Choosing the right WordPress plugin may be daunting, I mean there are thousands of plugins to choose from right? This guide will show you what things to consider when choosing a WordPress plugin.
Is The Plugin Supported?
For us here at Yoohoo Plugins, the most important aspect of choosing a WordPress plugin is the support available. Most WordPress companies offer both free and premium support. Be sure to have a look to see if the company support channels work for you.
Another great way to see if a WordPress plugin is supported is to see the WordPress.org support channel how long their support team takes to respond to threads or not. How many threads are resolved, you may have a look at our When Last Login WordPress support page.
When Was The Plugin Last Updated
This should not be a crux when choosing a WordPress plugin. Some user’s may think that if a plugin is not updated within 3 months that it’s no longer supported and this is not the case. You may have a look to see if the plugin you are interested in will work with the version of WordPress you are using – if you are unclear about this, reach out to their support.
Does The Number Of Active Installs Matter?
Not entirely, but definitely when choosing an important plugin such as a membership plugin or an ECommerce plugin it’s usually good to see the number of active installs as the more installs there are the higher the chance of the plugin to be supported. This may be difficult to see for premium plugins.
Choosing A Premium WordPress Plugin
Often plugin’s have a free version and then a pro version that has extra features (that you’d most likely need). The above points mainly covers points when choosing a WordPress plugin on WordPress.org and not all of these steps may be available when choosing a premium WordPress plugin. Luckily, here’s what we recommend:
Refund Policy
Purchasing a WordPress plugin may be a bit scary from a company that you don’t know – as is purchasing anything online from a company you are not familiar with. Here at Yoohoo, we offer 30 day – 100% refund guarantee. Most serious WordPress plugin companies offer this refund – be sure to find these details out before buying a plugin.
Don’t Be Afraid To Reach Out To The Company
You should always ask questions or read the FAQ’s to answer any uncertain questions you may have about the company or the product. Companies are more than accommodating to answer any of these questions you may have and might even give you a discount code if requested.
Price Of A WordPress Plugin
All pricing differs from a company’s business model, some offer a once off fee for a plugin, others may charge a yearly fee and other company’s may offer a flat rate to get access to all their products. Here at Yoohoo, we offer a yearly fee per product which allows you access to premium support and automatic updates as long as you keep your license active – if you do not renew your code will still work. (This is a very common model for WordPress plugins).
A price often determines my choice when choosing a WordPress plugin as a project often has a budget that I need to work within. Keep in mind the projects budget and future scope that you may be handling.
Is There Clear Documentation For The WordPress Plugin?
Documentation is important for any plugin, as you do not want to reach out to support for every little thing you don’t know how to do with the plugin you’re about to purchase. If you are a developer and wanting to ‘tinker’ with the plugin or product, make sure there are documents available as I’ve struggled in building integration with well-known plugins due to the lack of documentation and it makes it frustrating from a developer’s point of view.
Look At The Companies Other Products
When I look at purchasing a WordPress plugin I often see what other products the company has built. This isn’t a major factor for me, but sometimes if a company has built a successful WordPress plugin or service than you will know that the company traits (customer support, guarantee, ethics etc.) will carry over.
Summary
Hopefully this article will help you when choosing your next WordPress plugin. These steps should not be the final decision when choosing a plugin, but it’s what I personally use when I choose my next WordPress plugin. Let us know what you look for in purchasing a plugin by tweeting @yoohooplugins.
Photo by Chase Emmons on Unsplash
