What is a WordPress Plugin? And What Is It Used For? (Explained)

Do you want to know what is a WordPress plugin and what is it used for? You’ve come to the right place.

WordPress beginners often come across different questions and challenges when starting. What is a plugin in WordPress and what is it used for are some recurring questions they stumble upon.

WordPress Plugin, in simple terms, is a bit of code that you can integrate into your WordPress blog or website. It provides additional features and functionality to an existing website.

In this article, we’ll get into what is a WordPress plugin and everything you need to know about WordPress plugins.

A. What is a WordPress Plugin? Why Do You Need It?

A WordPress plugin is a piece of software that allows you to add new features to your WordPress website. It allows you to add new functionality or enhance the website’s existing functionality. 

In other words, WordPress plugins are extensions designed to extend the WordPress capabilities. They work on top of your WordPress theme and help you add any new features you want on your website. 

For example, WPForms is a WordPress plugin for creating various forms in WordPress.

WPForms is one of the most popular free WordPress form plugins used by over 6 million websites. Using it, you can easily create a contact form in WordPress and add it to your site’s ‘Contact Us’ page.

WordPress by default doesn’t include an option to create online forms, so we use a plugin like this to add this functionality in WordPress. For example, you can create a contact form like in the image below that uses WPForms.

WordPress plugins work like addons on your browser or like the apps on your computer or smartphone.

The plugins are easy-to-use tools that you can easily install and use without any code. And, they provide all sophisticated features in simple ways. So with the right plugins, you can build a fully powerful website yourself. 

In WordPress, you can find a large collection of free and paid plugins created for many functions. It won’t be wrong if you say there’s a plugin for every feature you need. 

For example, let’s look at some of the popular plugins and the features they offer. 

• Akismet – Checks comments and form submissions and filters out the ones that look like spam. 
• WooCommerce – Lets you add eCommerce functionalities and start an online store.
• Rank Math – Helps you enhance your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) options.
• NextGen Gallery – Add and manage multimedia like photos and videos.
• Wordfence Security – Improves your WordPress site security by providing a firewall and regular malware scanning. 
• WP Super Cache – Creates HTML files from your dynamic site and helps it run faster. 
• Smush – Helps to compress and optimize your images for better site speed.

These are just a few WordPress plugins and their features. There are thousands of plugins that offer a wide range of abilities. 

For more information, you can see our handpicked list of the best WordPress plugins. 

B. How Does a WordPress Plugin Work?

The core WordPress software provides a variety of third-party APIs, one that is of special interest is the Plugins API. Developers who develop WordPress plugins rely on this API the most.

API stands for Application Programming Interface. Generally, API is a bridge between different application interfaces.

For instance, if you want to integrate Google Maps into your website, then you need to use the Google Maps API to display it on your site.

The WordPress Plugin API contains a group of functions that allows overwriting or extending the built-in functions in WordPress. It contains a set of actions and filters, commonly referred to as hooks.

So when you install a plugin to your site, it adds additional pieces of code to your site that will enhance its functionality.

Illustration credit: Computer vector created by upklyak – www.freepik.com. Modified for this article.

C. Where to Find WordPress Plugins?

Now that you’re clear about what is a WordPress plugin and how it works, let’s see where you can find plugins. 

i) Free WordPress Plugins

The best place to get free WordPress plugins is the official plugin repository at WordPress.org. This directory alone has over 59,000 free WordPress plugins that you can download and use on your site completely for free.

All of them are created by web developers around the globe. Moreover, these plugins offer a wide variety of functionalities for WordPress sites. 

As the core WordPress software, these plugins are released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). This means that you can use these plugins completely free of cost, modify them, and also redistribute to others.

Plus, these plugins are open-source. So, the entire source code is publicly available and anyone can easily access it, modify it, and contribute to enhancing the code. Through this, most plugins at WordPress.org are polished and therefore users get the fine products. 

In fact, these free plugins are developed as an act of contribution to the WordPress community. Passionate WordPress developers from around the globe created them to help users get the required features easily. 

Apart from this, you can find free plugins on other different third-party websites. However, it’s better to use WordPress.org plugins as they’re secure and trustworthy. They’re listed on the official plugin repository only after a strict review process. 

Here are some of the most popular free plugins available at WordPress.org. 

• WPForms – The most popular free contact form plugin
• Jetpack – A package plugin for site stats, security, performance, etc. 
• Elementor – The most popular free WordPress page builder plugin
• All-in-One WP Migration – Free WordPress migration plugin
• MonsterInsights – Best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress

ii) Premium WordPress Plugins

The premium plugins are the ones that cost you money. They’re also called the paid plugins. 

Although there are thousands of free WordPress plugins, you may sometimes need to buy premium plugins. That’s because most of the free plugins have only the basic features. Premium plugins cost you some money in exchange for better features.

Similar to free plugins, there are tons of premium plugins. Of which, a great deal of the plugins is the premium versions of the free plugins available at WordPress.org. These plugins are intended for users looking for advanced options in the free plugins. 

For example, Rank Math is a free plugin available at WordPress.org. But the plugin also has a premium version with more advanced SEO features. They sell the premium version from their official site rankmath.com.

Similarly, you can get more such premium plugins at the plugin providers’ official websites.

The plugins like these are actually called ‘freemium‘ plugins. Freemium the word combines ‘free’ and ‘premium’. So, it refers to products available in free and premium versions; users can start for free and upgrade to a paid version if they want more advanced features of the same plugin.

