Problem : How to Solve Add or Install Plugins in WordPress

If you Can’t Add or Install Plugins in WordPress website, it’s not that difficult to figure out. Because these are the scenarios, that are either you don’t have access to install the plugins or you may be using free WordPress blog from wordpress.org or few more other issues. You will learn how to figure out & fix this issue in this article.

1. You are using free WordPress.com Blog
2. You don’t have the Permission to install the plugin
3. Memory Limit Issues
4. Multi-Site Network

 

1. You are using free WordPress.com Blog

The main problem why you can’t add or install plugins is that you may be using free WordPress.com Blog where you won’t have access to install the plugins. All you can do is use the existing plugins.

If you want to install plugins on your blog you should upgrade to plan, so that you will be able to install the plugins in your WordPress.com Blog.

How you can identify you are using WordPress.com Blog:

If you are using free WordPress.com blog, you will see an URL like http://your-blog-name.wordpress.com

You can fix this issue just by upgrading to business plan from WordPress.com website, that is the only plan which allows you to install plugins. Here you can see a screenshot of their plans.

 

And another solution is you have to move your blog from WordPress.com to self-hosted WordPress.org blog. With this self-hosted blog, you will have full control over it. For Setting up self-hosted WordPress Blog/Website you can use BlueHost for Hosting your website.

If you are on self-hosted WordPress Blog/Website, then proceed to next step.

 

2. You don’t have the Permission to install the plugin

By Default WordPress comes with 5 user roles, only users with Administrator privileges can install the plugins. Other than Administrator roles, no one has the capabilities to install & activate the plugins.

 

Learn more about WordPress Roles & Capabilites from WordPress Codex

 

How can you easily figure out you are logged in as Administrator or not?

Navigate to WordPress Admin area, and check the Admin Menus Available. If you are not able to see Appearance, Plugins, Users, Tools, Settings. Then you are not an administrator of that WordPress Blog/Website. Ask your developer or the person who provided you those login credentials.

If you able see the Admin Menus listed above then you don’t have the problem with permissions. But it might be a problem with Memory Limit Issues.

You will learn more about this in next step.

 

3. Memory Limit Issues

If you are on self-hosted WordPress and if you are not able to install the plugins then mostly you have a problem with PHP Memory Limit issues. Here in this article, I’ve discussed how you can fix this issues on How to Fix Memory Size Exhausted Error.

You will learn how to fix this issue by increasing PHP Memory Limit or by catching the plugin which is taking up the entire memory of your hosting account.

4. Multi Site Network

Even if you are on Multi-Site Network, then you will get the same kind of problem. It is similar to WordPress.com Blog.

Only Network Admin can install the plugins and that installed plugin should be activated to the entire network then only those will be available to use in Multi-Site Network installations of WordPress.