Sometimes, as beginners to WordPress, you might struggle with the adding and installing of plugins. These are very powerful tools and you need to be able to use them. There are a few reasons why you might not be able to add or install plugins. Here are some of the most common.
Can’t Find the Right Place
Beginners might just need to be pointed in the right direction. If you need to install a plugin, within WordPress, just go to the “Plugins” tab on the left-hand side in your dashboard. From there, you can choose “Add New”, which gives you the ability to either upload a .zip file or search to install your new plugin.
WordPress.com
If you’re using WordPress.com, you won’t be able to install plugins. This admin area doesn’t have a plugins menu, which means you cannot use plugins within this version of WordPress. However, this version does include some already installed plugins for things, such as social buttons and contact forms. If you really want to take advantage of what WordPress offers, just switch to WordPress.org with your own hosting account.
Memory Limits
Another reason you might not be able to add or install plugins is due to memory issues with your hosting account. This is very common for those struggling with a self-hosted WordPress site. When this is the case, you will be able to see and even access the plugin menu, but you won’t be able to actually install a new plugin. Sometimes it will show an error message like this:
Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 67108864 bytes exhausted
User Restrictions
If you’re not the administrator, you may not have permission to install plugins on the WordPress site you’re working on. If the developers hasn’t given you full access, you won’t be able to fix this without their help. You will need to speak with them and find out if you can get your permissions upgraded. Usually, if you can’t install plugins due to user restrictions, you’re only set up to add/edit posts, pages and comments.
Multi-Site Networks
One of the less common reasons you will run into issues with your plugins is due to being a part of a Multi-Site Network. This means your administrator has disabled the plugin menu within the network of sites. This makes your issue very similar to those using WordPress.com. You probably won’t even be able to see the plugin menu. You might be able to ask the network administrator to install the plugins for you, however.
These are some of the most common reasons you might run into an issues with adding or installing plugins. If it’s not due to these specific reasons, you may need to contact your host or actually look through the WordPress forum to figure out the potential issue you’re dealing with.
If you’re not using WordPress.org, your own domain name and your own hosting account, consider moving your blog or starting it with hosting and a domain name. This will give you full access to the many plugins offered within WordPress. Taking advantage of the entire spectrum of tools offered will help you with SEO, design, functionality and so many other things.
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