Not only on official sites, but some of the plugin companies also sell their premium plugins from marketplaces like CodeCanyon. 

CodeCanyon is the largest plugin marketplace run by Envato Market, which also runs the ThemeForest theme marketplace. At CodeCanyon, you can find over 5200 paid WordPress plugins designed for various purposes.

Example of popular premium WordPress plugins are:

• VaultPress – Popular WordPress plugin for Backup and Security.
• Slider Revolution – WordPress plugin to create responsive sliders.
• WPBakery Page Builder – WordPress plugin to create responsive sliders.
• WP Rocket – Popular cache and performance-optimizing WordPress plugin.
• Monarch – Social Media sharing plugin for WordPress.

D. Free Vs. Premium WordPress Plugins – Which Is Right For You?

Whether you’re buying a premium or only getting a free plugin, you have to do some research beforehand. Knowing what features and functionality you need before getting any plugin can help eliminate the trial and error-process.

i. Free WordPress Plugins

ii. Premium WordPress Plugins

Going with either a free plugin or a paid one mainly depends on your site’s requirements. So, make a list of required features first, and then search for the best plugins offering those features. If you’re in luck, you may find free good-quality plugins for all your needs.

Guess what? You can go with ‘freemium‘ plugins. Just start with the free plan initially. Once you’re sure about a plugin or need advanced features for your growing demands, then upgrade to its premium plan. That’s what a freemium plugin is all about!

E. How to Pick the Right WordPress Plugin?

Choosing a plugin for your site is tricky. You have to consider several things according to your checklist. Here’s a list of a few factors, while picking the right WordPress plugin.

• Major Features: First, understand your need for a plugin, then pick the one with the required features. Hence, choose a plugin focused on your goals, like SEO, backups, etc.
• Compatibility: Check whether your chosen plugin supports your WordPress version, other installed plugins, or the theme. This avoids possible conflicts or site issues.
• Updates and Maintenance: Ensure the plugin is updated regularly, secure, and maintained.
• Customer Support: Select a plugin with dedicated support or active community. Go through the documentation or tutorials if they are easy to understand.
• Reviews and Ratings: Review the user testimonials and ratings to get insights into the plugin’s reliability, performance, and user satisfaction. Having positive reviews denotes quality plugins.

Check out the complete guide so that you pick the right WordPress plugin for your site.

F. How to Install and Use a WordPress Plugin?

Now that you know what a WordPress plugin is, why you need it, and how to choose the right one, you may want to know how to use it. 

Here, we’ll briefly explain the process of installing a free plugin on your WordPress site step by step.

First of all, you need to log in to your WordPress admin area. You can do so by going to your site login URL here: www.example.com/wp-login.php.

You can see the WordPress dashboard area after you log in. Now you need to click on the Plugins option in the left dashboard menu. After that, click on the ‘Add New Plugin’ button at the top. It takes you to the WordPress.org plugin directory. 

Now, you can see a collection of plugins. You can search for a plugin by its name or a keyword. Also, you can pick from the given categories: Featured, Popular, Latest, and Favorites.

Once you’ve chosen a plugin, you can simply click on the ‘Install Now’ button.

After that, you should click on the ‘Activate‘ button. 

Once done, the new plugin will be active on your site. After that, you may need to configure the plugin’s settings for it to start working. However, it’s not always necessary. 

If you want to install a paid plugin, then you need to upload it. It’s a bit of a different process. If you want to learn more, then please see our full guide on how to install WordPress plugins. 

G. Difference Between WordPress Plugins and Themes

Another common confusion among beginners is between plugins and themes. That’s mainly because the words ‘themes’ and ‘plugins’ often come together when people are talking about either of them. But, they’re separate things actually. 

Themes, like plugins, are also a snippet of codes. But unlike plugins, the themes don’t add additional functionality but instead provide an entire design layout for a website. A WordPress theme determines the overall outlook of a WordPress site. 

For example, Astra is a WordPress theme. It’s one of the most popular free themes available at WordPress.org. Here’s how your website will look if you make a site using this theme.

Themes include all of the design components of your website like styling your content, images, layouts, and more. They take care of fetching your posts and pages and how to display them on your website.

For every website, a theme is mandatory. So, when you first install WordPress, it automatically installs a default theme. But you can run a WordPress website without adding any plugins. It will work just fine except the additional functionality that plugins can offer.

Check out our article on what is a WordPress theme to know more about it

But if you want to get the most out of your WordPress website, then you would want to install some plugins.

H. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Conclusion

We hope that you now understand what a WordPress plugin is and what is it used for. You can now start adding plugins to your WordPress website or blog and extend its functionality.

If you’re looking for plugin recommendations, here’s our handpicked list of best and must-have plugins that every website needs.

• UpdraftPlus – Install this soonest to create a backup of your site, available free.
• Wordfence – Firewall, and malware scan plugin to protect security.
• WPForms – Free form builder plugin to create online WordPress forms.
• Rank Math – Free WordPress plugin to improve your site’s SEO.
• Antispam Bee – Plugin that controls comment spam on your WordPress site.
• WP Super Cache – WordPress caching plugin to improve site speed.

If you’re planning to create a new site, then we’ve got a complete step-by-step guide to making a website.

Check out the list of the best WordPress plugins for blogs and the best WordPress SEO plugins.

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