In this article, I will show you how to install a WordPress Plugin step by step for beginners.
WordPress plugins are like apps for your WordPress website. They allow you to add new features to your WordPress websites like contact form, shopping cart, slideshow, and more.
There are thousands of free and paid plugins available for WordPress. Thousands of free plugins are available in the wordpress.org directory.
If you are using wordpress.com, you cannot install plugins because you cannot see the plugin menu in their WordPress dashboard. WordPress.com has some limitations. You can install plugins on WordPress.com if you upgrade their business plan.
If you are a beginner at making a WordPress website, read these articles, how to make a WordPress website and how to install a WordPress Theme.
Now let’s take a look at how to install WordPress plugins on your WordPress website.
How to Install a WordPress Plugin?
In this article, I have covered different four methods:
- 1-: Installing a WordPress plugin using search.
- 2-: Uploading a WordPress plugin.
- 3-: Installing a WordPress plugin using FTP.
- 4-: Installing a WordPress Plugin using cPanel.
Let’s get started.
Installing a WordPress plugin using search
The easiest way of installing a WordPress plugin is to use the plugin search option. In this way, you can only install free plugins from the WordPress plugin directory.
At first, you need to log in WordPress dashboard, click on the Plugins then Add New, this will take you to the Add Plugin screens. You will see a screen like a screenshot below.
Find the plugin by typing the plugin name in the search box. After that, you will see a search result, which plugin you are looking for.
If you find your desired plugin, go to your WordPress dashboard.
Then click on the Install Now button. WordPress will now download and install the plugin for you. After this, you will see the Install Now button will change into the Activate button.
WordPress plugin can be installed on your WordPress website, but it will not work unless you activate it. So click on the activate button to start using that plugin on your WordPress website.
Now you have successfully installed your first WordPress plugin.
Installing a Plugin using Upload Method
Paid WordPress plugins are not listed in the WordPress plugin directory. You cannot install these plugins using the first method.
That’s why WordPress comes with the upload option to install such plugins. We will show you how to install paid WordPress plugins using the upload option in the WordPress admin area.
First, you need to download the plugin from a third-party site. You will get the downloaded file as a zip file.
At first, you need to log in WordPress dashboard, click on the Plugins then Add New, this will take you to the Add Plugin screens. You will see a screen like a screenshot below.
After that, click on the Upload Plugin button on the top of the page. This will take you to the plugin upload page. Here you need to click on the Choose File button and select the plugin file (.zip file) you downloaded earlier to your computer.
After you have selected the zip file, you need to click on the Install Now button.
Now WordPress will upload the plugin from your computer and install it for you. You will see a success message after the installation is finished.
After installation, you need to click on the Activate Plugin link. Now, you would have to configure the settings to fit your needs.
Install a WordPress Plugin using FTP
The FTP manager method is friendly for beginners.
First, you need to download the plugin from a third-party site. You will get the downloaded file as a zip file. Next, you need to extract the zip file on your computer. Extracting the zip file will create a new folder with the same name. This is the folder that you need to upload to your website using an FTP client.
You would need to connect your FTP client with your hosting account.
Once connected, you need to go to the /wp-content/plugins folder on your website. Then upload the folder you extracted from the zip file to the /wp-content/plugins folder on your webserver. FTP client will upload your plugin on your website.
After uploading the files, you need to visit the WordPress admin area and click on the Plugins link. You will see your plugin successfully installed on the plugins page.
Now, you need to click on the Activate link. Once activated, you may need to configure the plugin settings.
Install a Plugin using cPanel
If you want to install a WordPress plugin manually then you can install the theme using cPanel in your hosting server.
At first, you need to log in cPanel dashboard and go to the File Manager. Click on the public_html file from the left-hand sidebar, which is called the root folder. The public_html consists of all of your website’s files and folders.
You can see the wp-content folder where all of your website’s content is available, open this folder. Now you can see the media files, themes, and plugins folder. As you are going to install the WordPress plugin, click on the Plugins folder. You can see all the active and non-active WordPress plugins contains here.
To install a new plugin you have to upload the .zip file, which you got after buying the plugin from a third-party company.
Go to the top navigation bar, click on the Upload button. Now it’s time to upload your WordPress plugin in zip format.
Here you can see a button to select the file from your computer. Click on the Select File button and navigate to the zip file on your computer, which you downloaded earlier. Depending on the size of the plugin and your internet speed, the uploading process gets completed.
Go back to the previous directory and you can see the .zip file. Select the .zip file right-click your mouse and choose the Extract option.
A popup appears to show you the path of the directory, where you are going to extract the file. If you upload the plugin somewhere else, you can fill in the public_html/wp-content/plugin path to send the plugin name folder here.
Now you can see the extraction process. After ending the extraction process, click on the Close button.
Plugin Activation
You can see a folder with the plugin’s name. To activate your plugin, you need to use the WordPress admin panel. Go to the Appearance click of the Plugins and you can see your uploaded plugin is available here. Click on the Activate button.
Your uploaded plugin is successfully installed and activated now.
Congratulation, you have successfully installed a WordPress plugin using cPanel.
How to uninstall a WordPress plugin
You can uninstall a WordPress plugin by visiting the Plugins page in the WordPress dashboard. If the plugin you want to remove is currently active, then first you will need to deactivate it. After that, you can simply click on the delete link to remove it from your WordPress website.
Conclusion
I hope this article helped you learn how to install a WordPress plugin with different four methods. You have also learned how to uninstall a WordPress plugin.
WordPress plugins come with their own settings which differ from one plugin to another so we will not describe them in this tutorial.
