In WordPress, what is a plugin and how do I manage mine?
The Plugins menu allows you to view the plugins you’ve downloaded and choose which plugins you want activated on your site. You can view your installed plugins by expanding the plugins menu in the column on the left-hand side of your dashboard and then clicking on “plugins.” This will show you a list of all of your plugins.
Under each plugin you will be given the options to “activate” (if the plugin has not yet been activated), “edit,” or “delete” the plugin. If there is a new version of one of your plugins available, a message will appear on this screen along with a link that will allow you to upgrade your version of the plugin.
The Add New menu allows you to add new plugins. If you can think of a feature you want on your website, chances are a plugin has already been created for it.
On your dashboard expand the “plugins” menu in the column on the left-hand side of the page. Click on “add new.” A search box will pop up that will allow you to search for plugins based on specific search terms such as, author, or tag.
For example, if you want a plugin that will allow you to add “Follow me on Twitter” links to your website, you could search for the term “Twitter” in the search box. When you enter your search terms and click the “Search Plugins” button a list of related plugins will appear. Scroll through the list and find the plugin you want.
When you find one you are interested in, you can click on either “details” or “install now.” Clicking on “details” will bring up a screen that will give you more information on what the plugin does, an FAQ, how many times it’s been downloaded, and so on.
If you click on “Install Now” the plugin will be installed on your website. You will then be given the options to “activate plugin” or “return to plugin installer.” Returning to the plugin installer will take you back to the search box that you used to find plugins. Activating the plugin will make the plugin active on your website.
