One of the many reasons I love using WordPress is the plugins. Of all the CMS’s and all the plugins for them, WordPress has the most, I could argue the most user friendly plugins designed. And I can pretty much guarantee that if you have a need, WordPress has a plugin or five to do that, some for free.
But… in some cases, not just in WordPress, but all apps, on every platform, even the free ones can come with a price. In security, in performance or the need for customization’s or features that you want that aren’t included in the “free version” – in some cases you can pay for it and then find out that it doesn’t do what you need either. Not always the plugins fault, just that one size fits all doesn’t always meet the needs of the website.
I like a lean code ship. Site speed is important to me, a mean load time of 1.3 seconds. Often when I am developing a site, I will add a function and templates to the theme rather than a plugin because what I need only takes 10 lines of code, including notation. Pretty much there is usually a plugin that does what I need out there but it comes with extra files, extra calls to the server, external files and to the browser – and sometimes conflicts with other plugins and themes.
Buyer Beware
In my role as a developer when and if a client asks about plugins I advise them to make sure the author is reputable, search the CVE for security vulnerabilities and, make sure that the plugin actually fulfills your needs, if possible to do a free trial or demo.
To be honest, they don’t always ask, or listen. I’ve seen more than one wish that they had, when the plugin didn’t do what they thought it would, was buggy or a security risk.
