How to Install a WordPress Plugin (Beginner’s Guide)

Do you want to start using plugins on your WordPress site? Want to know the best way to install a plugin?

In the world of WordPress, plugins are tools (or pieces of software) that you can add to your site to get new features and make things run smoother.

There are thousands of plugins available and each one serves a specific purpose and can help you achieve different goals.

In this beginner’s guide, we’ll show you how to install a WordPress plugin in 4 different ways.

We’ve made this tutorial beginner-friendly so you don’t have to worry about technical jargon and complex steps. Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Installing Plugins from the WordPress dashboard
• Uploading a Plugin via the WordPress dashboard
• Install a Plugin using FTP
• Installing a Plugin using cPanel

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Now, let’s dive into this step-by-step tutorial and get your WordPress website powered up with some awesome plugins!

Installing Plugins from the WordPress Dashboard

This is the most common and user-friendly way to install plugins.

WordPress makes it easy to access the plugin library right inside your admin dashboard. All you have to do is a simple search and click a button to install the plugin.

Note: This tutorial is for self-hosted websites using WordPress.org. If you’re using WordPress.com, you likely won’t have access to install any plugins on your site. Plugin installation is only available on the Business and eCommerce plans.

In your WordPress admin panel, you’ll see a menu on the left. Here, you can go to the Plugins tab.

On this page, you’ll see any plugins that are already installed on your site. At the top, there’s an Add New button.

This will take you to the WordPress plugin directory where you’ll see a search bar at the top right corner. You use this plugin search to find new plugins you want to install.

You can either type in a keyword such as ‘contact form’ or the plugin name you’re looking for like ‘Elementor’. Then, WordPress will display the most relevant plugins in the results search.

Click on any plugin here like WPForms and you can view all the details of the plugin.

There’s a top menu where you can read the plugin description, learn how to install it, and check out FAQs. You can also view screenshots of the plugin to get an idea of how the plugin looks and functions. And finally, you can also read reviews to see what other users have experienced with the plugin.

Expert Tip: Pay attention to the plugin details on the right. You can see when the plugin was ‘last updated’. If it was updated recently, you know the developers are maintaining the plugin. You can also see if the plugin is compatible with the version of WordPress you’re using.

Added to that, if the plugin has a lot of active installations, you know is trusted by other WordPress users. So for instance, WPForms has 5+ million active installations so you know it’s a reliable plugin.

When you’ve chosen your plugin, click on the Install Now button. It’ll only take a few seconds and then you’ll see an Activate button appear.

WordPress lets you install plugins and then decide whether you want to activate them on your site. There may also be times when you want to deactivate a plugin on your site without deleting it. This allows you to test things or troubleshoot errors.

To be able to use the plugin, you’ll need to click on the Activate button.

Now, you’re ready to use the plugin.

Most plugins launch a welcome page immediately. Plus, you can also access the plugin at any time from the wp-admin menu like so:

Some plugins don’t appear as separate tabs in the side menu. You may need to access the plugin from the ‘Tools’ or ‘Settings’ tabs. For instance, if you install the caching plugin LiteSpeed Cache, you’ll find it under the Settings tab like so:

You’ve successfully installed a plugin! It’s that simple!

If you face any issues with the plugin, you can ask for help on support forums within the WordPress.org plugin section.

Not sure which plugins to install on your site? Check out our reviews on these WordPress plugins that are essential to any website.

Expert Recommendation: Must-Have WordPress Plugins

There are 55,000+ plugins available for WordPress. To help you narrow that down, we regularly review the most popular and best WordPress plugins that help you build and grow your website. Here are our top reviews that you can use to find the right plugins for your WordPress website:

Plugins to build your website:

• Best WordPress Page Builders
• Best Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode Plugins
• Best WordPress Image Gallery Plugins
• Best WordPress Translation Plugins
• Best WordPress Form Builders
• Best WordPress Membership Plugins
• Best WordPress SMTP Plugins to Fix Email Issues
• Best Plugins to Speed Up Your Site
• Best Search Plugins to Make Your Site Searchable

Plugins to grow your website:

• Best WordPress Google Analytics Plugins
• Best WordPress SEO Plugins
• Best Slider Plugins
• Best WordPress Popup Plugins
• Best WordPress Giveaway Plugins
• Best WordPress Lead Generation Plugins
• Best Autoblogging Plugins for Fast Content

Plugins to connect with your audience:

