choosing the right plugin - cornershopcreative.com€¦ · about cornershop creative online...
Post on 09-Jul-2020
0 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Choosing the Right Plugins
Ira Horowitz
Cornershop Creative
@ira_horowitz
@cornershop
About Cornershop Creative
Online services company that provides excellent design, expert web development,
and innovative online strategy for nonprofits, social entrepreneurs, and
small businesses
Summary
• Where to Find Plugins?
• Criteria for Selecting a Plugin
• Must Have Plugins
FINDING PLUGINS
Where to Find Plugins
• WordPress.org (http://wordpress.org/plugins/)
– Can Filter by Tags and Popularity
– It’s integrated directly into the WordPress Admin Panel
• Tidy Repo (http://tidyrepo.com/)
– Tagline of “A curated list of the best WordPress Plugins”
– All plugins are tested and verified before listing
Where to Find Plugins
• Code Canyon (http://codecanyon.net)
– More than 3,000 plugins
– Custom Premium plugins
– Search and filterable
• Google– If you can’t find it via these sources, google it
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PLUGINS
Do You Need a Plugin?
• Is it functionality already provided by the theme or somewhere else?
• Is custom functionality better for your purpose?
• Is there a web service that works without installing a plugin?
Number of Downloads
Plugin Rating
Plugin Reviews
Plugin Reviews
• This is where most of the complaints will exist
• Common or often complaints can be an indicator of a bad plugin
Updated Regularly
• How often is it updated?
• Does the publisher make bug fixes quickly?
• Are there security patches or concerns?
• Are updates performed when WordPress releases?
Compatibility
• Make sure it is compatible with the latest versions of WordPress
• Ensure that it is still in active development and maintenance
Plugin Website
Support System
• Check out FAQs
• Look at documentation or knowledge base
• Support team that will respond to questions or bugs
Plugins by same author
• Check to see if the same person/company is actively developing other plugins
• Multiple plugins from one author with high rating are typically safe
Where there’s one…
• There are probably 10
• Review other similar plugins and don’t just take the first one you find
Go Pro!
• If available, it’s worth the small investment (usually only $20-$50)
• Better features
• Better support
MUST HAVE PLUGINS
Advanced Custom Fieldshttps://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-custom-fields/
• Let’s developers easily create custom fields on posts and pages
Gravity Formshttp://www.gravityforms.com/
• Create unlimited number of forms
• Collects responses in WordPress
• Customized confirmation page and email
• Dozens of extensions that let you collect payments, and send data to third-party tools like MailChimp & Salesforce
WordFencehttps://wordpress.org/plugins/wordfence/
• Makes your site secure
• Regular security threat notifications
• Lockout notifications
• Blacklist spammers
Backup Buddyhttps://ithemes.com/purchase/backupbuddy/
• Keep a backup of your content should anything go wrong
Akismethttp://akismet.com/
• Anti-Spam tool for WordPress sites
• If you have comments enabled, you need this
Yoast SEOhttps://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/
• Optimize all plugins for Search Engines
• Customize social sharing text
HAVING FUN WITH PLUGINS
Intuitive Custom Post Orderhttps://wordpress.org/plugins/intuitive-custom-post-order/
• Easily drag and drop to sort posts, pages or anything in WordPress
The Divi Builderhttp://www.elegantthemes.com/plugins/divi-builder/
• Easily drag and drop to sort posts, pages or anything in WordPress
Collapse-o-Matichttps://wordpress.org/plugins/jquery-collapse-o-matic/
• Create collapsible menus in the body of your pages
• Great for FAQs or long-content pages
Social Steam http://codecanyon.net/item/wordpress-social-stream/2201708
Widget Menuizerhttps://wordpress.org/plugins/widget-menuizer/
• Sick of the same old boring dropdown navigation menu?
• Create more dynamic and engaging menus
• Pulls widget areas in a menu, so anything you can put in a widget, can now be in a menu
NextGen Public Uploaderhttps://wordpress.org/plugins/nextgen-public-uploader/
• Let users submit their own photos to your site, showing their support
• Make a great action campaign
• Let users submit their photos and automatically display in a variety of excellent gallery layouts
Photo Contest WordPress Pluginhttp://codecanyon.net/item/photo-contest-wordpress-plugin/8320636
• Create photo contests
• Easily reset contest
• Run multiple contest at once
WordPRess ColorBox Lightboxhttps://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-colorbox/
• Add a mobile responsive lightbox to your website
BBPresshttps://bbpress.org/
• Create dynamic and interactive forums
Conclusion
• Don’t just look at the WordPress.org Plugin Gallery
• Research all alternatives before selecting a plugin
• Before using, confirm it’s legitimate via downloads, reviews, and support
• Go Pro!
@ira_horowitz@cornershop
www.cornershopcreative.comira@cornershopcreative.com
top related