Although WordPress core offer lot many features out of the box it does not offer all. And it need not. The rule of thumb is that the WordPress core should provide features that 80% or more of end users will actually appreciate and use. That is the WordPress philosophy.
So what about remaining 20% of users? Plugins are to the rescue for those remaining 20% users who have custom or unique requirements for their website. Such requirements can be achieved by extending WordPress using a plugin. There you are! WordPress Plugins are nothing but the PHP scripts that extend the functionality of WordPress.
- You want forms – there is Contact Form 7, Ninja Forms, Gravity Forms
- You need social buttons – there is ShareThis, AddThis, MashShare
- Need eCommerce – you have WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads
- Looking for a forum – there is bbPress, wpForo, CM Answers
- SEO solution – you have got Yoast SEO, Rank Math
You just think of it and then google the keyword followed by ‘WordPress plugin’ and most likely you will find the results. This is why people use WordPress. WordPress has 50K+ plugins in the WordPress plugins repository. With the launch of Gutenberg editor in WordPress version 5.0, many plugins have started offering useful blocks as part of their plugin. Gutenberg is the future. Hence, WordPress is also prioritising such plugins and listing them first in the plugins directory. It has dedicated category named ‘Block-enabled Plugins‘.
If you don’t find the required plugin in WordPress’ free plugins directory then you might find some other premium plugin on the internet. If not, you can always build your own custom plugin (or get it built from an expert) for your unique requirement. If you have got the intended plugin but don’t know about installing, then check how to install a WordPress plugin.
