What are WordPress Plugins?

Plugins allow you to develop the features found in WordPress without changing the core of WordPress itself. WordPress Plugins are pieces of software, packages of codes, that broaden the basic functions of WordPress. WordPress Plugins are created from PHP code and other resources like images, CSS, and JavaScript.

There is probably already a Plugin for most features you could imagine in WordPress on the market today. All you need is to search through the WordPress Plugin directory to see all the possible ways plugins can expand and improve your WordPress site.

If there is one main rule to WordPress plugin development, it is “do not modify the WordPress core”. You should not do this because when WordPress is updated, all basic files are overwritten, and the work you have done disappears. Furthermore, your changes can cause the entire installation to exhibit unexpected behavior. Therefore, all functions you add should always be through plugins, written according to WordPress standards.

Free plugins:

• Are a smooth and efficient way to use the WordPress service, suitable for websites with lower traffic volumes.
• Have a large number available in the WordPress Plugin directories. Easy to try and review the quality when the code is available.
• Development often takes place openly, and changes that benefit you can be donated to the project.

Purchasable plugins:

• Sometimes offers on-call support and developers who work to maintain security. There is often work made to ensure the Plugin’s compatibility with the latest version of WordPress as well as with other Plugins and themes.
• Is mostly compatible with other Plugins, but sometimes the Plugin’s code gets in the way of other Plugins, which creates compatibility problems. Difficult to try and review quality when the code is available.
• If the plugin does exactly what you want, the cost will be considerably lower than developing tailor-made plugins. Development is usually closed, and changes that benefit you can usually not be donated into the project.

Tailor-made plugins

• Does exactly what you want them to do.
• Full control over the quality of the plugin and its continued development.
• Tested and adapted to the theme you use.
• Only functions that benefit you enter the plugin.

Development of tailor-made WordPress plugins

Plugins that are available for free, but primarily Plugins that are sold on different websites, are often designed to solve many different problems for multiple different users. Trying to solve multiple problems at the same time often creates a situation where compatibility problems arise, sometimes hampering the website’s performance significantly worse. This becomes especially noticeable if you have used most of these plugins on websites that have high traffic.

A delay of as little as 50 milliseconds is barely noticeable on a small web page, but when ten thousand users visit the site, a total of over eight minutes can be lost, leading to many lost opportunities. The more general Plugins you use, the worse the performance, which dramatically impacts your website.

By creating your own Plugins, you expand WordPress as you build features in addition to those that WordPress already offers. WordPress Plugins can be both simple or complex, depending on the intended purpose. The simplest type of Plugin is a single PHP file. Most WordPress Plugins consist of multiple files, but a Plugin only needs one main file with a specially formatted DocBlock in the header.

We at Angry Creative pay attention to every little detail and will help you optimize every component of your web platform. When given the opportunity, we optimize existing Plugins, exclude unnecessary components and functions, and make separate Plugins work better together. When a Plugin’s structure is not stable or compatible, we propose optional solutions. Alternatively, we build customized Plugins that solve your problems in the best possible way, optimized for both speed and user-friendliness.

Plugins we have developed