Plugins are tools to add extra features to a WordPress site, created by many people and companies in the WordPress community. This guide shows you how to install plugins on your website.
Installing plugins is available on all WordPress.com paid plans: Personal, Premium, Business, and Commerce plans. For free sites, upgrade your plan to install plugins.
A WordPress.com website has many more built-in features than a self-hosted WordPress site, meaning you won’t need a plugin for many common features. Before installing a plugin, check this list to ensure the feature isn’t already available on your site.
All WordPress.com sites include:
- Security protection
- Akismet (advanced anti-spam protection)
- Essential SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- WordPress.com stats (our version of Google Analytics)
- Content Delivery Network (CDN)
- Contact forms
- Email subscriptions
- Commenting (including comment likes, user mentions, notifications, and more)
- Galleries (plus tiled galleries, slideshows, and more)
- Content Carousel
- Payment buttons
- Paid Content (restrict content to paying subscribers only)
- Social media sharing buttons (add social media buttons to your posts and pages)
- Donations
- Duplicate Posts & Pages
- Exports (create a backup of your site’s contents)
- Imports (supporting many popular platforms)
- Infinite scroll
- Related posts
- Likes
- Embeds (display content from popular platforms)
- Event Countdown
- Eventbrite Events
- PayPal buttons
- Polls
By adding a WordPress.com plan to your site, you can take advantage of these additional features:
Personal Plan
- Use a domain with SSL
- Install plugins
- Upload third-party themes
- Audio uploads (including podcasts)
- CSS editor
- Add custom code (JavaScript, iframe, and more)
Premium Plan
- Everything included in the Personal plan
- Google Analytics
- WordAds advertising
- Video uploads
- Appointment bookings
- OpenTable block (restaurant bookings)
Business Plan
- Everything included in the Personal & Premium plans
- Automated site backups and one-click restore
- Advanced SEO
- Staging sites
- SFTP, SSH, and database access
In addition, our Commerce plan includes all the above free & paid features, plus everything you need to run an online store.
Many third-party companies offer WordPress services that WordPress.com site owners can take advantage of. Keep in mind that many features offered by companies like Cloudflare, Sucuri, and others are already built into WordPress.com plans, including speed optimization, caching, web analytics, security features, SSL, and CDN. Before investing in a third-party service, check to make sure the feature isn’t already included with your WordPress.com site.
Once you have chosen the best plugin for your needs, you can install it on your website by following the steps below.
Select the appropriate tab for your admin interface style:
- Visit your website’s WP Admin dashboard.
- Navigate to Plugins → Add Plugin.
- Browse the tabs at the top of the screen, or use the search box to type the name of a specific plugin or feature you’re looking for:
- The Marketplace tab opens first and lists premium plugins from WordPress.com and our partners.
- The Featured, Popular, Recommended, and Favorites tabs list free plugins from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
- Click on a plugin name to open a new module, and read its Description tab to learn more about it – what functionality it provides, how it works, and how to adjust its settings.
- Depending on the plugin developer, you may also see additional tabs next to the Description, including the FAQ, Changelog, Screenshots, and/or Reviews.
- Check the following information about the plugin in the sidebar:
- Last updated: A recent date indicates that the plugin is actively supported and worked on. Avoid plugins that have not been updated in a long time.
- Compatible up to: Ensure the plugin is compatible with the version of WordPress you are running. WordPress.com sites always use the latest version automatically.
- Active installations: A high number indicates a popular and well-supported plugin.
- Average Rating: This shows feedback from customers who installed the plugin. A low rating may indicate other site owners have not had a good experience with the plugin.
- If you are happy with the plugin, click the “Install Now” button to add it to your site:
- If an Activate button appears once the plugin is installed, click it to finish activating the plugin:
We offer a selection of carefully chosen premium plugins in the WordPress.com Marketplace, highlighted on the Plugins page. Click the “Browse all” link to view all available premium plugins:
To purchase any premium plugins in the WordPress.com marketplace, follow these steps:
- Visit your site’s dashboard.
- Navigate to Plugins → Add Plugin. The Marketplace tab opens first.
- Click the Purchase button on the plugin you want, or the “Upgrade and purchase” button if your plan doesn’t include plugins yet.
- On the checkout screen, complete your purchase. The plugin will be installed and activated, ready to use on your site.
If your site uses the Default style, click Plugins on the left side of your site’s dashboard, click the premium plugin you want (or click “Browse all” to view all premium plugins), and then click the “Purchase and activate” button. Above the button, you can select between monthly and annual billing:
As with all WordPress.com subscriptions, any premium plugins you purchase can be managed from the Active Upgrades section of your account. Learn more about how to manage your purchases.
Some plugins may not appear in the plugin search results described in the previous sections. In these cases, you can obtain the plugin directly from the creator’s website. Typically, you will receive a ZIP file that you can upload to your site to install the plugin.
Select the appropriate tab for your admin interface style:
- Visit your website’s dashboard.
- On the left side, click on Plugins.
- Click on the “Add New Plugin” button near the top of the page.
- On the next screen, click on the “Upload Plugin” button to reveal the plugin uploader:
- In this new prompt, drag the .zip file into the box or click on the window to choose the file from your computer. Do not unzip/extract the file before uploading it.
- The plugin will automatically unpack and install on your site, showing the message “Plugin installed successfully.”
- Click the “Activate Plugin” button to finish activating it:
You can also install plugins via the Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).
Once your plugin is installed, see our tips for using plugins to get its features showing on your site.
