How To Install WordPress Plugins Automatically
There are thousands of WordPress plugins available that will extend and expand the functionality of your WordPress site.
In this tutorial you will learn how to install WordPress plugins automatically from your WP dashboard.
About WordPress Plugins
Thousands of WordPress plugins are available to WordPress users, covering just about every type of imaginable application.
WordPress plugins are typically distributed either as Free Software under the GNU General Public License, or as Premium (paid) plugins.
The WordPress software development team maintains a FREE WordPress Plugin Directory for all plugins that are licensed as Free Software …
Premium plugin developers, on the other hand, typically restrict the license on their plugins to protect parts of their code and/or maintain control over their intellectual property, and sell their plugins through their own commercial web sites, or through affiliated resellers.
As you will see shortly in the section below, there are several options for uploading and installing “Free” plugins automatically on your WordPress site, whereas installing paid plugins is normally done by manually downloading the plugin from the vendor’s site to your hard drive first, and then uploading and installing it on your site using the “Upload” method described below.
How To Install WordPress Plugins On Your Site Automatically
Watch the video below and refer to the step-by-step tutorials to learn how to install WordPress plugins on your site.
How To Install WordPress Plugins On Your Site Automatically – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Log into your WordPress admin section, then scroll down your WP-admin sidebar menu and click on Plugins > Add New …
You will be taken to the “Install Plugins” section of your WordPress administration area …
Note: You can also access the “Install Plugins” section by going to the main “Plugins” screen (click on Plugins > Installed Plugins) …
And clicking on “Add New” …
There are several ways you can install WordPress plugins automatically on your site:
- “Upload” method
- “Search” method
- “Featured” method
- “Popular” method
- “Newest” method
- “Favorites” method
Let’s go through each of these options now.
How To Install A WordPress Plugin – Upload Method
First, make sure you have downloaded a zipped version of the WordPress plugin you are planning to install on your site. This can be done either by downloading a Free WordPress Plugin from the WordPress Plugin Directory or a paid plugin that you have purchased elsewhere online ..
After downloading a zipped WordPress plugin file to your hard drive, you can upload and install it on your site using the built-in Upload feature in WordPress.
Go to the “Install Plugins” section and click on “Upload” in the top menu section …
Click on Browse to locate the zipped plugin file that you have previously downloaded to your hard drive …
Select the file you want to upload to your WordPress site and click Open …
Once the file has been added to the WP uploader, click Install Now …
If the upload is successful, you will see a screen like the one shown below …
Note: The method shown here is for installing new plugins only. If a plugin is already installed on your site, you will get a “Plugin install failed” message like the one shown below…
To upgrade an existing plugin, see this tutorial: How To Upgrade And Delete WordPress Plugins Automatically
To activate the plugin, click on the Activate Plugin link …
Your new plugin is now activated …
Note: You can also activate a plugin by going into the “Plugin” area of your WordPress administration, and clicking on the “Activate” link in the menu displayed below the plugin name …
How To Install A WordPress Plugin – Search Method
You can search for Free WordPress plugins listed in the WordPress Plugin Directory and install them automatically into your WordPress site using the “Search” feature in the Plugins section.
Go to the “Install Plugins” section. The “Search” option should show as the default option in the top menu section …
Type in a search term into the Search field and click Search Plugins button (it normally helps if you know what plugin you are looking for, otherwise just type in a general search phrase) …
Find the plugin you want from the Search Results list and click on the Install Now menu link displayed below the plugin name to install the plugin automatically into your WordPress site …
Confirm that you want to install the plugin when the pop-up message below appears …
The plugin will begin installing. After your plugin has installed successfully, click on Activate Plugin to enable the plugin …
Note: In the Search Results section, you can refine your search for plugins using Keyword, Author and Tag.
Finding and installing WordPress plugins using the Featured, Popular, Newest, and Favorites methods essentially follows the same process.
Let’s take a look at these plugin installation methods …
How To Install A WordPress Plugin – Featured Method
You can search for Free WordPress plugins listed in the WordPress Plugin Directory and install them automatically into your WordPress site using the “Featured” option in the Plugins section.
Go to the “Install Plugins” section and click on “Featured” in the top menu section …
A list of plugins featured on the WordPress Plugin Directory is returned in the search results section …
To automatically install a plugin into your WordPress site, just click on the “Install Now” link associated with the plugin and follow the same process of installing and activating your plugin described earlier in this tutorial.
How To Install A WordPress Plugin – Popular Method
You can search for Free WordPress plugins listed in the WordPress Plugin Directory and install them automatically into your WordPress site using the “Popular” feature in the Plugins section.
Go to the “Install Plugins” section and click on “Popular” in the top menu section …
A list of plugins voted by users as being the most popular on the WordPress Plugin Directory is returned in the search results section …
To automatically install a plugin into your WordPress site, just click on the “Install Now” link associated with the plugin and follow the same process of installing and activating your plugin described earlier in this tutorial.
How To Install A WordPress Plugin – Newest Method
You can search for Free WordPress plugins listed in the WordPress Plugin Directory and install them automatically into your WordPress site using the “Newest” feature in the Plugins section.
Go to the “Install Plugins” section and click on “Newest” in the top menu section …
A list of the most recently added new plugins on the WordPress Plugin Directory is returned in the search results section …
To automatically install a plugin into your WordPress site, just click on the “Install Now” link associated with the plugin and follow the same process of installing and activating your plugin described earlier in this tutorial.
How To Install A WordPress Plugin – Favorites Method
The “Favorites” feature allows you to return a list of all plugins that you or someone else has marked as a “Favorite” in the WordPress Plugin Directory …
You can install “Favorite” plugins automatically into your WordPress site using this feature.
Tip: The “Favorites” feature is useful if you perform multiple WordPress installations, as it allows you to access all of the plugins you would normally add to each new WordPress installation you perform.
The “Favorites” feature allows allows WordPress users to share their favorite Free plugins with other users (see below).
To access the “Favorites” feature, you must have an account set up with WordPress. To set up a Free WordPress account, go here: http://wordpress.org/support/register.php
Once you have set up your WordPress account, you will be able to log into the WordPress.org site …
When you are logged into WordPress, plugins display a “Favorite” icon below the download button …
Click on the plugins you like to add them to your “Favorites” list …
You can view all of your favorite plugins by clicking on the My Favorites link when you log into your WordPress.org account …
A list of all the plugins you have marked as ‘Favorite” displays inside your “Profile” page …
Now, when you go to the “Install Plugins” section and click on “Favorites” in the top menu section …
The screen will ask you for your WordPress.org username …
Enter your username and click Get Favorites …
A list of all plugins marked as “favorites” under the WordPress account that you have entered are returned in the results area …
To automatically install a plugin into your WordPress site, just click on the “Install Now” link associated with the plugin and follow the same process of installing and activating your plugin described earlier in this tutorial.
Tip: If you have installed several plugins in a row and have not activated them as you go, you can activate multiple plugins at once by going into your Plugins section and clicking on the Inactive link on the menu at the top of the page …
Click on the checkbox next to the Plugin column header to select all plugins at once, or select each plugin you want to activate individually by checking their box …
In the Bulk Actions drop-down menu at the top of the page, select Activate (1) and then click Apply (2) …
Your selected plugins will all be activated at once …
