what is a plugin

Plugins are tools used to enhance your browsing experience. [12] But UXP-based applications, like web browsers Pale Moon and Basilisk, keep supporting (NPAPI) plugins.[13][14][15]. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. A plug-in is an element of a software program that can be added to provide support for specific features or functionality. Thus the HyperCard stack became a self-contained application in its own right, distributable as a single entity that end-users could run without the need for additional installation-steps. Another (advanced) option is to code an all-inclusive plugin that has your common functions and just use that.

For this reason it is important to be careful when choosing which ones you want to install on your site.

In computing, a plug-in (or plugin, add-in, addin, add-on, or addon) is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program. Written by It is not true. If you have 20 active plugins, that means every page will take a tenth of a second longer to load than if no plugins were active. Since you have the option of deactivating a plugin, it may seem tempting to leave it on your server.

Revealed: Why Building an Email List is so Important Today (6 Reasons), How to Properly Move Your Blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org, How to Start Your Own Podcast (Step by Step), How to Install Google Analytics in WordPress for Beginners. From our experience, these plugins are vital to every WordPress site. Cool is OK, of course, but probably not a strong enough reason to use a plugin. Only the number of bad ones will slow down your site.

At WPBeginner, we write about all the best WordPress plugins. Copyright © 2009 - 2020 WPBeginner LLC. Extensions comprise a subtype, albeit the most common and the most powerful one. There is a myth that WordPress plugins slow your site down. For example, if you wanted to watch a video on a website, you may need a plugin to do so. Use a service like iThemes Sync to run updates across multiple WordPress sites, view available updates and much more. Mozilla applications come with integrated add-on managers that, similar to package managers, install, update and manage extensions. Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi. How long has it been since it was updated? These best practices will serve as a guideline to prevent pitfalls for you so you can get on with the business of your business. In 1988, Silicon Beach Software included plug-in functionality in Digital Darkroom and SuperPaint, and Ed Bomke coined the term plug-in. May 19, 2017.

[citation needed], Software component that adds a specific feature to an existing software application, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "PCSX2 - The Playstation 2 emulator - Plugins", "DEMUL - Sega Dreamcast Emulator for Windows", "Android Emulator Plugin - Jenkins - Jenkins Wiki", "PS3 Homebrew Apps / Plugins / Emulators | PSX-Place", "Firefox will stop supporting plugins by end of 2016, following Chrome's lead", "Pale Moon: Technical Details - Features", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plug-in_(computing)&oldid=983774671, Articles needing additional references from September 2019, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2014, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 16 October 2020, at 05:04. The term, "plug-in", however, strictly refers to NPAPI-based web content renderers. Each plugin you use should do something important to enhance your visitor’s experience at your site. Consequently, Adobe Flash is the last plugin left. Plugins are great because they provide the coding for you, but if the function is really simple, why not save your plugin “bandwidth” for more critical functions? Because they come from reputable and trusted sources and have been individually developed by professional plugin developers, you can rest assured they are secure and safe. Plugins are tools (bits of software) that expand what you can do with your WordPress website, without having to manually write or edit code. How to Create an Email Newsletter the RIGHT WAY (Step by Step), Free Business Name Generator (A.I Powered), How to Create a Free Business Email Address in 5 Minutes (Step by Step), How to Move WordPress to a New Host or Server With No Downtime. Just remember that if you place the functionality in the theme file, it stays with the theme. How to Install a WordPress Plugin – Step by Step for Beginners. Other plugins that most WordPress websites need include a WordPress backup plugin, a WordPress security plugin, a WordPress forms plugin, a WordPress SEO plugin, just to name a few. With premium plugins, you will receive upgrades and support based on the terms of your license (often an annual license).

Plug-ins are commonly used in Internet browsers but also can be utilized in numerous other types of applications. (Comparison), Best WooCommerce Hosting in 2020 (Comparison), How to Fix the Internal Server Error in WordPress, How to Install WordPress - Complete WordPress Installation Tutorial, Why You Should Start Building an Email List Right Away, How to Properly Move WordPress to a New Domain Without Losing SEO, How to Choose the Best WordPress Hosting for Your Website, How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform (Comparison), WordPress Tutorials - 200+ Step by Step WordPress Tutorials, 5 Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins Compared, 5 Best WordPress Membership Plugins (Compared), 7 Best Email Marketing Services for Small Business (2020), How to Choose the Best Domain Registrar (Compared), The Truth About Shared WordPress Web Hosting. Imagine that each active plugin slows down the site by 5 milliseconds (some more and some less).

