After you have searched for plugins and found some of interest go ahead and install them. Sometimes you won’t know if one suits your needs until you try it. Just be sure to deactivate and delete a plugin if you have no use for it as plugin conflicts or too many plugins can wreak havoc with your WordPress site’s performance. You can install a theme from the automatic uploader within WordPress under the Plugin, Add New tab on your dashboard or you can do it through FTP.
I have written a post on the ten basic plugins that I recommend for use with each WordPress install and have included links to each of the plugins. I recommend that you download each of them and unzip them and save them in a plugin file on your computer. You can then upload them to your wp-contents/plugin folder in your WordPress installation on the server. That way you have them for the next time you need them. See this post for instructions of using Filezilla, a free FTP program to transfer files.
Instructions for installing Plugin using your WordPress Dashboard:
- Log in to your WordPress Dashboard and click on the “Plugins” tab and then “Add New.”
- Click on “Upload” near the top of the page.
- Click the “Choose File” button and find the Plugin zipped file, then click “Choose” followed by the “Install Now” button.
- WordPress will now upload and install your Plugin. Once the installation of your Plugin has finished click the “Activate Plugin” link. You will now see your newly installed plugin in “Manage Plugins.”
Instructions for installing the Plugin via FTP :
- Upload the plugin via an FTP application to the
wp-content/plugins/ - Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
- Activate the Plugin by accessing the Plugin Panel in your Administration Panels
- Scroll down through the list of Plugins to find the newly installed Plugin (if not visible, start from the beginning to check to see if you followed the instructions properly and uploaded the file correctly).
- Click on the Activate link to turn the Plugin on.
