Plugins
Choosing WordPress plugins: a practical guide
25 August 2024 · 6 min read
The WordPress Plugin Directory contains more than 60,000 plugins. In addition, thousands of premium plugins are available. Although this is the strength of WordPress, it also makes choosing difficult. A wrong choice can make your website slow, unsafe or unstable.
At WP Maintainer we install and assess plugins daily. In this article we share our selection criteria.
Criterion 1: Recent updates
Check when the plugin was last updated: - < 3 months: Well maintained - 3-6 months: Acceptable - > 6 months: Risky — consider an alternative - > 1 year: Big risk, probably abandoned
A plugin that is not updated may contain unresolved security vulnerabilities.
Criterion 2: Active installations
The number of active installations gives an indication of reliability: - 1,000,000+: Excellent, widely tested - 100,000+: Good, sufficient user base - 10,000+: Reasonable, check reviews - < 1,000: Risky, few users
Note: a small number of installations is not necessarily bad. Niche plugins inherently have fewer users.
Criterion 3: Reviews and ratings
Read multiple reviews, not just the top reviews: - **5 stars:** Why is the user satisfied? - **1-2 stars:** What went wrong? Is it supported by the developer? - **3-4 stars:** Often the most honest, nuanced reviews
Criterion 4: Support
Check the support forum: - Are questions answered? - How quickly does the developer respond? - Are there many unresolved problems?
For premium plugins: is there email support, live chat or telephone support?
Criterion 5: Developer
Who is behind the plugin? - **Well-known company:** Automattic, Yoast, Awesome Motive — reliable - **Active developer:** Consistent releases, good documentation - **Unknown:** Check their other plugins and profile
Criterion 6: Performance impact
Every plugin adds loading time. Test the performance impact: - Measure the loading time before and after installation - Check how much CSS/JS the plugin adds - View the database queries the plugin generates
Use Query Monitor or the performance tab in Chrome DevTools for this.
Criterion 7: Compatibility
Check whether the plugin is compatible with: - Your WordPress version - Your PHP version - Your theme - Other important plugins
Always test on staging before installing a new plugin on the live site.
How many plugins are too many?
There is no magic maximum, but we advise: - **Informational website:** max 10-15 plugins - **SMB website:** max 15-20 plugins - **WooCommerce webshop:** max 20-25 plugins
Quality is more important than quantity. Five good plugins are better than twenty bad ones.
WP Maintainer plugin advice
We advise on the best plugin choices for your situation. With our maintenance plan we assess your current plugins, advise on replacements and keep everything up to date.