Wordpress plugins are best to add extensive functionality to the website. Furthermore, if the necessary plugin is not accessible, one can be created while keeping the WordPress platform in mind.

Plugins can do everything from showing readers relevant topics to turning the site into a fully functional eCommerce store.

Of course, with the availability of around 57,000 plugins out in WordPress’s repository, choosing the relevant one can be challenging. However, you should not worry as there are some measures you can follow to make the right decision.

Let us review these tips in detail!

Table of Contents

- How to Choose Best WordPress Website Plugins
- Assess the Requirements
- Plugin Reviews
- WordPress Platform Compatibility and Updates
- User Ratings
- Consider Plugin’s Active Installations
- Customer Support
- Pricing
- Google Search is Critical
- Wrapping Up

How to Choose Best WordPress Website Plugins

Before finalizing and installing a plugin, of course, you will have to look for features or functionalities the specific plugin has to offer. However, besides features, some critical factors are given below that helps in better decision making.

Assess the Requirements

Before you can make any final decision, determining your needs about plugin choice is essential. Pen down the requirement list. This way, you can make the right choice and save your time and money as well.

However, if you don’t know what features you need in a plugin, you can visit the WordPress Plugin Checker. This will display the list of top 50 plugins that websites use and help you analyze what plugins can suit your website requirements.

Plugin Reviews

There could be no better way to evaluate the product or software performance than reading or listening to the user reviews. Just the way you prefer going through customer feedback before making a purchase, reviews are great to know if the plugin is recommended by the users or not.

Another thing that comes to consider is the ratings. This is so as you can not easily rely upon just the ratings if that specific user does not have any cause resonating with their given rating.

WordPress Platform Compatibility and Updates

When the plugin isn’t updated regularly by the developer, it means it is not well-maintained. Although the need for updates might differ in every plugin case, bugs and errors will inevitably occur.

However, if the plugin you are looking for isn’t updated considering its case about updates, avoid choosing it. Because if the plugin is updated, only then you can experience the quality benefits and features it offers.

Moreover, the plugins should be updated in sequence ensuring compatibility with WordPress core updates. Counting on the consistency and regularity of plugin updates is crucial for measuring the developer’s level of involvement.

Again, in WordPress Repository, the info about when the plugin was last updated is provided.

However, consider the compatibility as many plugins not compatible with specific WordPress platform versions may stop functioning. The worst that can happen is website damage.

User Ratings

When choosing the plugins, considering the overall ratings is also critical. On the WordPress repository, users are given the option to rate the plugin with the appropriate stars.

Here, the best thing comes not to even think about plugins that don’t have a minimum of 4 stars. Any plugin having a rating of less than stars is not worth considering. A plugin is given good ratings when it is user-friendly, easy to maintain, functions as required, and provides support on time.

Consider Plugin’s Active Installations

Another measure comes to examining the number of active installations the specific plugin has. Active installations indicate the number of sites using the plugin. This specifies how trustworthy and popular the plugin is.

You can easily see the active installations count by just visiting the WordPress.org page.

Customer Support

Of course, even with the best plugin, you can run across problems that require professional help. Fortunately, all plugins in the WordPress source include access to a help forum. If you see that those forums are active regularly, it means that the professional developer is responsive and is continually working to provide the necessary support.

However, if you locate a plugin with a lot of unanswered questions and no customer support for a long time, it’s likely been abandoned.

Besides this, several documentations and tutorials are also available for plugins educating how to resolve varying issues.

Pricing

Paying a lot of money will not get you the best website plugin. It's also not true that only the most expensive plugins have a lot of features. There are numerous free plugins accessible, such as Jetpack, User Registration, and so on.

Furthermore, these plugins give exceptional functionality for the website's operation. All you have to do now is go to the WordPress repository and install the plugin.

However, enhancing a company's web presence will necessitate the use of more advanced features found in paid plugins. So, it's up to you to decide what features you want and need and based on that, you can choose from a variety of premium choices.

Google Search is Critical

In addition to all these measures, you must search for plugins on Google as well. This way, you can discover plugin details provided by several websites or via tons of bloggers. WordPress professionals will provide the most comprehensive recommendations. As a result, you can rely on their recommendations with trust.

Wrapping Up

Finally, if you follow these tips, choosing the correct plugin for your WordPress site will be no more difficult. All you have to do is spend some time examining the plugins, checking their operation, and installing the most appropriate plugin. Aside from that, you can employ WordPress development services to relieve you of the strain of choosing the correct plugin and making your website work the way you want it to.