How to Pick a Good Plugin

WordPress has A LOT of plugins. Usually, if you want to do something with your website, there’s a plugin for that. There are also a lot of bad plugins out there. So, how do you know whether or not the plugin you want to install on your site is a good one?

1. How well-rated is it? Most plugins are rated (and if they aren’t, that’s probably not a good sign.) If the plugin has a high rating, that’s a good thing.
2. How many people rated it? A rating is only as good as it’s sample size, though, so make sure that it wasn’t just the developer and her mom who gave the plugin a five star rating.
3. How many times has it been downloaded? If a plugin has been downloaded a bunch of times AND has a good rating, you’re probably looking at a great plugin.
4. When was the last time it was updated? There are a lot of plugins out there that are well-rated by many people and have been downloaded a lot of times. However, if the plugin hasn’t been updated in more than six months, that’s probably a good indication that it’s not being well-maintained by it’s developer. On the same note, you also may want to make sure that it’s compatible with your version of WordPress (which should be the most recent one).

If you use all four of these tips when selecting your plugins, you’ll be way less likely to end up installing a plugin that conflicts with your site.

On the rare occasion that you install a plugin and it does something to your site that you’re not happy with, never fear! Deactivate the plugin right away and your site should go back to normal. If there is only the one plugin that does what you want, but it also does something untoward to your site, you may want to call in a professional.

And a final piece of advice: keep your plugins updated and delete any plugins that are deactivated, or you’re not using. Inactive plugins are one of the ways that your site can get hacked, so clean those bad boys up!

* Image by John Douglas used under Creative Commons.