Everybody who uses WordPress loves plugins. Plugins let us share our posts, improve search engine optimization, enhance functionality and many other things. So, what can go wrong with plugins?

Much has been written about the quality of plugin code or how having too many plugins might slow down your site. But here are a few things that might get overlooked.

  1. If your plugin is very out of date, it might no longer be compatible with your version of WordPress or conflict with other plugins causing various problems on your site. I had to fix a site that had a plugin on it that had not been updated for 3 years.  This out-of-date plugin was causing javascript errors, keeping  a form on the site from working!
  2. Sometimes when you update a plugin, you are then required to update a portion of the database. For example, the Give WP plugin required an update to the forms database after I updated. Likewise, WooCommerce frequently requires a database update when the plugin version is updated. Both of these plugins do put notices at the top of  the dashboard but many ignore them resulting in a site that does not work properly.

So, pay close attention to your plugins for a happy WordPress website.