Set up and use your plugins

Once you install a plugin, the next step is to start using it. This guide shows you how to work with the plugins you have installed on your WordPress.com site.

Installing plugins is available on all WordPress.com paid plans: Personal, Premium, Business, and Commerce plans. For free sites, upgrade your plan to install plugins.

Each plugin is different, but this general advice will help you find out where to go to start using a newly-installed plugin on your site.

Plugins usually add new menu items to your dashboard. The example below highlights new menu items from plugins:

Other plugins will add their settings inside existing options like Settings, Tools, or Appearance:

Other plugins can add new panels (known as meta boxes) and options within the editor:

After installing a plugin, you may need a tutorial on how to use it on your website. Any good plugin will include support guides (often called “documentation” or “docs”) that show you how to get started with the plugin and explain its options and features.

For instructions on how to use a plugin:

1. Visit your dashboard.
2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins.
3. Look for a link to Settings, Docs, or Support for information on how to use the plugin:

Not all plugins may provide links like these. If not, check the plugin’s website (often found by googling the plugin’s name) for a link to a help center, support guides, documentation, or video tutorials.

If a plugin is installed but isn’t working as expected, these tips cover common situations that affect how its features show on your site:

• Shortcodes: Some plugins give you a shortcode, a short piece of text in square brackets that displays the plugin’s feature. To use a shortcode, add a Shortcode block to your page, post, or template and paste the shortcode into it. The shortcode shows in the editor, and the plugin’s feature appears when you preview or view the page.
• Blocks: Some plugins add their own blocks to the editor. To find them, click the + block inserter and search for the plugin’s name.
• Widgets: Some plugins display their features as widgets, which only classic themes support. If your site uses a block theme, check whether the plugin offers a block or shortcode instead.
• API and license keys: Some plugins connect to an outside service, such as a payment processor, map provider, or email service, and need an API key from that service before they work. Premium plugins bought from a developer’s website may also need a license key. Enter the key on the plugin’s settings page. The plugin’s documentation explains where to get the key and any settings to add on the service’s side.
• Scheduled tasks: Some plugins run tasks on a schedule rather than at the moment you save a setting, such as sending email digests, syncing orders, or importing content. Check the plugin’s settings or documentation for how often the task runs, and allow that time to pass before you check the result.
• Cache: Logged-out visitors see saved copies of your pages, so a change can appear for you before it reaches everyone else. Clear your site’s cache, then check the page in a private browser window.
• User role: Many plugins show their menus and settings only to Administrators. If a plugin menu is missing from your dashboard, ask a site Administrator for help. Our guide to user roles explains what each role can do.

If your site shows an error after you install or activate a plugin, follow our guide to solve problems with plugins and themes.

Any good plugin will provide support via the WordPress.org forums or their own support channels. You can contact the plugin’s developers directly for help with it.

Here at WordPress.com, we’ll assist you with plugins made by us (such as Jetpack and WooCommerce). However, we’re not able to assist with plugins not made by us – there are over 50,000 plugins, so it would be impossible for us to be experts on them all! Our friendly WordPress.com Happiness Engineers are happy to provide general tips and troubleshooting related to third-party plugins, but more expert support may be available from the plugin’s author. Learn more in get help with plugins and themes.