{"id":19685,"date":"2014-03-27T18:01:39","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T10:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=19685"},"modified":"2025-04-04T01:43:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T17:43:20","slug":"not-install-wordpress-plugins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/not-install-wordpress-plugins\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons Why I Don’t Install WordPress Plugins"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2026 well not ALL WordPress plugins<\/a>, just the bad ones. Like every other tool out there, there are some plugins that work for you, e.g. for creating contact forms<\/a> or for helping you build an e-Commerce website<\/a> on top of WordPress \u2013 and there are those which don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Some plugins aren\u2019t necessary, other times, you should totally avoid installing them. In this particular post, I\u2019d like to share with you my personal reasons why I won\u2019t install a particular plugin. As this is an opinion piece, I\u2019m sure you have your reasons as well. Share them with me in the comments section.<\/p>\n

1. It Does A Simple Job<\/h2>\n

Many functionalities in WordPress can be achieved without a plugin. They are so simple that a plugin could sometimes be overkill. For example; I will prefer of adding the following snippet, to hide an admin bar, in the theme\u2019s functions.php<\/strong> file, rather than using a plugin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\r\nadd_filter('show_admin_bar', '__return_false');\r\n<\/pre>\n
Tip: <\/strong>Before installing a plugin, try to find that piece of code that can do the exact same job.<\/p>\n
Read also:<\/strong> How To Create Custom WordPress Template Tags<\/a><\/p>\n
2. It\u2019s Old & Not Updated<\/h2>\n
WordPress has a policy for plugins stored in the official repository; for plugins that are not maintained for more than 24 months, WordPress will display the following warning.<\/p>\n
\"2<\/figure>\n
The plugin may contain some deprecated functions, and may also not be compatible with the current WordPress version. I usually won\u2019t install or keep this plugin unless there is no better replacement, and the plugin stil runs well, and I\u2019m sure it would not harm the site it is on.<\/p>\n
For instance,  I\u2019m still using Maintenance Mode<\/a> plugin, even though it has not been updated since 2010 as it still does the job really well. We can customize the output by creating a custom template from within the theme.<\/p>\n
Read Also:<\/strong> How To Put WordPress Site Into Maintenance Mode<\/a><\/p>\n
3. It\u2019s Not Native<\/h2>\n
I found many plugins that have their own styling for the Admin User Interface (Admin UI) i.e. it does not follow the native WordPress Admin UI styles. The problem comes when WordPress decides to overhaul the entire UI design like in WordPress version 3.8<\/a>. The plugin\u2019s Admin UI will look out of place. It could also look awful.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, it will also add more workload for the developer to update their plugins once WordPress makes significant changes.<\/p>\n
Take a look at this example. It is a plugin to make WordPress more secure. It has its own styling, which does not really blend well with the WordPress Admin U. It looks cluttered at best.<\/p>\n
\"bulletproof<\/figure>\n
Let\u2019s compare it with the following plugin, named Better WP Security, which offers similar functionalities. It uses native WordPress styles and looks tidier.<\/p>\n
\"better<\/figure>\n
For me, I would always check out the Screenshot page<\/strong> of the plugin. If the screenshots look unappealing or they are not available, the developer probably isn\u2019t paying enough attention to this plugin of his\/hers. And I probably won\u2019t install it.<\/p>\n
The rule of thumb for creating Admin UI is to stick close to the WordPress native styles. Sadly, WordPress does not provide a thorough documentation as a guideline<\/a>. The following, however, are a few references that may help you get started:<\/p>\n