There are currently 24,640 plugins in the WordPress plugin repository, with an unknown number available from third-party sites as free or paid plugins. When you need to extend WordPress for a particular task or function, how do you choose the best available plugin for your needs? You\u2019re likely to find several that seem to fit the bill, but since plugins represent a wide array of features, quality, and usability, how do you choose? When is it time to dump a plugin in favour of another one? Rather than give you a list of recommended plugins, this workshop will attempt to give you a set of tools for evaluating plugins so you can always find the best one for your or your client\u2019s needs. We\u2019ll highlight which criteria are more important to consider. With its recent changes, what does the WordPress repository\u2019s rating system mean for evaluating your plugin selection? We\u2019ll look at how the WordPress repository can be helpful to your search \u2014 or not.<\/p>\n
Brent has been blogging since before the Y2K talk died out, posting about Linux and the Free Software movement. His next major niche blog project taught him what it\u2019s like to maintain a daily posting schedule for more than five years, besting his previous streak by a full year. Along the way, he moved from a homegrown CMS to WordPress back when it was still called b2. Having taken on WordPress projects for clients, this spring he quietly launched a major site developed on WordPress Multisite as an application framework. He\u2019s been interviewed and spoken or written on a variety of IT and internet-themed topics featured by ITBusiness.ca, CIO.com, and Slashdot. As an entrepreneur, Brent has managed a web design and software development firm, an ISP and web hosting company, and run popular blogs in more than one niche. He currently freelances as a web developer, project manager, website architect, and writer who bills himself as a Freelance Thinker. He is based in Winnipeg where he ignores his own blogging project to spend time with his wife and two daughters, who would otherwise be spending all their time with their new puppy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are currently 24,640 plugins in the WordPress plugin repository, with an unknown number available from third-party sites as free or paid plugins. When you need to extend WordPress for a particular task or function, how do you choose the … Continue reading Brent Toderash | How to Find the Right WordPress Plugin<\/span>