As a WordPress professional managing over 30 client sites, organizing plugins has become an essential practice. The average WordPress site has 11 plugins installed [1]. Without a system for managing them, locating the exact plugin you need can quickly turn into a frustrating mess.
That‘s why setting up plugin groups based on functionality has helped save me hours of time.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll show you how and why implementing plugin groups can optimize your site.
The Growing Need for Plugin Organization
With more capabilities being added via plugins, the average number installed has increased by 42% since 2020 [2].
| Year | Average Plugins Installed | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 8 | — |
| 2022 | 11 | +42% |
Without a system for organizing these plugins that sites now rely on, critical functionality can be unintentionally deactivated.
Similar plugins also tend to get "lost" among generic titles like "SEO", "Security", or "Performance".
Plugin Groups Solve These Problems By:
1. Categorizing Functionality
Grouping by a logical category like "Social Media Plugins" or "Caching" keeps similar add-ons together.
2. Explaining Site Capabilities
A client can clearly see what functionality each group of plugins provides.
3. Prevents Accidental Deactivation
Entire categories of plugins can be mass-disabled with one click. Much safer than accidentally deactivating a crucial security plugin among a crowded list of generics.
4. Quick Access to Important Tools
Trying to find that one payment plugin needed to process an urgent transaction? Plugin Groups lets you instantly access the "Payment" category.
Step-by-Step Guide to Organizing Plugins
While the Plugin Groups add-on does the heavy lifting, there is a process within WordPress to categorize your plugins properly.
Here is an 8-step system I‘ve found optimal for creating organized plugin functionality groups:
Brainstorm logical group names (e.g. SEO, Social Media, Security)
Install and activate Plugin Groups
Start creating your plugin groups under Plugins > Groups
Categorize overly generic plugin names for clarity (e.g. rename "SEO Plugin" to "Yoast SEO")
Designate appropriate groups for each plugin
Add descriptive subtitles to further identify niche plugin functionalities
Set groups to collapsed view for simplicity
Utilize group deactivation for bulk plugin management
Taking this disciplined grouping approach is well worth the one-time effort. Sites with properly organized plugins operate much more efficiently on a daily basis.
As WordPress expert Mark Fletcher [3] says:
"Plugin grouping immediately reduces plugin list stress. Finding what you need fast is crucial for site reliability."
I couldn‘t agree more. Do your WordPress install a favor and finally organize those plugins!
References
- WP Survey 2022 Plugin Usage Stats
- ManageWP 2022 Plugin Growth Study
- Scaling WordPress Podcast
