With the installation of a WordPress plugin, you will definitely make some additions to your site. Nonetheless, the activation of a plugin is not everything you need to do. In order to maintain your site secure, stable, and fast, you should do a number of things right after you install a plugin.

No matter whether it is a contact form plugin, SEO plugin, security plugin, or any other type of plugin for your site, it is sure that it can influence the work of your site in some way. You can save yourself from having problems if you spend some time on checking your site and its performance.

In this post, you will learn what are the essential WordPress maintenance tasks after plugin installation.

What Actions Should You Take After Activating a WordPress Plugin?

Fast Answer: Once you activate a plugin on your WordPress site, make sure that it is compatible with your WordPress version, back up your site, check its functionality, clear the cache, configure the plugin, watch out for performance and any problems. These basic actions will keep your site safe and efficient.

A Quick List of Steps to Take After a New Plugin Installation

As you move ahead, always use the following checklist when installing a new plugin:

✔ Make sure that the plugin works with your WordPress version

✔ Create or have a recent backup of your website

✔ Test critical website pages and functionality

✔ Look for warnings in the WordPress administrator dashboard

✔ Flush your website and browser cache

✔ Configure plugin settings

✔ Monitor website performance

✔ See whether there are any errors in the next 24 hours

This list can be considered as your post-installation procedure. It is a necessary part of WordPress website maintenance.

Why Is Post-Installation Plugin Maintenance Needed?

A common mistake made by many site owners is that if the installation process went smoothly, everything works fine. This isn’t always true.

Plugins need to work together with your WordPress core, themes, database, and other installed plugins. The best developed plugins can still have some compatibility problems, cause slower loading time, or influence existing functionality.

For instance, your caching plugin can interfere with your page builder, whereas the form plugin can stop sending notifications due to another plugin. Some errors can be instantly seen, and some only show up once your visitors start using your website.

Maintenance can help you detect these issues early enough so that they won’t affect your website’s performance, search engine ranking, or any business processes. If your website serves customers round-the-clock, these tasks are extremely important. There are lots of companies offering 24/7 WordPress support services for their clients’ websites.

1. Check Plugin Compatibility Before Using It

The initial thing you need to do once you have installed a plugin is to check its compatibility with your website. Some of the things to check include:

  • Current WordPress version
  • Current PHP version
  • Theme Compatibility
  • Plugin compatibility with other plugins already installed on your website

The good thing about reliable plugins is that they indicate their compatibility with WordPress versions. If a particular plugin has not been updated in a long while, be careful when using it. Compatibility problems are some of the reasons why websites develop errors after installing plugins.

Tip: If possible, try to test your plugins on a staging website.

2. Make Sure to Have a Recent Backup Created or Verified

Whenever you plan to make changes to your website, you should have a backup to rely on. In case something goes wrong when you activate a plugin, you will be able to restore the site immediately and save all your important information from being lost.

These elements need to be covered by the backup file:

  • Files of the website
  • Database of WordPress
  • Themes
  • Plugins
  • Uploads of media

Even though your hosting service automatically makes backups, it is still good to check whether there is a recent one available or not. Backup creation is one of the cornerstones of professional WordPress maintenance services.

3. Check the Functionality of Your Website

After the installation of the plugin, take some time to test the functionality of those elements of your website which are used by the visitors most.

Test the following pages:

  • Homepage
  • Contact Page
  • Pages of products
  • Blogs
  • Process of making payment
  • Login Page
  • Search function

In case you have installed a plugin dealing with the following elements: forms, security, SEO or payments, check these elements specifically.

For instance:

  • Fill out a form of contact;
  • Make a test purchase in case you have installed WooCommerce;
  • Test login and registration;
  • Test the results of the search function;

Some problems may be overlooked unless a visitor points them out.

4. Verify the Plugin Settings Properly

Most plugins start functioning by default settings; however, those settings do not have to be the best for your website.

It is essential to spend some time checking out the plugin settings and configuring them according to your requirements. In this case, you should pay attention to such things as:

  • Security
  • Performance
  • Notifications
  • Permissions
  • Integrations
  • Automated updates

It is always better not to activate any unnecessary functions that you might not use. They will consume more resources. Also, it is important to make sure the plugin doesn’t duplicate the other one’s functionality. All of this ensures better performance of your website and makes its maintenance easier.

5. Clear Your Website Cache

Even after installing and configuring the plugin, the cache of files will still be showing you the previous version of your website. By clearing your cache, you get to view the most updated version of the website rather than the previous one.

Based on your system configuration, you may need to clear the following types of cache:

  • WordPress cache
  • Browser cache
  • CDN cache
  • Server cache

This process is even more crucial when you install any kind of cache or optimization plugins. If people keep seeing the previous pages while you see the updated pages, then you have some cached pages causing the problem.

6. Check Your Website’s Performance

While a new plugin might enhance your website’s capabilities, it might also have an effect on its speed. Given that page speed is vital both for the user experience and SEO purposes, it makes sense to check the website’s performance every time you install a new plugin.

