WordPress plugins provide useful functionalities that allow you to manage your site easily and to improve the type of content you include on it. In some cases, WordPress templates come with plug-ins built into them that are provided based on the intended purpose of the theme. In most cases, you can also add your own plugins to your theme to give it functions that you need.
What Do they Do?
Plugins can provide a wide variety of features that improve your site. For example, there are plugins that are specifically designed for sites that are heavy on multimedia content and that make it easier for the site administrator to manage that content. There are also plugins available designed to make it easier to make search engine optimization improvements on your site, which are quite popular with just about every type of webmaster out there.
Sometimes, plugins can actually allow you to integrate the features from other sites onto your own. For instance, there are plugins made for the Twitter platform that allow you to include your tweets on your website. This is a great way to bring together all of your various efforts to brand yourself on the Internet.
Some plugins can actually help you reduce the amount of load on your servers. For instance, plugins that allow you to manage images more effectively can help you reduce bandwidth demand and, in some cases, they may even allow you to pull your own images directly off photo sharing sites, so they’re not coming off your server.
Cost
In most cases, if you purchase a WordPress theme, it will include plugins with it. For example, if you purchase a WordPress theme designed as a portfolio site, it will typically have plugins included with it that are designed to show off your photos in attractive ways. If you purchase a theme designed for a video site, it will likely come with appropriate plugins.
The good news is, as is the case with most WordPress technologies, plugins are usually free. If you need to install your own plugins, you generally download them from the website that provides them and upload them to your wp-content/plugins folder on your WordPress installation and management from the dashboard.
For most users, it’s easier simply to purchase a theme with the appropriate plugins already provided. That way, you don’t have to worry about installing them and you can be certain that you’re getting the right plug-in for the job.
About author
Olga Ionel is a creative writer at ThemeFuse.com. She is passionate by WordPress, SEO and Blogging. Don’t forget to check out stunning , WordPress templates (warning: no boring stuff)
