How to Install WordPress Plugins

Installing WordPress plugins or themes is pretty easy for those who familiar with the WordPress dashboard and have been utilizing the CMS for quite a while. So, as you may have already guessed, this simple guide is focused on those who do not have any idea about the CMS and probably migrated from some other platforms they have been using so far. The article will cover various methods and steps required to install any plugin on your WordPress website either available on the WordPress repository or from a custom marketplace.

Being the world’s best CMS, WordPress serves millions of users all over the world. The easy to use features made by thousands of programmers makes it easier to interact with it. Plugins are the add-ons to WordPress to add some more features to it. The plugins are coded according to the WordPress structure to completely integrate into it. WordPress repository contains thousands of plugins that work faster than manually coding every feature into your website. Various plugins that are useful to various tasks are available in the plugin store of WordPress. You can use plugins for SEO, Theme Tweaks, Content related Tweaks, Feature addition and anything you can do with some extreme coding can be easily done by the coded plugins.

You have found some plugins that are useful to you. Now, how to add or install it to WordPress? Before googling it read our guide.

Before installing custom plugins or third-party plugins that are not verified by the WordPress team, make sure that the plugin has a good amount of reviews and is a popular one. Otherwise, you are risking yourself to the possible threats that may result in hacks due to the lack of security in the plugin or carelessness of the developer.

Install Plugin from WordPress Plugin Repository

This is the easiest and most common way of installing WordPress plugins that are available in the WordPress repository.

1. Login to your WordPress Dashboard.
2. Navigate to Plugins.
   
3. Click Add New.
   
4. Search the plugin.
   
5. Click the Install Now button next to it.
   
6. As soon as the plugin is installed, click on Activate (only if you want to activate the plugin instantly. Or you can do it later from the plugins section.)
   

So that’s how you install a WordPress plugin that is available in the WordPress repository. It is always recommended to stick to the official plugins or the verified plugins available in the WordPress Plugin Repository than choosing an alternative. Marketplaces like Codecanyon is also trustworthy.

Install WordPress Plugins using Direct Search Method (older WordPress versions)

1. Look for the Plugins > Add New on the left-hand sidebar.
   
2. On the window that opens, type the name/author/keyword of the desired plugin on the search box and press Enter.
3. In the plugin list, select your best fit and click on the ‘Install now‘ button.
4. After the installation completes a window asking your permission to activate the plugin will show up.
5. Click on the ‘Activate Plugin‘ link.
   
6. Now, The Plugin is successfully installed and you can begin using it.

Install plugins on WordPress using Upload Method

1. Download the plugin file from any source to your computer.
2. Go to the Plugins > Add New on the left-hand sidebar.
3. Click on the ‘Upload Plugin‘ button on the top of the window.
4. On the window that opens, either browse the plugin or just drag and drop the plugin to the ‘Choose file‘ icon.
   
5. Click the ‘Install now‘ button.
6. After the installation completes a window asking your permission to activate the plugin will show up.
7. Click on the ‘Activate Plugin‘ link.
8. The Plugin is successfully installed and you can begin using it.

Install Plugins using FTP

You can also install plugins by manually uploading and extracting them via FTP. You need an FTP program like Filezilla to do that. You will also need an SSH client to extract the Zip file as FTP programs don’t allow direct extraction of the compressed files. If you do not want to use an extra program, you can extract the file manually from your desktop and then upload the folder. Here is a detailed guide on how to install WordPress plugins using FTP.

Install WordPress Plugins with cPanel

Most of the managed WordPress hosting such as Siteground, Bluehost, GoDaddy, etc. come with cPanel which allows easily managing your hosting account. Here is how you can install a plugin with cPanel.

1. Login to cPanel.
   
2. Go to File Manager.
   
3. Navigate to /wp-content/plugins/.
   
4. Upload your extracted plugin folder.
5. That’s it.

If you have a Zip file instead, just extract it after uploading it to the folder. You might also want to activate the plugin from your WordPress dashboard. Just extracting the files will not make the plugin active.

Now you have your favorite plugins installed. You can tweak them from the provided options on the left sidebar. If you faced any problems or have any doubts. Lets us know through the comments.