---
title: "WordPress Plugins: Take Your Blog’s Functionality To a New Level"
date: 2007-04-17
description: "$( document ).ready(function() { // Handler for .ready() called. $("
canonical_url: https://idratherbewriting.com/2007/04/17/wordpress-plugins-extending-your-blogs-features-and-capabilities/
---
# WordPress Plugins: Take Your Blog’s Functionality To a New Level
### Rationale Behind Plugins

![Plugin Management](https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/idbwmedia.com/images/pluginscreen1.png)Some blogging platforms already come equipped with the same functionality as some of WordPress's plugins. You may think having to manually add plugins is a pain. Why not just include them all in the core product?

Yet this is the very genius of WordPress. The absence of plugins keeps the basic WordPress software simple. Users who need additional functionality can add it. WordPress doesn't burden you with tons of features and options you don't need. WordPress remains simple — yet extensible — through the plugin model.

### Plugins Are Open Source Contributions

Ninety-five percent of WordPress plugins aren't made by the WordPress team (Automattic). They're made by PHP blogging enthusiasts across the globe. WordPress is open source, so programmers can contribute their own additional functionality. Plugins are popping up all the time (on average 3-4 new plugins a week).

The fact that plugins are open source also means some plugins are a little buggy. Not everyone is a PHP whiz, and WordPress changes pretty quickly, so at times plugins may not work. Glancing at the popularity of a plugin prior to installing it will give you an idea of its trustworthiness.

### What Does PHP Mean?

Most plugins are PHP scripts that make calls to your database for specific content. PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor (you don't need to know that). PHP is an open-source server-side scripting language that interacts with your database. PHP allows you to provide dynamic web content that can be pretty cool (samples coming in a minute).

PHP tags exist alongside HTML tags in the theme files you edit, but when your pages are published, you won't see the PHP in the code because it's server-side rather than client-side.

To see a variety of definitions of PHP, google it like this: [define:php](https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Aphp&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a). Here's the best part: *You don't have to know any PHP to use plugins. *(But if you do, you'll be better off in the long run.)

### A Centralized Plugin Directory

Recently WordPress announced a [centralized plugin directory](http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/). This central location provides popularity stats and download statistics for plugins — two easy ways to browse the directory. You can look at the latest plugins and see if any look useful.

You can also find plugins by googling "wordpress plugins" and perusing the search results. A lot of bloggers make lists of their favorite plugins. You can see the plugins on my site here: [https://idratherbewriting.com/plugins](https://idratherbewriting.com/plugins). The ability to automatically display my plugins from my plugins folder is itself a plugin. I also included images with most of the plugins so you can see just what the plugin does.