WordPress - How to Install Plugins Within the Dashboard of WordPress 3.0

This is a short article on WordPress - How to install and activate plugins in WordPress 3.0. After reading this article you will be able to install all your plugins now and in the future. There are two ways in which you can install WordPress Plugins from within the Dashboard of your WordPress blog. One way is to search via the Dashboard and the other way is to download them to your computer and upload your plugin via the Dashboard. I will take you through both ways step by step. If this is the first time you will be installing plugins, it is a simple process so just follow along and carry out each step as needed.

Installing Plugins via the Dashboard Automatically

First you will need to login to the 'Dashboard' of your WordPress blog. If you now look over on the left hand side you will see a list of of menus. Hover over the 'Plugins' Menu and click on the arrow that appears, a drop down menu will now appear.

Now click on 'Add New' and you will now arrive at the 'Install Plugins' page.

As you can see on the screen you are able to type in a word or phrase for what you are searching for, now if you know the name of the plugin you are searching for, enter the name of that plugin. If you are searching to see if there is a plugin to carry out a particular task, enter a relevant phrase. For this example I am going to enter 'database backup' as this is something I need to add to my blog. Now click on 'Search Plugins'.

As you will see, a list of different plugins will appear. Look through the list to see if there is an appropriate plugin for what you are searching for. The plugin 'WP-DB-Backup' is in my list which is perfect for what I was looking for, so I will now click 'Install Now' link. You will now see the plugin you chose being installed and it will tell you when it is complete, you will then be presented with the option to activate the plugin - if you wish to do so, click on the 'Activate Now' link.

All done! Any plugins which have been added to the WordPress.org website can now be installed onto your blog in this way without having to download them and install them manually.

Uploading Plugins From Your Computer to Your WordPress Blog

You may still, from time to time need to install a plugin manually, for example, it may be a newly released plugin that has not yet been added to WordPress.org site or you may have purchased a plugin. I will be showing you how to do this using a plugin called 'RSS Bomber' as I have just purchased it.

Once you have downloaded the plugin to your computer, you need to make sure that the plugin is inside a zip file. Now login to your WordPress Dashboard and click on the 'Plugins' tab and then 'Add New'. Now click on the 'Upload' link near the top of the page. Now click the 'Choose File' button and choose the zip file of your plugin to be uploaded, then click 'Choose' followed by the 'Install Now' button. WordPress will now upload and install your plugin. Once the installation of your plugin has finished it will give you the option to activate your plugin, just click the 'Activate Plugin' link to activate it. All done - you will now see your newly installed plugin in your 'Manage Plugins' page.

You have now learned the two easiest ways to install plugins into WordPress 3.0, you can of course upload your plugins via an FTP client but this is a little more technical and why do things the hard way when they can be done in the simplest ways possible!

Alester:-).