Add a Plug-in

All About Plugins

Plugins are what can make a nice informational website powerful.  The following Plugins have been installed on the networks and are visible on your dashboard.  So far, none are known not to cause any issues with the current version of WordPress (5.6) on the network:

  • All-in-One Event Calendar
  • BuddyPress – Can be used for creating a roster (Chapters, Parents and Groups only)
  • Contact Form 7
  • Newsletter – can send HTML emails to your subscriber list (Chapters, Parents and Groups only, classes use class mail).  If you use this plugin, is is strongly recommended that you also use the Postman SMTP plugin.
  • Postman SMTP – improves email reliability (Chapters, Parents and Groups only, classes use your class mail).  This plugin in essential if you are using the Newsletter plugin, otherwise, your “font” address is spoofed and often caught in spam filters.
  • TablePress – Embed beautiful and feature-rich tables into your posts and pages, without having to write code.
  • WP Edit (Parents only)

Additional plug-ins installed for use on the USNAChapters.net network:

  • Classic Editor – if you want to edit a page the old way.
  • Delete Delete Site – used by superadmins – prevents you from accidentally deleting your site which is un-reversable
  • Really Simple Captcha – for Contact Form 7
  • Unfiltered MU – used by superadmins – if you want to add a PayPal® button – we need to make sure your site is HTTPS first

Enabling

  • From the dashboard, click on Plugins
  • Activate the plugin.  Most plugins will require some setup once activated

Plugins On Request

These additional Plugins are installed on the network, but not included in the template sites as they  and can be activated upon request.  Please contact the siteadmin who can activate them on your site:

  • Akismet
  • All Meta Tags – allows for inserting custom meta tags in header (to forward a site)
  • Jetpack by WordPress.com
  • The Events Calendar
  • WordPress Importer
  • WP Stastics

If you need or want to test additional functionality…

You can find over 40,000 Plugins at https://wordpress.org/plugins/

Keep in mind, most of the 40,000+ plug ins are junk or teasers, but some can be useful and effective for our type of sites.  Plugins installed on the network will be available to all sites on the network, therefore they should be chosen carefully considering:

  • Compatibility with the current version of WordPress (currently 5.6)
  • Ratings (Stars of 5)
  • Number of installs (i.e., a plugin with 200,000+ installs is probably more likely to be maintained current than one with fewer 10,000 installs)
  • Last update

If your site has the need/desire for a plugin not already installed on the network, consider the above factors and then contact the site superadmin and ask for your needed plugin to be installed.