Step-by-step tutorial on how to install a WordPress plugin

 The first thing every beginner needs to learn after installing WordPress is how to install a WordPress plugin.

WordPress plugins are like applications that you can use on your WordPress website. You can use the drag-and-drop builder to build new features, like a contact form, slideshow, and shopping cart, into your WordPress site.

You have thousands of free and paid WordPress plugins to choose from. This tutorial will walk you through the steps to install a WordPress plugin.

BRFORE START 

For WordPress.com users, there are no plugins to install.

When we get complaints from WordPress users that they can't see the plugins menu in their dashboard, it's because of issues like this. When you're using WordPress.com, you're constrained by its limits.

You won't be able to use plugins unless you upgrade to the business plan on WordPress.com. There are various plugins that can be installed on a self-hosted WordPress.org website that are not pre-installed on the pre-built website (See the differences between self hosted WordPress.org vs WordPress.com).

You might want to check out our tutorial if you are interested in switching from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.

In other words, thus it goes: in order to have a better understanding of how to install a WordPress plugin on your website, let's examine it.

Step-by-step guide to install a WordPress plugin

This makes it easy for you, as we have prepared a video tutorial that you can watch below to find out how to install a WordPress plugin.

Consider subscribing to WPBeginner.

You can follow our step-by-step tutorial on how to install a WordPress plugin if you only want to follow text-instructions.

Additionally, we covered the three different methods of installing a WordPress plugin: searching for and downloading a plugin using the search function, uploading a plugin, and manually installing a plugin via FTP.

Ready? Let's begin.

Find plugins in the WordPress Plugin Directory

Using the WordPress plugin search is the easiest way to install a plugin. There is one major disadvantage to this solution, which is that a plugin must be placed in the WordPress plugin directory and all plugins have to be free.

To get started, you must visit the “Add New Plugins” page in your WordPress administration area.

searching for WordPress admin area plugins

When you see the screenshot above, you will see a screen like this. If you don't know the name of the plugin, type out what you want to do to find it. In the example above, you will see a number of similar listings.

A plugin search results page appears.

It is completely up to you which plugin you choose. Due to the fact that we were conducting a search for WPForms, the WPForms Contact Form plugin was identified as being the best WordPress contact form plugin and was subsequently installed.

As of this update, WordPress will now automatically download and install the plugin for you. The 'Install Now' button will later morph into the 'Activate' button after this.

A WordPress plugin can be activated.

To use a WordPress plugin on your site, you must activate it. To begin using that plugin on your WordPress site, activate it first.

Your first WordPress plugin has now been successfully installed.

Now you need to go into the plugin settings and set the various options. For each plugin, these settings will be different, and we won't be going over that in this post.

To upload a plugin in the WordPress admin, use the WordPress Admin Plugin.

To protect WordPress users from unsafe and vulnerable plugins, paid WordPress plugins are not listed in the WordPress plugin directory. The first installation method will not work with these plugins.

In this context, WordPress is installed with the “upload” method to allow for the installation of plugins. Using the 'upload' option in the admin area, we will show you how to install WordPress plugins.

The first step is to go to the plugin's website and download it (which will be a zip file). Next, you need to go to the WordPress administrator dashboard and go to the Plugins section. Then, you need to click the Add New Plugin link.

When you have finished with all of the steps described above, click on the “Upload Plugin” button on the top of the page.

Please use the Upload Plugin button.

This will show the plugin upload form. Select the file you downloaded earlier, and then click the “Choose File” button to open the plugin.

Pick out the plugin .zip file and upload it to your WordPress directory.

You will need to click on the ‘Install Now' button after you've selected the file.

Plugins on your computer will now be uploaded to WordPress' server and installed for you. When the installation is finished, you will see a message such as this.

Enable the plugin.

To use the plugin, you must first click the Activate Plugin link.

To adjust the settings to your needs, you will have to configure them. For each plugin, these settings will be different, and we won't be going over that in this post.

Use FTP to manually install a WordPress plugin

While in some rare cases, your WordPress web hosting provider may have restrictions that could prevent you from installing a plugin from the admin area, this may be prevented if you upload the plugin via FTP or move it to a folder with no restrictions.

In this case, manually installing the plugin via FTP is your best bet.

In comparison to other methods, FTP manager may seem to be the least friendly for newcomers.

The first step is to obtain the plugin's source file (it will be a zip file). After you've extracted the file from the zip, you must extract the file to your computer.

If you extract the plugin zip file, a new folder is created with the same name. That's the folder you will upload using an FTP client on your website.

To connect to your host, you would have to use the FTP manager. In order to proceed, you must enter your FTP username and password.

With your web host providing you with login credentials, open the FTP client on your computer and connect to your website. You must travel to the /wp-content/plugins/ folder on your website after being connected.

After you extract the zip file and move the extracted folder into the /wp-content/plugins/ folder on your web server, upload the folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ folder on your web server.

FTP upload of a plugin

To use the plugin, you must first upload the files. Then, you must visit the WordPress administration area and click on the Plugins link in the admin menu. Your plugin will be listed in the plugins section on the installed plugins page.

Turn on a plugin already installed.

To use the plugin, you must click the "Activate" link below the plugin.

When you activate the plugin, you will be prompted to configure its settings. Please note that WordPress plugins feature their own settings that are different from one plugin to another, so we will not be providing an in-depth explanation of these in this article.

Questions on how to install WordPress plugins

As new WordPress users, you might have a few questions about plugin installation. We've heard everything before, but as the largest WordPress resource site, we have to say it once more.

Wondering how to install a WordPress plugin? This is what you might encounter the most frequently asked questions about.

1. To locate the most suitable WordPress plugins for my website, what options should I search for?

In the directory where there are over 55,000 free WordPress plugins, there are over 125,000 plugins. Many additional premium plugins are available. Since it makes it difficult for beginners to discover the best plugin for the feature they need, it hampers the ability of newbies to find plugins that will work best for their purposes.

To make your WordPress website stand out, we've put together a list of all the essential WordPress plugins.

We also have a tutorial that goes over all of the aspects you should consider when searching for a WordPress plugin.

2. Installed and active plugins differ.

The advantage of using WordPress is that you can utilize plugins without using them. A plugin may be used on your site by first ‘Activating' it.

By going to the ‘Plugins' page in the WordPress admin area, you can see active plugins. These sentences will be colored blue.

The plugins are installed and active.

A few of the plugins on your website have white backgrounds, and that indicates that they're not currently installed.

3. Do I need to remove plugins that are inactive?

It is recommended that if you are not using a plugin, you should delete it from your website. In our article on why you should delete inactive plugins in WordPress, we look at the following points:

4. I can use as many plugins as I like in WordPress.

There are no limits to the number of WordPress plugins you can install. Instead of the number of plugins, it is the quality of the plugins that really impacts your site's performance. You can learn more about how many WordPress plugins you should install by visiting our guide on the subject.

5. To uninstall a WordPress plugin, simply delete the directory and all its contents.

The Plugins page in the WordPress admin area is where you can uninstall plugins. First, you'll need to deactivate the plugin you want to remove. You can use the delete link to remove any undesirable item from your website.

To uninstall a WordPress plugin, do the following:

If you need help with the steps listed in our detailed guide, please see the article about how to uninstall a WordPress plugin.

WordPress plugins are just as fun to install as they are to use!

To find more information on plugins, see our Plugin Directory. There you will find reviews of the best WordPress plugins that you can use to help accomplish your goals. Instructions are provided with each of the articles for setting up individual plugins.

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