Plugins make extending the functionality and/or customizing the options of a WordPress site easier and much more powerful. However, just like any other virtual “store,” the thousands of plugins available on the market can create a lot of temptation for newer WP site creators to install numerous plugins in a misguided attempt at improvement. Safety and trustworthiness are crucial in this endeavor, so for this blog post, we’ll explore vital considerations for selecting plugins for your WordPress site.

Importance of Safe and Vetted Plugins:

  1. Security: Website security should always be your top priority. Installing plugins from dubious sources, or using outdated or unsupported plugins can expose a site to potential vulnerabilities and security risks. Trusted plugins typically receive regular updates, meaning security flaws are promptly eliminated.
  2. Reliability and Compatibility: Trusted plugins are created by reputable developers with a track record of following best practices and coding standards. These plugins routinely work across multiple WordPress installations, with a variety of different themes and plugins. They’re usually tested quite rigorously and are compatible with the latest versions of WordPress.
  3. Performance Optimization: Trusted plugins have been optimized for ideal performance, ensuring that they do not limit site speed or responsiveness. Poorly coded or resource-intensive plugins can significantly impact your website’s performance, leading to slow loading times and a subpar user experience.

Important Considerations for Selecting and Sourcing Plugins:

  1. Plugin Reviews and Ratings: While it’s not foolproof, checking user reviews and ratings will give some insights into a plugin’s reliability and effectiveness. Limited reviews or consistently negative feedback should be a warning sign.
  2. Developer Reputation and Support: Trusted developers make their business off of their reputation and satisfaction ratings, even for free plugins. If you begin by researching the developer’s reputation, it’s likely and hopeful they’ll have a robust online presence, maybe some active support forums, and they should produce regular updates.
  3. Compatibility and Updates: If the plugin is compatible with the latest version of WordPress, it’s a good sign. Check the update history to for frequency, to make sure the developer is actively maintaining functionality and security.
  4. Active Community and Documentation: An active, engaged user community indicates the plugin is well-supported, and you’ll be able to find help and resources. Also, the quality documentation is a positive sign.
  5. Trusted Sources: Obtain plugins from reputable sources. The official WordPress plugin repository (https://wordpress.org/plugins/) is a good example, or CodeCanyon (https://codecanyon.net/), just to name a few. These repositories follow standards and review, meaning risk is minimal. Quite a few third-party websites cannot match their level of diligence.

For this website, I recently implemented the WP RSS Aggregator. I want to be able to put a selected newsfeed about my website’s topic as one of the features, and this plugin will greatly assist in that regard, plus it comes extremely well recommended and with a good amount of detailed documentation.