• Best VoIP Business Phone Services
• Best Live Chat Plugins
• Best WordPress Social Media Plugins
• Best Facebook Plugins to Boost Social Media
• Best Email Marketing Plugins & Services
• Best Calendar Plugins

Plugins to secure your website:

• Best WordPress Security Plugins
• Best WordPress Backup Plugins
• Best WordPress Captcha Plugins

Plugins to monetize your website:

• Best LMS Plugins for Online Courses
• Best WordPress Digital Downloads Plugins
• Best Affiliate Marketing Plugins
• Best Booking & Appointment Plugins
• Best Crowdfunding Plugins
• Best Online Payment Plugins
• Best WooCommerce Plugins for Online Stores

Now, there are times when you might want to use plugins that aren’t available in the free plugin library. Third-party developers create their own plugins and themes and make them available on their own websites or WordPress marketplaces. We’ll show you how to upload a plugin next.

Uploading a Plugin via the WordPress dashboard

When you sign up for a third-party plugin, you’ll get a premium plugin file that you need to upload to your site. To give you an idea of these plugins, here’s a list of some of the top premium plugins available:

• SeedProd – The best theme & page builder for WordPress
• MonsterInsights – The best Google Analytics plugin to track your site’s performance
• OptinMonster – Create promotional campaigns to get more leads and email subscribers
• Duplicator – Schedule regular backups of your site
• Easy Digital Downloads – Let users download digital files and products
• Smash Balloon – Display social media feeds on your site

For this tutorial, we’re going to install All in One SEO Pro – the best SEO WordPress plugin to optimize your content and drive traffic to your site.

But keep in mind, almost all pro plugins follow a similar process so the steps won’t vary too much here.

When you sign up for a pro plugin, you’ll get access to your own account where you can download the plugin zip file. You’ll also see a license key that you need to copy and keep ready for later.

In some cases, the developer will email the file and license key to you.

Now go to your WordPress dashboard, and open the Plugins » Add New tab. Select the Upload Plugin button and you’ll see an option to ‘choose file’. You can select the plugin file from your computer.

Once you’ve chosen the plugin zip file, click on the Install Now button.

This may take a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the size of the plugin file. You’ll be redirected to a new page where you’ll see details of the plugin installation.

After it’s installed, you’ll see an Activate Plugin button appear.

After you click on activate, you’re ready to use the plugin.

Now most pro plugins will automatically take you to their plugin page where you can enter your license key.

If you don’t see this page, you’ll need to find the plugin in the left menu of your WordPress dashboard. Under the plugin Settings tab, you should get an option to enter your license key.

To give you an example, here’s how you can add the license key for WP Simple Pay – a payment plugin that makes it so easy to accept secure payments on your site:

 

With that, you’ve learned how to install and upload a plugin to your WordPress site. These are the safest and easiest methods to use.

There are 2 more methods to add plugins to your site externally. That means you don’t have to be logged into your WordPress admin dashboard. However, we must tell you to use it with caution. These methods are technical and the slightest mistake can lead to errors or a broken site.

You’ll most likely never have to use these methods but in the rare case that you do, you can bookmark this guide and keep it handy for when you need it.

It’s best to back up your website before trying these methods. In case the plugin causes your site to break, you can quickly restore the backup and then start troubleshooting the problem.

In the tutorials below, we’ll show you how to add a plugin to your site using FTP and cPanel.

Install a Plugin using FTP

Using FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to upload a plugin in WordPress can be helpful in certain situations where you might face limitations with the regular WordPress dashboard or face compatibility issues.

So if you’re unable to log into your WordPress dashboard, FTP provides an alternate method to directly manage your website’s files and folders.

What exactly is FTP? It stands for File Transfer Protocol and it helps you connect your computer to your website server so that you can transfer files and data.

Before we get started, you need to download an SFTP or FTP client like Filezilla onto your computer.

Next, you need to get your FTP credentials from your WordPress hosting account. If you don’t know where to find it, ask your host support.

Finally, we recommend extracting the plugin zip file to its own folder on your local computer. This makes it easier to find and upload once you’re inside FTP.

Now you’re ready to launch the FTP software you downloaded. We’re using Filezilla.

Once opened, you’ll see two panels – on the left is a local site where you can access your computer files, and on the right is a remote site which is your web server.

First, you need to enter your FTP credentials which include the host name, username, and password, and click on Quickconnect.

A status report will populate and once you’ve successfully established a connection, your website folders will appear in the right panel.

