WordPress Plugins to remove from

a self-hosted WordPress website

It is all too easy to install too many WordPress plugins into a self-hosted WordPress website.

From getting caught up in the moment, to going the quick and easy route, by using a plugin, rather than just manually making the changes to avoid the need.

There are many instances when you need a plugin, but there are also circumstances when they are unnecessary.

Is your website performance being hindered by plugins?

What is the harm of plugins?

Firstly your website performance can be impacted, which means so can your search engine placement.

Plugins that load in chunky javascript might visually look fantastic, but could make your website grind to a halt during peak times, else when there is other network performance issues. Instead assess what each plugin truly is doing for you, and whether they are required.

Is your WordPress website unable to update?

Secondly some plugins might actually hinder the WordPress automatic update process.

Keeping the WordPress content management system up-to-date is important, as it isn’t just new features that are contained within updates, but often security fixes as well.

Having to manually update your website isn’t just dependant on a server configuration, but could be occurring due to a plugin hindering the process. Often when you need to manually update a WordPress website, the process is delayed due to available time.

So if you can automatically update the WordPress website with a click of a couple of buttons, it is the preferred option. If you are having problems using WordPress’s automatic update, you should check to see if a plugin is at fault.

Are your target visitors able to properly use your website’s features?

Thirdly some plugins might look great, but might cause problems or not be viewable via some browsers, which could hinder your website’s objectives. Instead you could investigate non-plugin methods to achieve the same effect.

Before you look at non-plugin options, you should look at your website statistics, to see what web browsers the majority of visitors are using.

For instance if you are running a mobile phone related website and have a large percentage of visitors using mobile technology to view your website, you need to test your website and thus plugins via the same platform, and see if you need to make changes.

Is your website security being jeopardised?

Lastly some plugins might be a security concern, that could leave your website vulnerable to attack. The same can also be said to some off the shelf WordPress themes, that are also security concerns.

Always research plugins and themes before you install them, including finding out what others are saying, and perhaps consider only using plugins available directly from WordPress’s website.

Hire a WordPress developer!

Hiring an experienced WordPress developer can mean the above issues can be tackled on your behalf by the developer, and when possible small amounts of custom code can be used to achieve the same effects, that some plugins provide.

For instance you don’t need to use plugins to insert Google Analytics and AdSense code.

Hire a WordPress developer. Hire Neogain.