugin displays this number on the Description tab.
Pick a Plugin that is Regularly Updated:
It is important for a plugin that it gets updated regularly. Regular updates ensure that this plugin is safe to use. And one more reason why constant updates are required is that every plugin needs to be compatible with the latest versions of WordPress as well. If a plugin is getting updated by its developer regularly and consistently it simply means it is an option that you can completely rely on.
If you are choosing a plugin from the WordPress plugin repository then you can easily check exactly when it was last updated.
Choose the One with Constant Support:
Every single plugin within the WordPress plugin repository has a support forum. You should make your choice after checking if the support forum has regular activity. If you can spot some regular activity on the support forum that means there is a team that works on fixing the issue of this plugin. And also it is a good idea to check what kind of documentation the plugin developer has to offer.
Check How It Affects the Loading Speed of the Website:
Loading speed is one of the major factors that decide a website’s performance. And you would never want a plugin to slow down your website. Sometimes, we choose a plugin by checking all the things mentioned above but it results in a sluggish website. And it is not a good thing to happen. So if you want to avoid such a situation, you can test the plugin. You can see how it is affecting the overall loading speed of your website. If it is increasing the load time of your website then it is not a good idea to keep using that plugin.
Wrapping Up!
Finding a suitable plugin for your WordPress website is not an easy thing to do. For your convenience, here we have given a detailed stepwise guide on How to Select the Best Plugin on WordPress.
After reading this detailed overview, the possibility is high that everything must have got clear in your mind. But still there can be instances when you have some doubts about it. If such a thing happens, you can get the solution for your issues by contacting us. For this, you can call us on 1-866-332-O276 for wp updates. We are working round the clock.
