{"id":429301,"date":"2017-09-05T10:00:55","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T08:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-rocket.me\/?p=429301\/"},"modified":"2021-07-29T10:11:19","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T08:11:19","slug":"wordpress-plugins-many","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-rocket.me\/blog\/wordpress-plugins-many\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many WordPress Plugins Is Too Many?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With over 50,000 plugins in the WordPress repository<\/a>, it\u2019s easy to feel like a kid in a candy store. The problem is you shouldn\u2019t because mo\u2019 plugins, mo\u2019 problems.<\/p>\n

Having too many plugins installed on your WordPress site can cause many potential problems including slowing your site down to a crawl.<\/p>\n

Since 40% of visitors leave a site<\/a> if it takes more than three seconds to load, it\u2019s important to pare down the number of plugins you use.<\/p>\n

But just how many WordPress plugins is really too many?<\/p>\n

Today, I\u2019ll share how installing too many plugins can become an issue for your WordPress site. I\u2019ll also answer the all important question of how many plugins is too many to install.<\/p>\n

Maybe I’m Amazed at the Way Plugins Work<\/h2>\n

Why bother installing plugins at all? While WordPress is chock-full of features, it\u2019s not everything you need in most cases.<\/p>\n

The WordPress core offers a great foundation for your site, but if you really want to turn things up a notch, plugins are the answer.<\/p>\n

They can offer practical solutions such as boosting your SEO, speeding up your site with browser and database caching and providing solid security, but that just scratches the surface.<\/p>\n

There are also plugins available for virtually anything you could want to include in your site. From adding eCommerce, blog or website hosting and membership capabilities, and all the way to incorporating a falling snowflakes animation to your pages, there\u2019s a plugin for it.<\/p>\n

The reality is, if you want to build a robust site full of features, you\u2019re going to need to install some WordPress plugins.<\/p>\n

\"wordpress.org

The WordPress Plugin Repository has over 50,000 plugins.<\/p><\/div>\n

Plugins, Don’t Let Me Down<\/h2>\n

Plugins are great, but the more plugins you add to your site, the greater the risk is of running into problems.<\/p>\n

Problem #1: Increase in HTTP Requests<\/h3>\n

Many plugins offer a lot of functionality for the front end of your site. For example, allowing a visitor to book an appointment or browse and purchase physical or digital products.<\/p>\n

These kinds of plugins need extra CSS styling, images and JavaScript in order to run properly. These cause extra HTTP requests, which are request-response protocols that a visitor\u2019s browser sends to your site\u2019s server in order to request data to load the page they\u2019re visiting. The server retrieves the requested data and serves it up to the browser.<\/p>\n

Each time an HTTP request is sent, it uses up your server\u2019s resources. The more that are sent, the more resources are used. If all your server\u2019s resources are used up, your server (and site!) crashes.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s definitely not<\/i> what you want since your visitors can\u2019t view anything until you\u2019re able to get things back up and running.<\/p>\n

The other issue here is that each request takes time to process. The more HTTP requests you have, the more time it takes to complete and that translates into a slower loading time for your site.<\/p>\n

HTTP requests are similar to your brain\u2019s processing power. When you have to solve one little problem, it\u2019s easy enough, but if you need to solve hundreds of little problems, it\u2019s completely overwhelming. You get too tired and sluggish to problem solve.<\/p>\n

Worst case scenario, your brain shouts \u201cThat\u2019s enough!\u201d and doesn\u2019t accept any more problems, no matter how tiny.<\/p>\n

Problem #2: Too Many Database Queries<\/h3>\n

Speaking of HTTP requests, too many database queries is another potential problem plugins can bring.<\/p>\n

Much of your WordPress site is stored in your database. Every time your page needs to load and it requests information from your database, it takes time and resources.<\/p>\n

Similar to HTTP requests, the more queries that are sent to your database, the larger the strain is on your database and the overall performance of your site suffers.<\/p>\n

Problem #3: Bloated Database<\/h3>\n

The more plugins you install, the more data needs to be stored in your WordPress site\u2019s database.<\/p>\n

Since your database and your server has a strict limit to how much storage space it has, the more information you collect in your database, the bigger it gets until it\u2019s full-up and bloated.<\/p>\n

This is particularly an issue because this causes your database to run inefficiently, which leads to a super sluggish site.<\/p>\n

Activated plugins are especially a problem, but deactivated plugins still store data in your database and cause bloat. Even plugins you deleted can still store stray data.<\/p>\n

Problem #4: Compatibility Issues<\/h3>\n

The more plugins you install, the higher your chances become of running into a compatibility issue. That\u2019s when the code in two or more plugins don\u2019t work well together and cause each other to break.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like gears in a machine. When they\u2019re compatible, the teeth of two gears line up and are able to rotate in unison. However, if those teeth aren\u2019t lined up properly, the gears grind together and struggle until it spells destruction for both the gears and the entire machine.<\/p>\n

Since plugins aren\u2019t all written by the same developers, it\u2019s difficult to make sure that every single plugin out there works well with each other.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget: there\u2019s over 50,000 plugins in the WordPress repository alone. It\u2019s practically impossible to test one plugin against all the others out there to fix any compatibility issues.<\/p>\n

Problem #5: Security Holes<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s easy to code an accidental security vulnerability. Even the best and brightest developers can miss a security hole when writing and reviewing code because it\u2019s not always immediately obvious.<\/p>\n

The more plugins you have installed, the higher the risk is of one of those plugins having a security hole that a hacker could exploit to infiltrate and infect your site.<\/p>\n

Problem #6: Poorly Coded Plugins<\/h3>\n

As much as we may want to be, pobody\u2019s nerfect<\/i>\u2014er, I mean nobody\u2019s perfect\u2014and mistakes do happen. Plugins are no exception.<\/p>\n

No matter how skilled of a developer you are, statistically speaking, the chances of being able to write perfect code with no bugs is zero probability.<\/p>\n

Every plugin is going to have its fair share of bugs, but there are also many plugins out there that are incredibly poorly coded. These plugins wreak havoc on your site in often multiple ways as mentioned above.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like building a dam with plaster and a wood frame. At that point, you\u2019re asking for the dam to collapse and flood the neighbouring city.<\/p>\n

When you use a poorly-coded plugin, running into an issue is practically guaranteed.<\/p>\n

We Can Work it Out<\/h2>\n

Enough about the problems. What are the solutions?<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are many ways to prevent the issues mentioned above:<\/p>\n