WordPress Toolkit: Managing Plugins

Note: The WordPress Toolkit extension is free with our Tera plans, and the Web Pro and the Web Host Plesk editions on a dedicated server or could VM.  It is available for a fee for the Web Admin edition.

Managing Plugins

A WordPress plugin is a type of third-party software that adds new functionality to WordPress. With WordPress Toolkit, you can install and manage plugins on one or more WordPress instances.

Installing Plugins

In WordPress Toolkit, you can install plugins on one or more WordPress instances.

You can search for and install plugins found in the wordpress.org plugins repository. You can also upload custom plugins, which is useful if:

• You cannot find a suitable plugin in the wordpress.org repository.
• You need to install your own plugin.

Note that any plugins you upload become available for installation by customers.

To install plugins on a particular WordPress instance:

1. Go to WordPress, go to the “Plugins” tab of an instance card, and then click Install.

   

2. Search for plugins, and then click Install next to the plugin you want to install. Installed plugins are activated immediately.

To install plugins on multiple WordPress instances:

1. Go to WordPress > the “Plugins” tab, and then click Install.

   

2. Search for plugins, and then select the plugins you want to install.

   Note: Selecting one or more plugins and then performing a new search without installing the selected plugins resets the selection.

3. By default, newly installed plugins are activated immediately. You can prevent this by clearing the “Activate after installation” checkbox.

   

4. Click Install on all ... instances.

To upload a plugin:

1. Go to WordPress > the “Plugins” tab, and then click Upload plugin.
2. Click Choose File and browse to the location of the ZIP file containing the plugin you want to upload.

   

3. You can add the uploaded plugin to a set. To do so, select the set from the drop-down list. If you do not want to add the uploaded plugin to a set, keep the "None" option. You can read more about sets in Managing Sets.
4. Click Upload.

At this point, the uploaded plugin has become available for installation by customers. You can also install the uploaded plugin on your own WordPress instances.

To install an uploaded plugin:

1. Go to WordPress > the “Plugins” tab.
2. Click Install next to a plugin you have uploaded.

   

3. Select the WordPress instances on which you want to install the uploaded plugin.

   

4. By default, a newly uploaded plugin is not activated. You can activate it by selecting the “Activate after installation” checkbox.
5. Click Install.

Removing Plugins

You can remove plugins from a particular instance or from all instances hosted on the server.

To remove plugins from a particular instance:

1. Go to WordPress, and then go to the “Plugins” tab of an instance card.
2. To remove one plugin, click the icon next to it. To remove several plugins, select them and click Remove.
3. Click Yes.

To remove plugins from all instances hosted on the server:

1. Go to  WordPress > the “Plugins” tab.
2. Select the plugins you want to remove, click Uninstall, and then click Yes.

Activating and Deactivating Plugins

You can activate or deactivate plugins installed on a particular instance or on all instances hosted on the server.

To activate or deactivate plugins for a particular instance:

1. Go to WordPress, and then go to the “Plugins” tab of an instance card.
2. Switch on or switch off a plugin to activate or deactivate it, respectively.

To activate or deactivate plugins for all instances hosted on the server:

1. Go to WordPress > the “Plugins” tab.
2. Select the plugin you want to activate or deactivate.
3. Click Activate or Deactivate.

Updating Plugins

If a plugin needs updating, you will see “Updates” next to the plugin on the “Plugins” tab of an instance card.

You can do the following:

• Update plugins for one particular instance. Read how to do so in the “To update a WordPress instance manually” procedure.
• Update plugins installed on multiple instances.
• Configure automatic updates for plugins. Read how to do so in the “To configure automatic updates for a WordPress instance” procedure.

To update plugins on multiple instances:

1. Go to WordPress > the “Plugins” tab.
2. Click Update to version ... next to the plugin you want to update. To learn more about the update, click View Details. This will take you to the plugin's page on wordpress.org.

   

   Note: Before updating the plugin, WordPress Toolkit prompts you to back up your subscription. If you are concerned that the update may break your website, create a backup or use Smart Updates.

3. Click Yes.