Installing too many or low-quality plugins

Plugins are not Pokémon. You do not want to collect them all.

Many so-called marketing or website experts incorrectly claim that adding too many plugins, even 5 – 12, will slow your site down. At best case, that is a simplistic view of plugins and WordPress that is often given to avoid walking a client through the much larger impact of using a discounted web hosting company (more on that later) or explaining how to choose quality plugins. However, adding too many low-quality plugins or even a single poorly optimized plugin can have a huge impact on your website.

There are more than 40,000 plugins in the WordPress repository. Just because a plugin is available does not mean that it is secure, will do what it claims, or will perform quickly. Others, such as a MLS property search plugin or email automation plugin will frequently use highly optimized servers of their own to provide a lightning fast experience.

The fix:

Make sure you are intentional with your plugin choices. Wisely choose the plugins that you install, and uninstall the ones that you do not use. If you are using a plugin with a premium service that requires a monthly license, look at the reviews for that plugin and the company behind it. You want to make sure that if you have any questions or need anything that their support team will be there to answer your questions.

Above all, ask yourself if the functionality from the plugin is really needed for your website.