Installing WordPress plugins has never been easier, and in this article, I will be teaching you everything that you need to know when it comes to installing WordPress plugins on your very own WordPress site. I will be breaking this article into two sections. The first being about installing plugins without downloading them locally to your computer, and the second being about installing plugins if you have downloaded them to your computer locally. Let’s get started.

Installing Plugins Without Downloading Them

1. To install plugins without downloading them to your own computer, you must first login to your WordPress dashboard by going to http://YOURDOMAIN.com/wp-admin.
2. Once you have logged in, locate the “Plugins” tab on the right hand menu in the WordPress dashboard.
3. After you have clicked on plugins, you want to click “Add New” which is located right next to where it says “Plugins” at the top of screen.
4.  This is where things get really easy. Now, all you have to do is locate a plugin you want to install and click the “Install Now” button on it. Then, you will be promoted to confirm you want to install it. Click “Ok”, and the plugin will begin installing.
5. Lastly, all you need to do is click “Activate Plugin”. You will now be taken to a page which shows all of the plugins you have installed including the one you just installed and activated. Congrats, you’ve installed a WordPress plugin!

Installing Plugins You Have Downloaded Locally

1. While downloading a plugin locally isn’t necessary anymore, it is still very simple to install plugins you have downloaded from someone else and stored locally on your computer. The first step is, as you may have already guessed, logging into your site’s WordPress dashboard. To to this, go to http://YOURDOMAIN.com/wp-admin, enter your login information, and click login.
2. After logging in, click on the “Plugins” tab in the right hand menu bar of the dashboard to be taken off to the plugins page.
3. Now, you want to click the “Add New” button located at the top of the page which is located directly next to where is says “Plugins”.
4. Once you have done that, you will be taken to a page showing you a lot of different plugins that are featured by WordPress. Ignore these, and click “Upload Plugin” at the top of the page. This is directly beside where it says “Add Plugins” in big letters.
5. We now need to select the plugin you want to install from your computer. To do this, click on the “Choose File” button located right in the middle of the page. A dialog box will open, and you will now need to locate the plugin you downloaded. This will be a .zip file. Once you have found it, double click it, and the “Install Now” button will now be clickable. Click that, and move on to the next step.
6. The plugin is now installed. You just need to activate it. To do this, simple click the “Activate Plugin” text that appears once your plugin has successfully installed. Congratulations, you have now installed a WordPress plugin from your local computer to your very own WordPress site. Way to go!