How to install plugin in WordPress

In a simple definition, a WordPress plugin is like an app for a website that provides additional functionality to your websites, such as a contact form, pricing table, slider, and much more.

There are two types of WordPress plugins free and premium(paid). You can get many free WordPress plugins from wordpress.org. For premium(paid) plugins you can get premium (paid) plugins from plugins developer websites or some other famous marketplace such as codecayon.

In this article, you learn how to install plugins in WordPress. To install WordPress plugins we can use two different methods.

  1. WordPress plugin installation using WordPress admin.
    1. Plugin install using the plugin search option.
    2. Plugin install using plugin upload option.
  2. WordPress plugin installation using FTP/SFTP.

1. WordPress plugin installation using WordPress admin.

In this method, we install the WordPress plugin using WordPress admin.

In this, we have two options to install the WordPress plugin.

  1. Plugin install using the plugin search option.
  2. Plugin install using plugin upload option.

a. Plugin install using the plugin search option.

In this option, you can install free plugins which are available on wordpress.org. Because when you search in WordPress plugin search it will retrieve plugin data from wordpress.org. So this method does not work with premium plugins or plugins which are not available on wordpress.org.

To install a plugin using the plugin search option follow the below-mentioned steps.

  1. Go to Plugins > Add New. Once you click on “Add New” you can see the below screen.
    Add New plugin in wordpress
  2. Enter a keyword to require the plugin in the right-side search box. You can also search plugins by author or tag. Enter a keyword, author name, or tag. After that press enters, and you get the list of related plugins based on your input.
    WordPress plugin installation using the plugin search option
  3. Once you found your plugin in the search result click on Install Now button and it will start downloading the plugin from wordpress.org and upload it to your website wp-content/plugins folder.
    WordPress plugin installation using the plugin search option
  4. Once it installs on your website Install Now button will change to Active. Click on the Active button and it will activate the plugin on your website.

Let me remind you once again that this method only works for a free plugin which is available on wordpress.org.

b. Plugin install using the plugin upload option.

In this option, you can upload and install both free & premium plugins. For this method, you can require a plugin zip file to upload.

To install the plugin using the plugin upload option you need to follow below mention steps.

  1. Go to Plugins > Add New. Then you can see the below screen.
    Add New plugin in wordpress
  2. Click on the “Upload Plugin” button on the right side of the “Add Plugin” title on top.
    WordPress plugin installation using the plugin upload option
  3. Once you click on the “Add Plugin” button you can get the file upload option as below.
    WordPress plugin installation using the plugin upload option
  4. Browse your plugin zip file and click on Install Now button.
  5. After clicking on Install Now button it will extract the zip file and upload it to the wp-content/plugin folder of your website and it will redirect to the following screen.
  6. Now click on the “Active Plugin” button to activate the plugin.

Once you activate the plugin you can use plugin functionality on your WordPress website.

2. WordPress plugin installation using FTP/SFTP

In this method, we use the FTP manager. Sometimes servers restrict plugin upload from the admin panel because of file rights issues. So t that time we can use FTP/SFTP. In this method first, we upload plugin files to the server using FTP/SFTP.

To install the plugin using FTP/SFTP you need to follow below mention steps.

  1. Connect your website hosting server using FTP/SFTP file manager. You can use any file manager such as Filezilla, WinSCP, or any other.
  2. Navigate to your website wp-content/plugins folder. In this plugin folder, you can see different plugin folders which already installed on your website.
  3. Extract your plugin zip file and upload plugin folders with all files to the plugin folder.
  4. Once uploading is complete, go to WordPress admin and click on Plugin > Installed Plugin menu.
  5. Here you can find your uploaded plugin name. this plugin is not yet activated. So click on the Active link below the plugin title to activate the plugin.

Once you activate the plugin you can use plugin functionality on your website.

We hope this article helps you to learn how to install plugins on your WordPress website. If you have any doubts or questions about how to install a plugin in WordPress you can contact us and we will try to help you as soon as possible.