Tired of installing the same essential plugins over and over on new WordPress sites? As a developer with experience on 50+ WP sites, I certainly grew weary of the grunt work.
The good news is WordPress offers a couple ways to bulk upload plugins, saving you tons of time and hassle…
Why Bulk Install Plugins?
With over 59,000 free plugins in the WordPress directory and market share indicating 60.5% of sites use plugins, plugin usage continues growing rapidly each year.
Most developers have a set of go-to plugins they install on every new site. Manually installing plugins like Yoast SEO, contact form, caching, security, and others over and over again is extremely tedious and inefficient.
Bulk installing plugins solves this by uploading all your essential plugins in just a couple clicks.
According to 2019 statistics from Cloudways:
- 78% of websites use between 5 to 15 plugins on average
-Sites use 10 plugins on average
By learning to bulk upload this "plugin toolbox", you can save 15-30 minutes per new WordPress site you create.
Now let‘s compare the two best methods for effortlessly installing WordPress plugins in bulk…
Method #1: Use a Plugin Manager Plugin
The easiest approach is using a purpose-built plugin manager that…
Step 1) Allows creating plugin collections online
Step 2) Provides a key to bulk upload collection on new sites
Step 3) Automatically installs and activates plugins in one click
Our recommended free plugin for this is WPCore Plugin Manager because of its user-friendly interface and active development.
Pros
- Very simple even for beginners
- Works for free WordPress.org plugins
- Nice support and updates from plugin team
Cons
- Doesn‘t work for premium plugins
- Relies on external service (lock-in risk)
Now let me walk you through exactly how to use WPCore Plugin Manager, step-by-step…
First, install and activate WPCore on an existing WordPress site…
[show 10 images walking through the complete WPCore plugin process from account creation to bulk plugin installation]And that‘s all there is to it! With WPCore, you can reuse your custom plugin collection on unlimited sites with just a few clicks.
It doesn‘t get much easier than that. Next let‘s compare with uploading by FTP client…
Method #2: Use an FTP Client
Uploading plugins via FTP remains a popular approach, especially for external teams collaborating or if you need to install premium plugins from your own library.
Using an FTP client like FileZilla, you can directly upload plugin folders from your computer into the correct WordPress directory.
The process takes a little more technical know-how, but allows full flexibility for any plugin types.
Pros
- Works with all plugin types
- Complete control for developers
- Facilitate team collaboration
Cons
- Steeper learning curve
- Slightly more complex process
Assuming you have FTP login credentials and FileZilla installed, here is how to bulk upload plugins over FTP…
[show 6 images on connecting FTP and uploading plugins to the WordPress directory]Then back in your WP dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins and activate your uploaded plugins.
While FTP upload requires a few more steps compared to using WPCore, it unlocks support for premium and advanced needs.
Summarizing the Two Bulk Install Methods
| Criteria | Plugin Manager | FTP Upload |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | ✅✅✅✅✅ | ✅✅✅ |
| WordPress.org Plugins | ✅ | ✅ |
| Premium Plugins | ✅ | |
| Custom Plugins | ✅ | |
| External Access | ✅ | ✅✅✅ |
| Collaborate with Teams | ✅ |
Both plugin manager and FTP methods allow effortlessly installing plugins in bulk, saving you tons of time on new WP sites.
In general, we recommend the WPCore plugin for simplicity. But advanced developers may still prefer FTP for fuller access and flexibility.
The choice depends on your specific needs and technical comfort level.
Conclusion
Building new WordPress sites is much smoother when you can instantly bulk upload all your essential plugins.
Stop wasting hours manually installing the same plugins again and again!
Implement one of these WordPress bulk plugin installation methods today. Just don‘t make me install Yoast on another blog ever again 😅.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
