Plugin 1 – Spectra
The first plugin I chose for this weeks assignment was Spectra, a plugin made to build and further enhance pages within WordPress. Through watching many of the video tutorials provided for WordPress development, I would go on to install Spectra to be able to use the myriad of excellent web development features it provides. For example, it provides more options to choose from in the block editor, such as an image gallery function, forms, post carousels, and a variety of different container layouts to choose from.
Plugin 2 – Really Simple Security
The second plugin I installed this week is Really Simple Security, a security based plugin. This plugins main function is to help improve the security and well being of a WordPress website, it also automates HTTPS migration and SSL certificate enforcement which helps make websites powered by WordPress more manageable. This plugin also helped solve a mixed content issue that I ran into during development, which in my opinion makes it extremely helpful for solving internal errors such as that.
Plugin 3 – Better Search Replace
The third plugin I installed is Better Search Replace, which is a plugin that allows its users to update URLS and text within their database. Better Search Replace makes updating important information URLS very easy and accessible to beginners, making it very helpful for people like me who are just starting out on web development.
General thoughts
After installing each and every one of these new plugins, I was able to learn the basic functions and importance of each plugin and what purpose they serve in web development. The ones that I found to be the most helpful to improving my website were Spectra, and RSS. While BSR did help me with URL adjustments, I found Spectra to be the most useful plugin I recently installed, with RSS directly supporting its features by fixing certain internal issues such as mixed content.