These are your WordPress core files that need to be handled with care. Go to the public_html » wp-content » plugins folder.

Now in the left panel (your local site), find the plugin folder you extracted, right-click and upload it.

That’s it. You can go to the Plugins menu of your WordPress dashboard where you need to activate the plugin to start using it.

Connecting to FTP is not an easy task. If you don’t have the right credentials, you won’t be able to establish a connection. If you’re facing issues, you need to contact your hosting support. You could also follow this helpful guide: How to Use FTP to Upload Files to WordPress for Beginners.

That’s it for this method! Next, we’ll show you how to do the same thing using a platform called cPanel.

Installing a Plugin using cPanel

cPanel is a control panel where you can make changes to the backend of your website including your server settings, website files, database, and domain name, and its configurations.

If you’re using a renowned hosting service like Hostinger, SiteGround, and Bluehost, you should be able to access cPanel from your hosting account.

In case you’re unable to find cPanel in your hosting account, reach out to your web host’s support team or follow the documentation they have to access it.

For this tutorial, we’ll be using Bluehost but keep in mind, cPanel is pretty similar across all popular web hosts so the steps will be the same.

We’re logged into our Bluehost dashboard, and in the left menu, we can access cPanel by clicking on the Advanced tab.

If you’re using a different web host like Namecheap, then you’ll find it right inside your dashboard under your main domain:

Once you open up cPanel, you need to scroll down to the Files section and open the File Manager.

The File Manager is where you can add, edit, and delete WordPress files. Inside, you need to locate your website’s folder. By default, your WordPress site is stored inside the public_html folder, unless you or a developer manually placed it in a different spot.

For instance, we’ve set up a site called demo.com for this tutorial. By default, our WordPress installation was created in the public_html.

So, from the left menu, we’re going to the public_html » demo.com folder. You need to open the folder that has your website name on it.

You’ll know you’re in the right folder if you see 3 more folders – wp-admin, wp-content, and wp-includes.

Now open the wp-content » plugins folder. This is where we want to add the plugin file.

You can use the Upload option and on the next page, simply drag and drop your plugin zip file here.

Once uploaded, you’ll need to extract the contents from the zip file. All you have to do is right-click on the file and you’ll see an option to Extract it.

You can go ahead and delete the zip file here as you won’t need it anymore.

This menu gives you the power to download content from your site, rename files and folders, change permissions, move files, and more. Again, we advise you to use this with caution. You don’t want to touch anything here unnecessarily as it can break your site.

Now that the plugin is uploaded, you’ll need to activate it in your WordPress admin area. On the Plugins page, you should see the plugin appear here and you can activate it like so:

In the same page, you can uninstall WordPres plugins as well. Hit the ‘Deactivate’ button to temporarily disable the plugin on your site. 

Use the ‘Delete’ button to completely uninstall it from your site.

With that, you know how to install a plugin in 4 different ways. We hope you found this step-by-step guide helpful.

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Bonus: Best Practices 

WordPress plugins are powerful tools that can extend your website’s functionality in countless ways. However, with a vast plugin library available, it’s easy to get carried away and overload your site. Here are some key practices to ensure your plugins enhance your website, not hinder it:

• Start with Few Plugins: Begin with a minimal set of plugins that address your core needs. You can always add more later if necessary.
• Disable Unused Plugins: Deactivate and delete any plugins you’re not actively using to avoid security risks and performance issues.
• Regular Updates: Keep your plugins updated to benefit from new features, bug fixes, and security patches.

Remember, a well-maintained plugin ecosystem keeps your website secure, efficient, and delivers a smooth experience for your visitors.

If you want WordPress experts to build your WordPress site, improve your site’s performance, or help with WordPress maintenance, check out Professional Services from WPBeginner.

They offer custom-tailored services based on your unique needs. Their expert team comes with 15+ years of WordPress experience and they are always available through their customer support channels.

• Website creation: Let the team know your vision and they’ll design the website you’ve dreamed of complete with your professional logo and branding
• Optimization: The team audits your site for speed and performance and also takes measures to improve loading time
• Maintenance: They’ll handle everything behind the scenes, monitor uptime, and update your WordPress core
• Fix Hacked Site: Get comprehensive scans, malware cleanups, and software and security updates

That’s it! We hope you enjoyed this tutorial. You may also want to see our guide on 13 Best AI Plugins to Automate Your WordPress Site.