All you need to know about WordPress plugins

When it comes to creating a WordPress website, you have hundreds of plugins to choose from. Plugins can help you optimize your website successfully. No matter what you need a plugin for, you will surely find one that will fit your needs and help you to build a professional website that gives a great user experience. Plugins can come in handy, especially if you want to improve your website with special functions.

However, finding the right plugins can be challenging. That’s why we decided that it was time to take a closer look at plugins and their role in running websites. In today’s article, we are going to discuss WordPress plugins, paying close attention to the differences between free and premium plugins. Without further ado, let’s get it started.

What are plugins?

As we have already mentioned, plugins allow website owners to extend and modify the features available on their WordPress websites. Simply put, each plugin you install will add an extra feature to your website.

No matter if you want to enrich your website with forms, operate a webshop, or create online courses, there are hundreds of plugins available. These can help you fine-tune your WordPress site based on your and your target audience’s needs. Furthermore, you can do all this easily and quickly, without stressing about coding. 

When it comes to the plugin market, there is a wide range of free and premium options to choose from. While free plugins can be found on WordPress.org in the WordPress admin interface, premium plugins can be purchased from third-party developers and then uploaded to your WordPress site. Buckle up, because, in the next section, we are going to take a close look at free and premium plugins.

Free plugins

If you are after free and open-source plugins, the WordPress Plugin Directory is a go-to place. Here you will find the largest selection of free plugins to choose from. It gives you direct access right from the website admin dashboard to more than 50,000 different plugins. Just to give you some ideas, you will find plugins for SEO improvement, contact forms, plugins for creating galleries, slideshows, or some that help you optimize the images displayed on your website. Needless to say, the list is far from over.

The plugins you will find here are all created by members of the WordPress community and then subjected to thorough testing. This guarantees that all users receive a well-functioning, updated, and safe product. In addition to the aforementioned plugin collection site, you can also purchase free WordPress plugins directly from developers. These are usually offered as part of larger design and development service packages.

Premium plugins

Now, if you want to use premium plugins when creating your WordPress website, here’s what you need to know. You can safely purchase paid or premium plugins from online marketplaces and independent WordPress designers and developers. The price of premium add-ons varies widely, usually starting at 30 dollars, and the price can go up depending on the variety of features. As the price varies based on the complexity of the functions offered, custom-designed professional plugins that serve special purposes are available at a higher price.

Premium plugins usually offer a number of additional features, including 24/7 customer support and regular updates. At the same time, the developers of commercial plugins confirm that all the plugins they offer are made with special security and stability codes, which guarantees that they would fit perfectly with the WordPress core code.

Free or premium plugins: which one should you choose?

Before we continue the comparison of the two worlds, it is important to note that both free and premium plugins must meet the quality standards required by WordPress. This means that under no circumstance should you ever compromise when it comes to quality. 

Looking at the differences, one of the most striking differences is that, while paid and premium plugins include easy-to-follow, detailed instructions most of the time customer support, the same cannot be said for the majority of free add-ons. It is also a common phenomenon that the free version of a plugin comes with limited features. This might have an encouraging effect on you and make you buy the premium version so that you can access all the existing functions.

As we have mentioned above, the safest place to get plugins is the official WordPress site. However, if you decide to get your plugin from another source, it is crucial to carefully examine the source and make sure that the selected plugin is compatible with the version of WordPress you are using.

Mapping the seller is not the least important. Always make sure that you buy only from a reliable and reputable place! Don’t forget to double-check the plugin and browser compatibility, learn about the latest updates, and take a look at product reviews. 

Final Thoughts

Whatever you are looking for, you have no reason to worry, as you will surely find the plugin that is the best option for you. To quote WordPress developers, it doesn’t matter what you need to create your WordPress website, there always be a quality and safe plugin for everything, which in most cases will be available for free.

In conclusion, there is nothing left to do but go to WordPress.org and dive deep into the world of plugins and special functions. We hope our article helped you learn about free and premium plugins. See you in the next one!