Imagine if you could get the same functionality as the best WordPress plugins without having to pay extra money or risking your website’s security?
Plugins for WordPress are like used Christmas lights.
Looking at them when they’re all working properly is delightful. In the event of an individual bulb burning out, a tangled string, or a blown fuse, Christmas is ruined! You’ll either have to perform some risky repairs involving a precarious ladder and some super-simple DIY wiring to get it running again, or you’ll have to hire an expensive electrician if the damage happens to your home’s electrical system.
The same is true for web design. Your website will almost certainly require ongoing maintenance if you put it together haphazardly or inherit someone else’s. You can’t develop something that works by jury-rigging a tangle of obsolete, insecure plugins and crossing your fingers.
If you have the means, it’s much better to hire a web design company to build your website from the ground up. This way, you know that your site will be safe from hackers, will operate as efficiently as possible, and will be designed to your exact specifications. You’ll receive a fully functioning website that you can use to generate revenue today, without having to worry about ongoing maintenance and upgrades in the future. All you need to do is build an audience and provide value to them!
What is the purpose of a WordPress plugin?
WordPress has been around since 2003 and is one of the most popular web builders. Stacy’s Mom and Crazy in Love were also released in that year, just to make everyone feel old. Since WordPress went open-source in 2010, plugins have truly taken off.
As with any open-source technology, there are several limitations to the platform. Over 50,000 plugins have been created to fill in the gaps that WordPress’s product cannot cover or fit. Examples of plugins include content backups, two-factor authentication, and Google Analytics integration. Some plugins facilitate social sharing through social media profiles, while others use email marketing.
On wordpress.org, you can find these add-ons in the Plugin Directory. Although many WordPress plugins are free, there are also premium versions that cost a one-time or recurring fee. Almost all of them are the work of outside designers.
The process of installing a new plugin typically involves granting access to your WordPress website to the third-party plugin provider via a single sign-on account or API key. You can then manage your plugins directly from the WordPress dashboard in the back-end admin area of your website.
WordPress does not come with built-in features such as contact forms, spam comment filtering, on-page search engine optimization (SEO), and drag-and-drop visual design options (WYSIWYG). (That’s four plugins you’ll need to install on one site!)
Because WordPress is limited as a website builder, you’ll need plugins to make your site work. Although you don’t have a choice, you do have 50,000+ plugin options to choose from.
Pros and cons of WordPress plugins
The plugins are similar to tyre repair kits. In an emergency, even if they aren’t the most reliable or long-lasting solution, they can save you some time and get you back to work. Consider the following advantages and disadvantages before clicking the “install” button.
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Flexibility and customization
It’s not the first thing anyone asks for when they want to enhance their WordPress website. Chances are, you’re not the only one who wants to enhance the functionality.
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Various options are available:
More than 50,000 plugins are available. The Directory includes ratings and reviews and organizes plugins into categories. You can try the next highest-rated plugin in the category if you don’t like the first one.
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When an issue emerges, quick troubleshooting is required:
Often, you’ll have to scour the tags and sections of the Plugins Directory to find a specific answer to your question. If the plugin works and fixes your problem, you can go back to doing the things you enjoy, such as front-end design or napping.
The disadvantages of WordPress plugins
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Security:
The use of 10-20 plugins to run a normal eCommerce site means your site is linked to that many different companies. Unless you have your lawyer review each user agreement when you install a new plugin, there is no built-in safety. It’s standard for open-source programs – “buyer beware,” and if your material is stolen while you’re not watching, you’re on your own.
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Complexity and upkeep:
In an ideal world, all of your plugins would work together, but unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. If your plugins have limitations, you may need to install updates on a regular basis or work around them. You must also ensure that your plugins work together: one clumsy piece of code can slow down your entire site. It is only when you put them in place and see what happens that you will know.
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Dependence on third parties:
In general, established plugin developers such as WooCommerce and Elementor are reliable, but most plugins are not created by them well-known and large software businesses. the plugin developer goes out of business tomorrow! (Where would your data end up?)
You can’t run a WordPress website without at least a few plugins. Despite the immediate thrill of a plugin solving your problem, it frequently leads to technical debt in the long run. Webflow replaces numerous popular WordPress plugins natively, so you don’t have to worry about maintaining, updating, debugging, and monitoring them.
Replace WordPress plugins with Webflow plugins
Let’s take a look at the most common WordPress plugins that Webflow can replace.
