Wordpress Plugins

WordPress' plugin architecture allows users to extend the features and functionality of a website or blog. As of May 2021, WordPress.org has 58,463 plugins available,each of which offers custom functions and features enabling users to tailor their sites to their specific needs. However, this does not include the premium plugins that are available (approximately 1,500+), which may not be listed in the WordPress.org repository. These customisations range from search engine optimization (SEO), to client portals used to display private information to logged-in users, to content management systems, to content displaying features, such as the addition of widgets and navigation bars. Not all available plugins are always abreast with the upgrades, and as a result, they may not function properly or may not function at all. Most plugins are available through WordPress themselves, either via downloading them and installing the files manually via FTP or through the WordPress dashboard. However, many third parties offer plugins through their own websites, many of which are paid packages. Web developers who wish to develop plugins need to learn WordPress' hook system which consists of over 2,000 hooks (as of Version 5.7 in 2021) divided into two categories: action hooks and filter hooks. Plugins also represent a development strategy that can transform WordPress into all sorts of software systems and applications, limited only by the imagination and creativity of the programmers. These are implemented using custom plugins to create non-website systems, such as headless WordPress applications and Software as a Service (SaaS) products. Plugins also could be used by hackers targeting the site that use WordPress, as hackers could exploit bugs on WordPress plugins themselves instead of exploiting the bugs on WordPress itself.

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