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WordPress is a robust Content Management System (CMS) that anyone, regardless of technical skill, can simply use. Plugins and themes are two of this CMS tool’s features; with a few clicks and tweaks, anyone may create their own website. These features enable you to manage and configure your website without having to write any code from scratch.

In this article, we’ll go over the capabilities of these two features, how they operate together, and how you can use them to create a great portfolio website.

What Are WordPress Plugins and Templates?

WordPress Plugins

Plugins are basically extensions to a WordPress website’s features and functions. When it comes to creating excellent websites, they are crucial. With the aid of plugins, you can essentially accomplish anything. Plugins allow you to perform the following:

• Improve your website’s SEO to make it more visible.
• Make your website e-commerce-friendly.
• Enhance the look of your site.

With WordPress, you can have anything you need thanks to the hundreds of plugins available.

WordPress Themes

A  theme is a collection of templates that WordPress utilizes to build your site. It specifies where your logo, menu, title, content, footer, and other elements should appear. It mostly defines the visual design and may be changed with WP Customizer. There are thousands of free and premium themes available.

How Plugins and Templates Work Together

You can think of themes and plugins as the perfect duo for your website. Themes will manage your site’s style and appeal, whereas plugins will handle its functioning in the background.

For example, a theme will handle the layout, font, and header of your website’s blog section, and a plugin will provide the functionality needed, such as SEO tools.

They compliment each other to help you construct a fully working and appealing website that can attract users.

Installing and Managing Plugins

Find Plugins: Head to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress Dashboard to search and browse plugins.

Install and Activate: Click “Install Now” and then “Activate” to enable a plugin on your site.

Configure Settings: Some plugins add settings pages under the Dashboard menu where you can customize options.

Update Regularly: Keep plugins updated for security and compatibility.

Tip: Installing too many plugins might overwhelm your website, so only install plugins from reputable and known sources to maintain optimal performance. 

Choosing and Customizing Templates

Browse themes: To browse the free and premium themes, go to Appearance > Themes > Add New.

Preview Before Activation: Use the “Live Preview” feature of WordPress to see how a theme will appear on your website.

Activate Theme: To apply the theme across the entire site, click “Activate”.

Customize the theme: To modify colors, fonts, menus, widgets, and other settings, select Appearance > Customize.

Child Themes For Developers: If you want to deeply edit a theme’s code, establish a child theme to ensure that your modifications are preserved during updates.

Best Practices for Using Plugins and Templates

• Backup before changes: Before installing or updating your site’s plugins and themes, build a backup so that you can restore them if something goes wrong during the update.
• Test Compatibility: Check if plugins and themes are compatible with your WordPress version.
• Limit Plugins: Use only the plugins that your website requires to maintain quick performance.
• Use well-supported plugins/themes: Look for reviews, ratings, and last update dates.
• Regular Updates: To address security vulnerabilities, update your plugins and themes on a regular basis.

Next Article: Setting up Web Caching using Amazon ElastiCache for your EC2-Hosted WordPress Website

In the next article,  we’ll go into great detail on configuring web caching for your EC2-hosted WordPress website with Amazon ElastiCache. 

See you at Cloud-9.8: Setting Up Web Caching Using Amazon ElastiCache for Your Amazon EC2-Hosted WordPress Website!

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I use multiple themes on one WordPress site?
  • No, WordPress only allows one active theme at a time. However, you can switch between themes anytime.
• Are all plugins free?
  • No. While many plugins are free, some offer premium versions with added features and support.
• What happens if a plugin conflicts with my theme?
  • Conflicts can cause errors or broken layouts. Always test new plugins on a staging site before applying changes to your live website.
• Can I create my own plugin or theme?
  • Yes! WordPress is highly extensible. Developers can create custom plugins and themes using PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.