Overview
The following process describes how to manually upload and activate a plugin within your WordPress dashboard.
The simplest way to install a plugin is within your WordPress admin dashboard. However, some third-party plugins may need to be installed manually on the server where your WordPress site exists.
Manually installing a plugin
Follow these instructions to download the plugin, upload it to your server, and then activate it.
Download the plugin
If you're obtaining this from a third-party source, ask them for the file. It will most likely be in a zip format.
You can also download a plugin if it appears in the WordPress plugin repository. Click the Download button on the plugin page to download its zip file, which downloads the zip file of the plugin to your computer's Downloads directory.
Upload the plugin to your WordPress site
You can use the panel's file manager option or a third-party FTP client. This example uses the panel's file manager option.
- After you log in, navigate to the wp-content directory.
- Open the plugins directory. A list of your existing plugins appears within this folder.
- On the bottom left, click the Upload icon and select the Upload Folder... option that appears in the pop-up menu.
- A window opens where you can navigate to the location of the downloaded plugin folder on your computer. You can upload either a zip file or the extracted copy of the plugin folder.
- Locate the folder on your computer and click the Upload button. You should now see the folder listed in your FTP client.
Activate the plugin
After you upload the plugin, you must then activate it within your WordPress dashboard.
- Log in to your WordPress site.
- Navigate to the Plugins > Installed Plugins page.
- Click the Activate button under your plugin.