An Intro to Choosing WordPress Plugins

If we want to do more with our website than the default way WordPress handles video, we can install extra plugins for WordPress. 

While the core functionality of WordPress is maintained by a healthy but relatively restricted group of developers, the wider eco-system of themes and plugins, which add extra functionality and design to the platform, is maintained by thousands of coders.

Because there are so many plugins, it can be a daunting task to know which ones to use. Developers often gather in user groups to pass on tips about plugins that they know work well.  

The results page of http://wordpress.org/pluginssearch for video plugins. You can see when it was update, average rating and the number of downloads.  

There are also general tips to help you choose the tools to get the job done.

Are plugins from WordPress.org plugin directory reliable?  The plugins directory at http://wordpress.org/pluginsis a reputable source. Plugins here are openly licenced and available for peer review, rating etc. As you will see, there is other information listed there that helps us make a decision about whether to use it or not. Our advice, if the plugin is not listed here, you should probably avoid it and find an alternative.

Is it simple? The best plugins do one thing and they do it well. If the options for the plugin are too numerous or confusing, try to see if you can achieve the same thing with a simpler plugin.

How many people have downloaded the plugin? You can check this by looking at plugins' home pages in the plugin directory at http://wordpress.org/plugins/

Is it up to date? WordPress gets updated quite regularly. The longer it has been since the plugins was updated, the less likely it is to work well.   

 

How is it rated? There is a rating system allowing users to give feedback. This is a good way of quickly assessing plugins. 

Is there an active support forum? Some plug in writers are great at supporting the users of their plugins. They fix any bugs, keep the code up to date and respond to questions about how to use it.

Is there more than one coder involved? Ideally you don't want your plugins to become outdated if one coder loses interest. Many great plugins have just one author, but it's safer if there is more than one.