This is the most common question among beginners, who want to know how many WordPress plugins they should keep it on their blog for optimal performance.

Is there an optimal number? What are the benefits of having few plugins installed on a WordPress blog?

But before we start, if you have never installed WordPress, find out How to Install a WordPress Blog in 7 Steps et How to search, install and activate a WordPress theme on your blog 

The questions do not correct the problems, and not knowing what to do, you can easily be confused. That's why in this tutorial we'll explain what you need to know.

How many plugins should you install on your WordPress blog

Currently, many people think that a number of plugins should be installed by default. But it's wrong. A magic number has never been a reality, and in reality, the number does not matter.

Surprised ?  Well in practice, it's true.

See also How to install (add) a plugin on WordPress

Some developers are looking for plugins that can solve the problems they encounter with WordPress and others are looking for the perfect combination of plugin for better performance.

Of the two methods, which one remains a good practice?

The answer is: it all depends on the quality of the plugin

The quality of the plugin

In a previous article, we suggested some questions that you should always ask yourself before to install a plugin on your WordPress blog, and I remember having insisted on the quality of the plugin in terms of functionality and security.

Let's take an example :

Let's say we've recently created a WordPress blog, which uses 3 to 4 essential plugins (especially the most popular such as' SEO By Yoast ») and we decide to try a plugin.

See also How to Create a WordPress Plugin Quickly if you have ambitions to do it

After some research, we finally opted for the extension " AddThis ". As you can imagine, the speed of our website will be affected by this plugin.

Indeed, before installing the plugin, the loading time was only 1,3 seconds and after installing the plugin it goes up to 5 seconds which is an increase of 3,7 seconds which is huge !!! (Especially the eyes of Google).

The trick here is how the plugin works. It actually incorporates social network icons on the homepage. It loads them asynchronously and offers 5 social network buttons.

But, to my surprise, the plugin took a long time to display the result, which has a significant impact on the performance of my page.

One plugin can change the game

Yes, you read correctly. It doesn't matter if your blog has 5 or 20 plugins. If they're coded well and adhere to quality guidelines, they won't have a big impact on your page load times.

Normally, when a plugin is enabled, the file " functions.php "Of WordPress theme is extended by the plugin, thus providing additional functionality.

Also, every time you activate a plugin, some additional queries are made to the database, and this can have an impact on the loading of your pages.

The more queries there are, the more time they take to process.

Discover also by the way How to properly uninstall a WordPress plugin 

Overall, adding a plugin impacts your blog in two ways:

  • It loads new lines of code. The code is executed during the rendering of the website.
  • Static resources are retrieved by the web browser.

In the first case, if the code is not well written it will impact your blog in a negative way.

The second case, it makes more requests for the rendering of the website. It's even worse than the first case, because it takes more time for "round trip".

How to solve the problem and what is the number it takes?

Solving this problem is easy enough.

  • Keep an eye on how each plugin works. If you notice that after installing a plugin the loading speed of the pages changes, then look for alternatives.
  • Some plugins are needed and can not be removed. Use a cache plugin like " W3 Total Cache "To increase the page loading speed.
  • Use security plugins such as WordFence as well as safeguard such as " UpDraftPlus For better control of your website.

Finally, there is no magic number of plugins that must be installed. It all depends on the quality of the plugin used.

So ! Now you know how many WordPress plugins you can use on your blog or website.

Discover also some premium WordPress plugins  

You can use other WordPress plugins to give a modern appearance and to optimize the handling or operation of your blog or website.

Here are some premium WordPress plugins that we recommend. 

1. Social Share & Locker Pro

The Social Share & Locker Pro extension has been designed to help your website be more visible on social networks. With just a few clicks, you will be able to either set the position of your social icons or lock your content by requiring a sharing on one of the social networks proposed by you.

social share locker pro wordpress plugin

You have 10 predefined themes and this should cover the most common wishes. All her themes are Retina and work wonders. 

Also, with Social Share & Locker Pro, you will be able to display the full name of social networks or just the icon. It will depend on your design, the available space, or your wishes.

Download | Demo | Web hosting

2. Ultimate Membership Pro

Ultimate Membership Pro is a great WordPress Plugin subscription and content restriction. It allows users to be managed according to their package (free or premium) by creating exclusive access levels.

Ultimate membership pro wordpress membership plugin

It will therefore be possible to protect all the content of your website, or just part of it. It will be for example a course, a lesson, a page, a product, a category, an image, etc ...

Its main functionalities are among others: content protection, multiple access levels, support for multiple Payment gateways - PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, 2CheckOut, Bank Transfer-, partial content protection, and much more ...

Download | Demo | Web hosting 

3. FileBird

You have thousands of files in your WordPress Media Library, and you find it difficult to manage them, the WordPress Plugin FileBird comes to help you take your WordPress media library management to the next level. 

Filebird media categories folders file manager for wordpress

With this tool, you will be able to manage and organize thousands of images, audios, videos and other files in your media library. one of its outstanding features and its hierarchical view that allows you to quickly find specific files.

As features, it offers among others: a friendly user interface, an excellent context menu, full control over the toolbar, the possibility of creating unlimited numbers of folders and subfolders, support for several types of files, compatibility with others popular WordPress plugins and themes, multilingual support and many others.

Download | Demo | Web hosting

Recommended Resources

Find out about other recommended resources to help you build and manage your website.

Conclusion

Here is ! That's all for this little tutorial on the amount of plugins you need to have on your WordPress blog. Feel free to share it with your friends on your favorite networks.

However, you will also be able to consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on the WordPress blog creation.

If you liked it, don't hesitate to share with your friends on your favorite social networks

...