WordPress Plugin Installation Tutorial: Comprehensive Guide to Popular Essential Plugins

NaibabijiUsedWordPress InstallationFor building websites, using WordPress as the website building platform, one of the main reasons is the abundance of WordPress plugins, which is suitable for novice website owners without coding skills to implement features through plugins. This article introduces threeWordPress Plugin Installation Methods和Popular Essential WordPress Plugins, this article will be updated periodically, aiming to create aComplete WordPress Plugin Guidepage for everyone.

WordPress Plugin Installation Tutorial

We have three methods to install plugins for WordPress: online installation via the admin dashboard, upload installation via the admin dashboard, and local FTP upload installation.

WP Admin Online Installation

Installing plugins online via the plugin menu in the WordPress Dashboard backend is the most convenient method. The specific operation process is as follows:

1. Log in to WordPressDashboard backend。
2. Click on thePlugins。
3. SelectInstall Plugin。
4. In thesearch boxat the top right of the screen, enter the name of the plugin you want to install.
5. After finding the plugin you want to install, clickInstall Now。
6. After installation, selectEnable。
7. After the plugin is enabled, if there are configuration items, you can usually find them under the left-hand Tools or Settings menu.

WP Admin Upload Installation

Backend upload installation is the process where you download a plugin installation package from a website and then upload it through the backend panel for installation. The specific steps are as follows:

1. From the internetDownloadThe WP Plugin you want to install.
2. The correct plugin package format iszip format, do not extract it.
3. In the WP Admin Dashboard, select from the left menu:Plugins - Install Plugin。
4. Click on the top of the Plugins pageUpload Plugin。
5. Select the zip package you downloaded and clickInstall Now。
6. After installation is complete, clickEnable。
7. After the plugin is enabled, if there are configuration items, you can usually find them under the left-hand Tools or Settings menu.

Manual Installation Using FTP

Sometimes, if the plugin is too large, uploading via the admin may fail. In this case, you can choose to upload it to the server via FTP. The specific steps are as follows:

1. From the internetDownloadThe WP Plugin you want to install andExtract。
2. Open your FTP software. If you don't have one,click here to download。
3. 用FTP connectionto your server.
4. Switch the FTP server directory to/wp-content/plugins/ 。
5. Uploadthe plugin folder you extracted to the plugins directory.
6. Log in to theIn the WP DashboardAdmin Dashboard, clickPlugins - Installed Plugins。
7. find the plugin you just uploaded, and then clickEnable。
8. After the plugin is enabled, if there are configuration items, you can usually find them under the left-hand Tools or Settings menu.

The introduction of the above three methods for installing WordPress plugins is now complete. Next, let's introduce some popular WordPress plugins.

Popular WordPress Plugins

When installing WordPress popular plugins directly online from the Admin Dashboard, click the 'Popular' tab to see which plugins are the most popular.NaibabijiHere, let me introduceTop 20 Popular WordPress PluginsWhat is this used for? (Hint: Popular doesn't necessarily mean it's the optimal solution. You can choose a similar plugin that you find most convenient to use as a replacement.)

1. Contact Form 7 →Contact form plugin, a must-have plugin for foreign trade websites.
2. Yoast SEO →Website SEO plugin, currently used by Naibabiji.
3. Akismet Anti-Spam →Blocks spam comments, not a mandatory item.
4. Classic Editor →Recommended to install, although it can also be implemented via code.
5. Jetpack by WordPress.com →Not installed by domestic users, optional for international users.
6. WooCommerce →E-commerce plugin, install if needed.
7. WordPress Importer →Only used when importing data from other WordPress sites.
8. Really Simple SSL →Helps you set up SSL, not needed.
9. Elementor Page Builder →Page builder plugin, choose as needed.
10. Wordfence Security –Firewall & Malware Scan → Security software, choose as needed.
11. Duplicate Post →Plugin for duplicating posts.
12. TinyMCE Advanced →Editor that mixes the old and new editors.
13. All in One SEO Pack →Another SEO plugin used by many people.
14. Contact Form by WPForms →Another contact form plugin.
15. Google XML Sitemaps →Plugin that generates sitemaps, helpful for SEO.
16. All-in-One WP Migration →Plugin for website migration.
17. UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin →It says what it does itself.
18. WP Super Cache →Page caching plugin for website optimization and speed.
19. Google Analytics Dashboard →For Google Analytics, not usable in China.
20. MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress →Email subscription.

These are the 20 most popular WordPress plugins. Next, Naiba recommends a few that he personally considersEssential WordPress Plugins。

Essential WordPress Plugins

The plugins recommended below are what Naiba considers essential WordPress plugins. Beginners can consider installing them, while veterans can decide for themselves.

1. Classic EditororTinyMCE Advanced
2. Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack
3. WP Super Cache orWP-Rocket, caching plugin to speed up the website.
4. Limit Login Attempts or Wordfence Security, security plugin.
5. WP Database Backup, for database backup.
6. WP SMTP orThese few, email SMTP plugin, to make the website email system work.
7. WP-Optimize, database optimization plugin.
8. WPJAM BASIC, a plugin written by a Chinese developer, similar to an optimization master, the drawback is it feels somewhat like it holds the user hostage.

All the plugins mentioned above can be replaced with similar alternatives. You can install them and decide whether to keep them based on your preference.

Complete WordPress Plugin Guide

Below, we will list some excellent WordPress plugins according to some common categories. If you have any recommendations, please submit them to us.

WP Security Plugins

1. Jetpack by WordPress.com
2. Wordfence Security – Firewall & Malware Scan
3. Limit Login Attempts
4. iThemes Security (formerly Better WP Security)
5. All In One WP Security & Firewall
6. Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening
7. Cerber Security, Antispam & Malware Scan
8. My Private Site
9. 6 Popular WordPress Security Plugins
10. WPS Hide Login

WP Optimization Plugins

1. WPJAM Basic
2. Yoast SEO
3. All in One SEO Pack
4. LiteSpeed Cache
5. Baidu Search Push Management
6. W3 Total Cache
7. WP Fastest Cache
8. WP Super Cache
9. Redis Object Cache
10. Hyper Cache
11. Breeze – WordPress Cache Plugin
12. Google XML Sitemaps
13. Smush Image Compression and Optimization
14. Autoptimize

WP Functional Plugins

1. Header & Footer Code
2. Code Snippets
3. WP-UTF8-Excerpt
4. QQWorld Auto Save Images
5. Contact Form 7
6. Classic Editor
7. WooCommerce
8. Elementor Page Builder
9. UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin
10. Redirection

There are simply too many plugins. It's impossible to complete this comprehensive WordPress plugin list in a day or two. I'll update it slowly.