BLOGS

Do you have an idea of plugin development?

A WordPress plugin is a piece of software that “plugs into” your WordPress site. Plugins can add new functionality or extend existing functionality on your site, allowing you to create virtually any kind of website, from ecommerce stores to portfolios to directory sites.

Create a WordPress Plugin Directory Structure

The default WP directory for storing plugin code in the back end is /wp-content/plugins/. How you structure your plugin within this directory will depend on the complexity of the plugin. The name of the directory is the same as your plugin name, in lowercase and dashes in place of spaces.

If you plan to work with a plugin that has a lot of assets, you can organize your plugin based on the function of the code and PHP files. You can create directories such as assets for CSS and JavaScript files, i18n for localization files, templates, and widgets.

For more complex plugins, you can create an MVC view, with directories for model, view, and controller within the my-plugin directory. This helps in debugging later in a shorter time. In our simple and straightforward example of the Hello World plugin, we will create the hello-world directory with a single PHP file, hello-world.php inside it.

Advantage and disadvantage
Pros:

Development of plugins or using third party plugins will save developer time.

Offer some flexibility-Plugins provide developers the flexibility to customize site features and functionality. Most plugins allow some settings to be turned on and off and styles such as fonts, colors, and sizes to be changed to match the rest of the site.

can be very reliable – Plugins have become so essential to WordPress development that many of them are created and managed by reputable companies who regularly update them to fix bugs and improve security. Many plugins offer different levels of functionality depending on your needs, with a free version for the basic functionality and a paid version for more advanced features.

Cons:

While plugins sound like a developer’s dream, there are some downsides to consider too. Those include:

Plugins make your site vulnerable: Normal WordPress vulnerabilities come from plugins. We are not pointing out that all plugins. Website administrators should regularly update or build to the highest standards. Else these plugins can leave your site vulnerable to hacks.

Plugin limits the functionality: Part of the trade-off with using a plugin is that you are limited to what the plugin offers and which settings it lets you change.

Code and Plugin conflict occur: Since plugins are so convenient it can be easy to rely on them too much. Unfortunately that isn’t a good idea.

Website may slow down and its page speed: Plugins can affect page speed because they often require additional CSS and JavaScript files to be loaded on the page.

Conclusion:

Plugins should be used to enhance and not overcomplicate. Researching and maintaining your plugins will keep them functioning properly on your site and help you to avoid some of their pitfalls.

Plugins have become an essential part of a WordPress developer’s toolkit and help to enhance the experience for users and administrators. If you can use  WordPress to fix your design and use plugins to help enhance content and user experience.

Do not over complicate it!. Keep it simple and you will be happy.