Is there a downside to using plugins?

  • Resolved kuukuu

    (@kuukuu)


    8 years, 10 months ago

    Hello,

    I’m very new to WP and am trying to wrap my head around everything.

    I’ve downloaded other plugins to create custom posts and create fields/taxonomies. So with this plugin, that makes three just for creating and displaying my custom content.

    So my initial question is this: Is there a downside to using plugins for adding and displaying WP content as opposed to coding it directly into the PHP files? I wasn’t sure if there would be a performance hit for larger sites or other issues I’m not aware of.

    Thanks a bunch!
    -lee

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/custom-content-shortcode/

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Plugin Author Eliot Akira

    (@miyarakira)

    8 years, 10 months ago

    Hello,

    Yes, every plugin you use will add some weight to site performance. There’s more code to process for each page load (unless cached), and also adds complexity – for example, possible interactions between plugins. It also depends on how well the plugin is written.

    Still, for necessary features like creating post types and fields, plugins can be much easier to work with than coding from scratch. Also, some features would take a long time to build, whereas you can just install a plugin and have everything ready to go. So, it’s a trade-off between convenience (faster development time) and performance.

    Another point is that popular plugins are well-tested under many conditions, so they often offer a robust solution for common needs.

    For this plugin, I tried to put extra features as optional modules under Settings, so they can be disabled (not loaded) if you’re not using them.

    Thread Starter kuukuu

    (@kuukuu)

    8 years, 10 months ago

    Thanks, Eliot 🙂

    taihushanren

    (@taihushanren)

    8 years, 10 months ago

    Great job!Thanks a lot!

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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