If you are just getting started with creating your WordPress website you will quickly realize that plugins are an inescapable, but super important part of any good website. If you would like more information about exactly what a plugin is and why it’s useful please check out my previous post.
Luckily for you and I, plugins are actually really simple to install and can be done quite quickly and easily from your WordPress dashboard. So let’s get started!
4 Steps To Install A Plugin
Step 1: Log into your WordPress Dashboard. Once you have done this, hold your mouse cursor over (A) “Plugins” on the left hand menu and slide over to (B) “Add New” and click on it.
Step 2: Now you are in the “Install Plugins” dashboard. Now you must find the plugin that you wish to install. There are many ways of doing this.
- If you know exactly what plugin you want to install you can simply search for the plugin name in the (C ) search box.
- If you’re not sure which plugin you want, you can browse the (D) “Featured”, (E) “Popular”, and (F) “Newest” lists. This is usually a good idea as these lists usually include many of the best and/or most essential plugins for you website.
- You can also browse by clicking one of the (G) “Popular” tags to see all of the plugins related to the tag.
The “Upload” and “Favorites” are more advanced methods of installing a plugin, so we won’t worry about those in this post.
For this tutorial I am going to install the “All In One SEO Pack” on my tutorial site. If you want to follow along, search for “All In One SEO Pack” and click on (H above) “Search Plugins”.
Step 3: Now you are looking at the search results page. If you would like more details about the plugin you can click on (J) “Details” under the plugin name. Typically the most relevant plugin will be the first one listed. If this is the plugin you want (which it is), click on (K) “Install Now”.
Once you click this, depending on the browser you are using, you me be prompted with this dialogue box: “Are you sure you want to install this plugin”. Click on (L) “OK.
Step 4: The fourth and final step to activate the plugin. You do this by simply clicking on (M) “Activate Plugin”.
Once you have activated the plugin you will be taken to your “Installed Plugins” dashboard where you can see all of the plugins that you have installed on your website.
It’s as simple as that. No you can install plugins at your heart’s desire! Be careful though, too many plugins can drastically drag down your site speed. You may also want to check out some of these other posts:
- What Are WordPress Plugins And Why Are They Important For Your Website?
- What Are WordPress Categories? – How You Can Use Them To Group And Organize Your Posts
- 4 Simple Steps To Build Your WordPress Website With Wealthy Affiliate
- Wealthy Affiliate Review – Why It’s My #1 Recommendation
If you have any questions regarding installing plugins, please leave me a comment below and be sure to subscribe to replies so you know when you have a response!