Forms
To book a demo or sign up for a subscription on WordPress, you will need a plugin. The use of forms, for example, is necessary on almost every modern website. For me, this is the online equivalent of having to rinse your teeth with water drawn from a well in the morning. Isn’t there a more efficient way to accomplish this very simple task?
WordPress.com does include a built-in form builder. The non-open-source arm of WordPress holds the user’s hand a little more tightly. Don’t get me started on the differences between “.com” and “.org” on WordPress. I can “technically” play the guitar without using a plugin, just as you can “technically” create a form on WordPress. I’m sure I could figure it out with enough time, rage, and swearing. Do you have any doubts? Try creating your own form!
Because this is such an important feature, there are a lot of options to choose from. The other options are not very attractive. Below are some of the best options, popular plugins in the plugins directory include Jetpack, WPForms, Gravity Forms, Formidable, and the intriguingly called Contact Form 7 plugin.
In addition, if you’re relying on something called “Contact Form 7,” which was developed over a decade ago by a third-party corporation, you should take a step back and ask yourself, “What am I even doing with my life?” Furthermore, not all of these form plugins are free, and the premium versions can cost hundreds of dollars each.
I am not a professional, but I think clicking “Add Form Block” in Webflow takes 0.6 seconds and just requires me to connect the website form submissions to my CRM. A WordPress plugin would add a whole new step to my workflow, costing me valuable time (and potentially compromising my security).
Askimet
You’ll need to install a plugin to filter spam on WordPress. Then, bots will descend like ants on your forms (which, as you recall, require another plugin to create) and comment sections. That seems like a lot of work for something your website should already be doing for you. The cost of spam prevention for enterprise sites is $50 per month.
With Webflow, you can use reCAPTCHA for free without installing anything. Simply add it as an element to your forms to prevent spam. Utilize the money you’ve saved to accomplish any other company goal you can think of that would improve your bottom line.
SEO by Yoast
Yoast SEO is the most popular search engine optimization plugin. If you want your website to appear in search results, redirect dead links, and have neat meta descriptions, you’ll need it. These are the features that the majority of consumers expect from their websites, and which Webflow offers out of the box.
If you’re following along at home, you’ll notice that we’ve reached three mandatory plugins from three different non-WordPress sources, all of which require paid subscriptions to run. You are suddenly spending over $900 per year on something Webflow does for free. Imagine your commercial website uses Formidable for forms, Askimet for spam, and Yoast SEO Premium. Despite WordPress being free, the cost of using plugins to meet all of your website’s requirements can quickly add up.
Based on my calculations, you could get 170 Shake Shack burgers for the same amount of money. My friend, you need to rethink your priorities in life if you’re spending a lot of money on plugins. Now is the time to start your migration – burgers are waiting!
Elementor
If you’re not a coding wizard or if you’ll be working with others who aren’t coders, you’ll have to use a plugin to make your website. If you don’t use a plugin, you can’t drag-and-drop items in WordPress as you can in other site builders. The most popular plugin for this is Elementor, and while it’s free to use, you’ll have to pay $199 a year for Pro to gain more custom CSS (which is 38 burgers).
WordPress has numerous free templates you can use to create the look and feel that you want without having to use a plugin. Using a free WordPress theme, on the other hand, will date your site and make it blend in with the crowd rather than stand out, which will harm your brand’s reputation.
It allows you to design using both WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) and code, while the Editor function allows you to collaborate on more surface-level matters. Managers, such as your marketing team, can collaborate on the Editor. extensive training or plugins.
WooCommerce
You’ll need a safe way to list products and gather payment information if extensive training or plugins.. WooCommerce is an open-source plugin for WordPress that allows you to create unique ecommerce storefronts. It’s completely free to start up, and it takes a modest percentage of each payment completed.
Depending on how you wish to customize your store, especially for shipping, you may have to spend extra or use other plugins to support the WooCommerce plugin. As it were, it’s all plugins.
Webflow Ecommerce replaces this plugin with ease, and it does not cost more to integrate with your theme. Instead of putting your products into a cookie-cutter store, create a unique store that works for you, complete with transactional emails that match the look and feel of your website.
Webflow charges a monthly fee comparable to other ecommerce providers like Shopify and BigCommerce, but there are no additional fees for customizations or integrations. Isn’t the cleaner client experience and reduced trouble worth it?