Sometimes you got so confused as there are many available options in WordPress plugins directory for certain type of plugin’s functionality.
You can always intuitively make research on each of the available plugins that seem great for you. But if you don’t have much time, this could be a very long process to go. I would suggest you to list the plugins that mostly will fit the need of your website’s functionality as the first step in choosing the best one. After that you can compare the selected plugins based on some more specific criteria.
Each WordPress plugin page always includes some information that are related to it’s performance. In my experience, I always prioritize to check some particular information as follows before I decide to install it to my websites or my client’s websites:
- Pick the plugins that have most Recent Updates.
I’d personally won’t go with plugins that are not well maintained by the author. I think 2 or 3 months of last updates is the limit. - Check the number of Active Installations.
This is the most practical approach to see if the plugin is actually working for many websites. If the plugin is relatively new, you may see low number of active installations and it’s fairly OK to give a go or try if you think the functionality is great enough for you. - See how active the Support Response of the plugin.
The faster response, the better the plugin is obviously 😄 Again, it’s crucial to see if the plugin is well maintained by the author and fast response is part of the plugin maintenance activity because it could deal with many reports of found bugs or requests for additional functionalities by users, etc. - Check the Plugin’s Ratings.
I won’t say you could rely on this ratings, because some plugins won’t work on certain conditions or factors and user might put bad ratings because the person didn’t know much of how to install it or missing the configuration setting, or giving up too early after finding bugs or it could be fake if the plugin is too commercial 😄. It’s not really objective to just check a plugin’s quality based on ratings imho. - See the Screenshot of the plugin’s interface.
I think it will be helpful to have visual look of the plugin briefly, before you decide to install it. Therefore you’d understand better what the plugin can actually do for your website.
Other information, such as: Tested status, and supporting Languages could be the next consideration for you.
Another information such as a Demo link, would also worth the time to check.
You might also want to check if the plugin can work as a Supporting Add-On for other popular plugins, such as WooCommerce, BuddyPress, Contact Form 7, etc.
If you have limited budget, you can also compare the FREE features vs. the PREMIUM features that are provided by the plugin. If you’re lucky, the the entire plugin features can be completely free 😄.
I’d also like to share some relevant articles that will save your time in choosing the best WordPress plugin, so here they are:
Beginner’s Guide: How to Choose the Best WordPress Plugin
Choosing the Best WordPress Plugin for Your Website Needs
Btw, you might think that my list could be similar to the articles I just shared above, or pretty standard, but I hope the comment I added would make sense to you or helpful in some ways and you can also comment if you’d care to share your tips or experience to select best WordPress plugin with me.
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