The huge range of over 38,000 community-contributed plugins is one of the most valuable features of WordPress.org. But how do you determine what’s a safe and effective plugin without being overwhelmed by choice? In this session we’ll look at when to use a plugin and clarify the difference between widgets and plugins. We’ll discuss how to make an informed decision about which plugin to use – and explore how to troubleshoot any conflicts that may crop up.

1. Kathryn Presner @zoonini
WordCamp OC 2015 #wcoc
Passionate About
Plugins
AND Wild FOR
Widgets

2. Kathryn Presner
Theme Whisperer
Theme Team
Automattic

3. Widget Me This
Welcome to the world of widgets

4. Left Sidebar Widgets

5. Footer Widgets

6. CORE
ACTIVE
INACTIVE
Widgets in the Admin Area

7. Widgets in the Customizer
ACTIVE
INACTIVE
CORE

10. Widget Source: Core

11. Widget Source:
WordPress.com

12. Widget Source: Plugin

13. Widget Source: Plugin

14. Widget Source: Plugin

15. Widget Source: Theme

16. Widget Source: Theme

17. Widget Conditions
Control which widgets go where

18. Jetpack Widget Visibility

19. Add Conditions

20. Refine Conditions

21. Plugin Power!
What/when/how?

22. Installing Plugins

23. Behind the Scenes

24. Up Front

25. Up Front

26. Picking a Plugin
Making wise choices

27. Lots and Lots of Plugins
wordpress.org/plugins

28. OVERWHELMING

29. 1. Credibility
2. Track record
3. Popularity
Plugin Selection Criteria

30. courtesySixRevisions

31. courtesySixRevisions

32. courtesySixRevisions

33. courtesySixRevisions

34. Hand-picked

35. Popularity Contest

36. Favorites – Logged Out

37. Favorites – Logged In

38. Favorites – Logged In

39. Favorites – Profile

40. Repo Search

41. Google Search
non-repo
compilation
in repo
in repo
compilation
compilation

42. Past its Prime

44. Log in to Vote, Rate & Post

45. Version Compatibility

46. Version Compatibility

47. Version Compatibility

48. Version Compatibility
If IT WORKS votes / TOTAL votes >= 0.7 then IT WORKS
If IT WORKS votes / TOTAL votes >= 0.3 then IT’S BROKEN
Source: Otto

49. Author

50. Screenshots & FAQ

51. Offsite Support

52. Changelog

53. Support Track Record

54. Resolved Threads

56. Plugin Troubleshooting
Potential conflicts:
• plugin & WordPress core
• two or more plugins
• plugin & theme

57. Troubshooting Flow Chart
When in doubt, deactivate all plugins
Problem still there?
Reactivate one at a time
Test between each
NO

58. Troubshooting Flow Chart
When in doubt, deactivate all plugins
Problem still there?
YES
Search forums/Web
Post in forum/report to developer
Look in source code
to default theme
Replace plugin with an alternative

59. Plugin Care and Feeding
Avoid editing others’ plugin code...
COULD THE CHANGES:
Be moved outside plugin?
Be incorporated?
Be forked?

60. Post in the Forum

61. Follow a Plugin - Support

62. Follow a Plugin - Dev

63. Plugin Maintenance
Keep up-to-date
Fully remove unused plugins

64. A Few
Types
Plugins
NOTABLE
OF

65. SEO

66. Security/Backup

67. Multilingual

68. Monster Widget

69. Jetpack

70. Premium

71. More
• Forms
• Analytics
• Anti-spam
• Mapping
• Slider
• Caching
• Admin interface
• Custom fields
• Custom post types
• Social sharing

72. Resources – Codex
WordPress.org Codex: Managing Plugins
http://codex.wordpress.org/Managing_Plugins
WordPress.org Codex: Plugin Resources for
Developers
http://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_Resources

73. Resources – Posts
6 Questions To Ask Before You Install A
WordPress Plugin
http://sixrevisions.com/wordpress/before-install-
wordpress-plugin/ (flowchart used with
permission)
Functionality: Plugins vs Themes– Pippin
Williamson
http://wp.tutsplus.com/articles/general/
functionality-plugins-vs-themes/

74. Resources – Books
Professional WordPress Plugin
Development
by Brad Williams, Ozh Richard, Justin Tadlock
Wrox
Wordpress Plugin Development Cookbook
by Yannick Lefebvre
Packt Publishing

75. Connect/Credits
Presentation
slideshare.net/zoonini
Kathryn Presner
kpresner.com / Twitter: @zoonini
WordPress.org Slack: zoonini
Fonts
Arvo & Lato
“Overwhelmed” photo
(cc) andres.thor – Flickr