The factors to pay attention to include:

  • Page load time
  • Core Web Vitals
  • Response time of the server
  • Number of database queries
  • Memory usage (if available in your hosting control panel)

In case of a notable drop in performance, try to deactivate the plugin temporarily in order to find out whether the problem lies in it. Sometimes, switching from an inefficient plugin to an efficient one can help increase website performance.

7. Look for Bugs and Conflicts

All conflicts do not come in easily discernible ways. Some may only arise once visitors take certain actions like filling out a form or purchasing something on your website.

After installing the plugin, test for:

  • Bad layout
  • JavaScript issues
  • Missing pictures
  • Problems with sending emails
  • Difficulty logging in
  • Errors during checkout or payments
  • Unusual error messages

It would be wise to check your website’s error log if you can access it through your hosting company. In case of a conflict, deactivate the recently installed plugin before reactivating it once the problem has been solved. Remember not to install multiple new plugins at one go.

8. Monitor Your Website for the Next 24 Hours

Not all issues related to plugins show up right away. They could become evident hours later due to some background activities.

During the next 24 hours, pay attention to:

  • Website uptime
  • Issues reported by visitors
  • Messages from the contact form
  • Order notifications
  • Security issues
  • Notifications of updates to plugins

If you have regular traffic on your website or your website is part of your business operations, monitoring is recommended. Some businesses employ 24/7 WordPress support services to make sure that unexpected issues will be found and fixed quickly.

Common Errors You Must Not Make After Installing a WordPress Plugin

Sometimes even seasoned website managers neglect essential post-installation steps. Here are the errors you should avoid in order to prevent troubles in the future.

Installing Multiple Plugins at a Time

If you install multiple plugins together, you cannot determine which of them is causing the problem if something happens.

Neglecting Updates of Your Plugins

New updates usually include fixes for various bugs and other things. They help increase the plugin’s performance and safety.

Leaving Unnecessary Plugins Active

Inactive plugins take up server space and sometimes even pose a threat to the security of your website. It’s better to remove plugins that are not in use.

Skipping Testing of the Website

Thinking that everything went right after installation leads to neglecting possible issues.

Not Making a Backup

It’s hard to recover from a problem without having a backup.

When Should You Consider Hiring a WordPress Developer?

There are a lot of plugins that are easy to install; however, everything may not be as easy as it sounds.

Consider hiring a WordPress developer when:

  • There is a conflict between plugins and your theme.
  • Errors appear after activation of your website.
  • Custom configuration is required for plugins.
  • Performance slows down.
  • WooCommerce stops working.
  • A custom solution or integration is required.
  • You don’t want to spend time maintaining your site.

Hiring a WordPress developer if your company depends on its website can help save your precious time and avoid any issues with downtime or other problems. Also, for website’s long-term stability, you can use WordPress maintenance services offered by professionals.

Key Takeaways

Every newly added plugin must always be preceded by some basic maintenance work which will help ensure that your website remains safe and runs optimally.

Some key steps include:

  • Ensure plugin is compatible
  • Have a backup available
  • Test website functionality
  • Examine plugin settings
  • Flush caches
  • Monitor website performance
  • Detect any plugin conflicts
  • Wait and monitor website performance for at least 24 hours.

Incorporating these steps in your regular workflow ensures smooth operations of your WordPress website.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do right after installing a new plugin for WordPress?

After ensuring compatibility, having or taking a backup, testing the site, examining the settings of the plugin and clearing the cache, I should pay attention to my site’s performance for at least the following 24 hours.

Can a WordPress plugin slow down my website?

Yes, some of them use up more server resources than others. Checking the page speed after the installation will allow me to find out about performance problems and change plugins if needed.

Should I update the plugins when an update is available?

Generally, I should do that. The update usually contains patches, fixes, and other improvements. However, it is still good to back up the site first, especially if it’s a business website.

Is it okay to have idle plugins on my site?

No. If you do not use a particular plugin anymore, you should get rid of it. Idle plugins create security risks and are just useless garbage for your website.

How frequently should the maintenance of WordPress be done?

Regular maintenance of your WordPress should be carried out. It includes the following activities: updating WordPress, themes, and plugins, performing backup checks, performance optimization, security scan, and functionality testing of the website. High traffic websites or websites that operate as online stores may require ongoing monitoring and regular maintenance.

Do I really need professional WordPress maintenance?

If your website is an important element of your business or works with a lot of traffic and sensitive data, then it is highly recommended to hire professionals for its maintenance.

Keeping Your WordPress Website Working Well

Adding a plugin is just one aspect of keeping your WordPress website healthy. Testing, updating, backup, and performance monitoring will help you avoid minor problems turning into big problems.

In case all of the mentioned steps take too much of your time, then working with a dependable WordPress maintenance company can be a huge step forward. WPCaps provides a wide array of WordPress maintenance services including 24/7 WordPress support, security monitoring, backup, performance tuning, and availability of experts that will work on your WordPress project when you need to hire WordPress developer.