All Rights Reserved. And How Do They Work? Make a note to remember these details and recreate it for your new theme. For example, if you want to sell products or take donations on your site, you’re going to need a plugin to handle that. Programmers typically implement plug-in functionality using shared libraries, which get dynamically loaded at run time, installed in a place prescribed by the host application. When Do You Really Need Managed WordPress Hosting? Plugins can allow a web browser to display additional content it was not … Word about how you treat one developer will spread, so we still recommend practicing respect in all your interactions. But, the more plugins you have, the greater the risk of problems occurring within your site. Some of the main reasons include: Types of applications and why they use plug-ins: The host application provides services which the plug-in can use, including a way for plug-ins to register themselves with the host application and a protocol for the exchange of data with plug-ins. Trusted plugin providers will provide updates to address any bugs or security issues, as well as updates to keep pace with the latest version of WordPress. There are thousands of WordPress plugins available for free at the official WordPress plugin directory. If you’re reading this, you are probably already using WordPress.

If you change themes, that functionality goes away, too. We have written a detailed article on how many plugins should you install. But since plugins slow your site, and could pose some security issues, it’s important to make sure the plugin serves a genuine purpose–and isn’t installed just because it’s cool.

You can also do a ton of other WordPress admin tasks from one dashboard.

You simply don’t need 4 plugins that handle redirections, 6 plugins that create SEO, and 8 different social networking sharing plugins. These 11 things you need to know about WordPress plugins will help you sift through the choices and decisions you have to make around using plugins, and create a lean, secure, yet creative and functional WordPress site. WPBeginner® is a registered trademark. Plugins can also conflict with other plugins or even themes. How to Properly Ask for WordPress Support and Get It. Best WordPress VPS Hosting Compared, How to Properly Move from Squarespace to WordPress, How to Register a Domain Name (+ tip to get it for FREE), HostGator Review - An Honest Look at Speed & Uptime (2020), SiteGround Reviews from 4196 Users & Our Experts (2020), Bluehost Review from Real Users + Performance Stats (2020). What Are WordPress Plugins? Many people keep a library of inactive plugins sitting on their … They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. They perform exceptional functions that would be challenging for even the intermediate WordPress user to code into their functions.php file. This is a very basic list of must-have plugins: Sometimes with plugins, it’s a matter of “you get what you pay for.” If you use a free plugin, remember that you haven’t paid for all the hard work the developer did – work that makes your site better. Managed by Awesome Motive | WordPress hosting by SiteGround | WordPress CDN by MaxCDN | WordPress Security by Sucuri. Programs may also implement plugins by loading a directory of simple script files written in a scripting language like Python or Lua. However, they are being phased out by Google as they move toward using only extensions instead. Developers provide updates to their plugins to: If you aren’t updating your plugins when the developer provides it, you are exposing yourself to potential frustrations and possible security breaches. There are tons of cool plugins that do fun things. WordPress plugins offer a ton of possibilities for extending your WordPress website. If some part of your site just all of a sudden isn’t “working like it did before,” then it’s likely a conflict between plugins or between a plugin and your theme.

[16] The plug-in program could make calls to the editor to have it perform text-editing services upon the buffer that the editor shared with the plug-in. As plugin developers, we can honestly tell you that we don’t update plugins just for the fun of it, but we ultimately want to ensure that our plugins function at their peak levels of performance. They make it easier for users to add features to their website without knowing a single line of code. If you catch yourself asking “Do I have too many plugins installed?”, then you probably do. But just because you can do something with a plugin doesn’t mean you should.

Since plugins have the potential to create security gaps in your site, you want to be sure they have been vetted by knowledgeable developers who stand behind their work with professional support. The best way to “find the problem” is to deactivate all your plugins … and slowly (one-by-one) reactivate the plugins to find the plugin causing the issue. Plug-ins depend on the services provided by the host application and do not usually work by themselves.

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