In The Minimalistic Era, Do You Really Need All Those Plugins And Widgets On Your Site?

Today, seeing how telecommunication technology has developed, sometimes it seems we don’t even distinguish one screen from another.

First phones tried to be more like computers, now computers are trying to be more like phones and tablets try to pose like they are better than both. And seeing how companies like Apple are trying to create digital ecosystems that all share the same operating systems, it really seems like we are just switching screens. 

PLAYING WITH PLUGINS LIKE WITH APPS

In a similar way this is how widgets and apps find their place on websites. Plugins are just like apps for your websites, they look, feel and work just like your mobile phone apps.

But there is a difference. Plugins are not toys.

While some apps are here just to entertain us (even if you leave out video games, most apps are here to entertain the user in some way), plugins are here to improve and offer new functions.
They are here to improve site functioning and user experience. While you certainly do go to your phone to play games, you don’t go to your website dashboard to do that. 

Yet, it can be hard to control the child in you that wants to try it all. Even if you know plugins are not toys you can be pressed to try all of them to make your site “perfect”.

And you should to this! WordPress is considered the most popular website builder in the world for a reason! Plugins will not only make website construction & maintenance easier, they will offer functions that will skyrocket your site. This is the miracle of WordPress and it would be silly not to use it. 

However, when you do get the hang of it all, you have to remember the old saying: “Less is more”.

There are a lot of reasons this saying is true regarding plugins. 

DON’T LET THEM SLOW YOU DOWN

The biggest reason why plugins sometimes get a bad rep is that there are so many of them, and not all of them are trustworthy. There are more than 54,000 free WordPress plugins available in the official plugins directory right now, and countless more in development, not to mention thousands of premium plugins.

Not all of these plugins are compatible with your site, your theme or your hosting provider. Internet and digital technology are advancing rapidly and not everybody can keep track.  

The plugins you use can be affecting the front-end of your website (the user interface), the back end (your admin operating area) or be targeting both. 

Plugins that target the front end are different plugins designing the visual aspect of the site, galleries, and all the different widgets you use. 

Stacking your front end full of plugins will make it more likely to impact the performance of your website. These plugins often require custom stylings and scripts, so loading them may slow down your page. 

A lot of people's first reaction to any WordPress bugs is that you have “too many plugins installed”.

While having too many plugins does affect your site's performance, as we have explained, it isn’t fair to say pure quantity is the problem. 

You have to keep an eye on what kind of plugins you are installing. Try not to overload your front-end with countless widgets and design plugins and don’t pile too many plugins of the same function. Some people will install 3 different plugins for Custom fonts, just to have a bigger bunch to choose from. 

We do not recommend this. Especially when there are a lot of multipurpose plugins made to act like an “all in one” plugin. A plugin like Jetpack (https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/) can help with your site performance optimization, SEO, security and more all in one plugin. 

SOME OF THEM ARE JUST BAD

And of course there is just the matter that not all plugins are created equal. Some plugins are just made better and function better.

Plugins are essentially made of code and when a plugin is coded badly, just one bad plugin can ruin your site. It’s like dropping a drop of poison in a lake. This is how coding works, a small mistake is enough to confuse the whole system.

This is why it is a good idea to keep track of how your site is behaving with each plugin. Before you install a new plugin that isn’t tested or you are not sure about, there is an easy way to create a backup. You can take screenshots that will allow you to have a backup.

After some a plugin starts behaving in a bad way, you can use WP Reset (https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-reset/) to reset you back at your saved backup. With WP Reset you can choose to delete themes and theme options, delete plugins or delete media. Combined with the snapshot system it is great tool to troubleshoot which plugin is giving you headaches.

It is normal and expected that you are going to run into a less-than-functioning plugin one day, so don’t have a hard time removing them. Either way, WP Reset is almost certainly going to be handy to you one time or the other. 

LESS MAY BE MORE, BUT THERE IS NO TOO MUCH

All this being said, the average business website uses from 20-30 plugins, and this isn’t even considered a lot. Well, business asks for a website that can, well, do business. Running a good E-commerce store can really need a lot of oomph. 

At the end of the day it depends on what you need. If you need 80 plugins for your website and know what you are doing, there is a way to pull it off without a problem.

Another good point is that websites really have become more minimalistic in the last years. As our visual culture progresses, we are more drawn to aesthetically pleasing designs. 

If the “less is more” philosophy is to be implemented anywhere, it is surely in the domain of the sing. There is a tendency to strip down your website to bear functions and present a visually appealing front. A lot of this can be solved in the first step, having an imaginative enough idea that will stand on its own. And plugins won’t help you come up with that.

And finally, today people don’t even ask that much of your website. Your websites widgets and functions shouldn’t be the goal. While it differs from what kind of site you are running and what kind of niche you are building it upon, most websites are here to present content or products. 

If your content and your products have value, your website is just here to present them for what they are and help your visitors pick and consume. 

Just because plugins can eat up some of your websites speed you shouldn’t be afraid. You just need to keep the balance and use them where they are useful. That also applies to your visuals, content and your products.

If you keep that in mind, you will have a fun time constructing your site and won’t have to worry about your plugins having a life of their own.

Good luck!