Let’s take a look at three different ways you can install WordPress SEO plugins. These are:
- Installation via the WP dashboard.
- Installation through admin Plug Upload for plugins not in the directory list.
- Manual installation using FTP.
Pro Tip: Issues can always arise when uploading plugins to a WordPress site. Make sure you have a backup of your site before the upload and before activation in case something goes wrong and you need to get your site back up quickly.
If you have a dev server set up for your site to test changes, you can always upload and active plugins there first to ensure there are no issues that will hurt your site or site speed.
Installing a WordPress Plugin via the Dashboard
To install an SEO plugin for WordPress, this can be the easiest method:
1. Go to the “Plugins” section of your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click “Add New”.
3. Search for the WordPress plugin you want to install. As you can see in the snippet below, we searched for SEO plugins, and it gives you a number of options you can pick: featured, popular and recommended plugins too
4. Click on the chosen plugin and select “Install Now”.
4. Select “Activate”.
6. Your plugin is now ready to use.
Install a WordPress Plugin Through WordPress Admin Plug Upload
It isn’t possible to install paid plugins through using the above method as they are not on the WordPress plugin directory list. This installation process is as follows:
1. Download your chosen plugin (which will be a zip file).
2. Next, go to WordPress and select “Plugins”.
3. Click on the “Upload Plugin” box at the top of the page; this will take you to the upload form.
4. On the Upload Plugin form, click the “Choose File” button and select the plugin file you previously downloaded.
5. Click the “Install Now” button
6. Once the installation process has finished, select the “Activate Plugin” link
7. Once activated, you may need to configure the plugin settings
Manually Installing a WordPress Plugin through FTP
You will need to install a WordPress plugin manually through FTP if your WordPress hosting provider has file restrictions; this can make it difficult to install a plugin through the dashboard.
- Download the source file for the plugin (a zip file).
- Extract the zip file.
- The extraction of the zip file creates a new folder, which needs to be manually uploaded using an FTP client.
- Open the FTP client and connect your site via the login details given to you by your host.
- When you are connected, go to the /wp-content/plugins/ folder on your site.
- Upload the folder that was extracted from the zip file to the /wp-content/plugins/ folder on your webserver.
- Once uploaded, visit your WordPress dashboard and click on the “Plugins” section.
- If the plugin is successfully installed, it will appear on the Plugins page.
- Click the “Activate” link.
- Once activated, you may need to configure the plugin settings.
