Choosing the Right Plugin

When you don't know the code, how do you KNOW it's a good plugin?

Transcript

1. CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORDPRESS PLUGIN
   (Without  knowing  any  code)  
   

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2. Mika Ariela Epstein (aka Ipstenu)
   DreamHost WordPress Guru
   WordPress.org ….
   •   forum  rep  for  2012  and  2013  
   •   Plugin  Review  Team  volunteer  
   •   core  contributor  
    
   WHO AM I?
    
    
   

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3. WHAT ARE PLUGINS?
   

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4. Plugins Are Add-ons to WordPress
   •  Plugins  can  extend  WordPress  to  do  almost  anything  you  
   can  imagine.    
   •  Plugins  are  tools  to  extend  the  functionality  of  WordPress.    
   •  The  core  of  WordPress  is  designed  to  be  lean,  to  maximize  
   Flexibility  and  minimize  code  bloat.  Plugins  offer  custom  
   functions  and  features  so  that  each  user  can  tailor  their  
   site  to  their  speciFic  needs.  
   

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5. Where Can I Get Plugins?
   •  OfFicial  Repository:    
   •    http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/  
   

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6. What about Plugin Shops?
   Image Credit:
   http://www.woothemes.com/2011/02/wooville-5-wheres-woo/
   

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7. Plugins Can…
   •  Auto-­‐Tweet  your  new  posts  
   •  Keep  track  of  site  statistics  
   •  Stop  spammers  
   •  Connect  your  site  to  other  websites  
   •  Keep  track  of  your  beer  brewing  
   •  Run  an  e-­‐commerce  store  
   •  Handle  tickets  for  your  event  
   •  Rickroll  your  videos  
   "
   

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8. Plugins
   can do Anything!
   

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9. Too Many Options
   •  27,000+  plugins  
   •  200  new  ones  requested  every  week  
   –  100  approved    
   –  50  rejected  
   –  50  ‘pending’  some  reply  
   •  4500  commits  a  week  (vs  core  which  averages  50)  
   

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10. THERE ARE ONLY FOUR STEPS TO PICKING THE
    RIGHT PLUGINS
    It’s  all  about  what  you  know  
     
     
    

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11. 1. WHAT PLUGIN DO YOU NEED?
    

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12. Needs vs Wants
    •  Features  you  don’t  want  are  useless  
     
    •  Features  you  don’t  use  are  wasted  
    •  Features  you  already  have  are  redundant  
     
    •  Features  you  rarely  use  are  important  
     
    •  Features  you  use  regularly  are  needed  
    

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13. 2. WHO IS THAT DEVELOPER?
    

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14. Know That Face
    •  What  does  their  own  website  look  like?  
     
    •  What  other  WP  work  have  they  done?  
     
    •  What  other  code  in  general  do  they  work  on?  
     
    •  How  do  they  behave  in  public?  
    

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15. Profiles
    •  Authors  are  linked  on  every  plugin  page  
    •  A  good  proFile  tells  you  who  the  developer  is  
    

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16. Activity
    •  Replying  to  topics  means  support  
    •  Plugins  Trac  means  they’re  
    updating  their  plugin  
    •  Core  Trac  means  contributing  to    
    WordPress  Core  
    

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17. Other Plugins
    

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18. 3. HOW IS IT SUPPORTED?
    

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19. You Will Need Help
    •  What  does  the  plugin  page  say?  
     
    •  Where  is  it  supported?  
     
    •  Is  support  free  or  pay?  
     
    •  How  active  is  support?  
     
    •  Is  there  a  community?  
    

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20. Read The Fine ReadMe
    

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21. 4. HOW IS IT REALLY USED?
    

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22. Know The Real World
    Who’s  really  using  this  plugin?  
     http://wordpress.org/plugins/NAME/stats/  
     
    What  are  the  reviews?  
     http://wordpress.org/support/view/plugin-­‐reviews/NAME  
     
    Are  there  known  pain  points?  
     http://wordpress.org/support/plugin/NAME  
    

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23. Stats
    

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24. Reviews
    

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25. To the pain!
    

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26. BUT WHAT ABOUT PLUGIN SHOPS?
    Are  they  safe?  
    Are  they  supported?  
    Are  they  trustworthy?  
    

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27. Plugin Shops Are Fine
    •  Do  they  give  back  to  WordPress?  
     
    •  How  do  they  handle  support?  
     
    •  Are  they  active  in  the  support  
    community?  
     
    •  Are  they  mentioned  in  the  forums?  
    

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28. The End
    

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