I was just adding some plugins to a couple of my clients’ WordPress websites and noticed there are 99 pages of plugins under the popular category from the WordPress plugins section. Holy Moly, that is a lot of plugins!

Thank goodness for the popular tags directory and search by keyword box. Without those, some people could spend hours looking through all the plugins and not know what they were looking for.

The number of plugins is going to depend on what you want your website to do, and what you want out of your blog. There are people that have a list of 3, 5, 10, or more of the “must have plugins” for every website.

I don’t believe that is so. Every website is different, so the plugins you use on your website may not be on the must have plugins lists. Sure, there are the plugins for analytics, cache, SEO, forms, sitemap, and security to list a few that are useful and needed by all. However, if you are new to web development and have no clue which plugins you need it can be overwhelming.

I recommend if you are unsure, review the first few pages on the popular plugins page to get a feel of what plugins are available. Click the install on the side and read the description, how to install, view the screenshot options if available, check the FAQ’s, and additional notes, to see if the plugin is right for your blog. The information will also tell you if the plugin has been tested in the newest version of WordPress, how many times the plugin has been downloaded, and the last update of the plugin. Be careful, an outdated plugin can cause you more problems than good on your website.

I really pay attention to the number of downloads and last updates of the plugins. Now, is this the way for everyone? Not necessarily, but I use that as an indicator of the value of the plugin. Now on the other hand, some might say just because a plugin has not been downloaded numerous times does not mean it lacks value. I totally agree with that, but I just stated what I look for. It really all depends on what you need or would like your website to do.

Plugins are great tools to use to enhance your WordPress website for you and your visitor’s experience. As your plugins have a purpose for your website.