What Is a WordPress Plugin For & How To Install a WordPress Plugin?

HenryJanuary 30, 2021

130 22 2 minutes read

What Is a WordPress Plugin For & How To Install a WordPress Plugin?

Did you know there are more than 40,000 WordPress plugins available to instantly download? Pretty impressive, huh? But what is a WordPress plugin for, and what are the initial steps required for installing one on to your brand New shiny blog site?

Stick with me to discover exactly what a plugin is, and watch (step-by-step) as I guide you through the quick and easy process of successfully downloading and activating one.

What Does a WordPress Plugin Bring To The Table?

A WordPress plugin easily increases the functionality of your blog, creating more flexibility for you as a blogger without the demand for overly-complicated website coding skills. With every plugin you install, you can customize a specific area of your niche website to suit your personal needs as an online Entrepreneur, in the making!

With over 40 THOUSAND plugins and 1 BILLION downloads, you have enough opportunities to Jazz up your WordPress website with a number of various functionalities that can super-turbo-charge your online business!

For example, there are plugins that will:

Handle the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) aspects of your site
Shorten and mask Affiliate links, and track hits
Add social media sharing buttons
Create contact forms
Add Google Analytics to monitor traffic-flow
Prevent SPAM comments from automated web bots
Generate XML sitemaps for improved search engine indexing
Show related posts in articles for additional page views
Improve website visitor comment engagement
Enhance audio player options

I’m willing to bet all of my online Affiliate Marketing income that whatever blog functionality crosses your mind, WordPress has got it!

DANGER!

However, before you get caught up in the moment with installing plugins like crazy, it’s important that you bear 2 important factors in mind:

Overloading your blog with far too many plugins can increase your website’s “loading time” and send your visitors packing = loss in sales and online income! Install only 5 – 10 plugins, max!
Installing plugins that are not compatible with your WordPress version or ones that have bugs will negatively affect your website’s performance. Deactivate, uninstall them and search for safer substitutes that work!

How To Install a WordPress Plugin & Activate it

Follow my 5 easy steps for installing a plugin, and you simply can’t go wrong!

STEP 1

Within your WP Dashboard, click “Plugins”, followed by “Add New.” If you want you can execute this in 2 ways. Either in the Dashboard area or next to “Dashboard” at the top of the page. See below:

STEP 2

There are 5 ways you can find the WordPress plugin you want:

Featured
Most Popular
Highly Recommended
Your Favorites (if you already have one previously saved)
Use the search bar

For my example, I will select the “Recommended” option.

STEP 3

Scroll down the screen for your chosen plugin, and if it’s compatible with your current version of WordPress, click on “Install Now.”

STEP 4

After installing your plugin perfectly, click “Activate Plugin.”

STEP 5

You will be diverted to your module page where you will see your new module recorded and dynamic. Click on “Settings” to learn more about it and how to maximize the plugin’s potential.

If you have any further questions or feedback on my WordPress tutorial, then I invite you to post your comments below.

HenryJanuary 30, 2021

130 22 2 minutes read