The plugin you put on a client’s site lives there. It runs on every page load, sees every user, and shapes what your admin team experiences every day. “Install whatever has the most installs” is the default. It produces a site that works most of the time, fights you in the admin, and quietly trains your team to ignore admin notices.
What I do
- Does it earn its place? The user benefit should outweigh the performance and security overhead.
- Does it respect the people using the site? Consent-compliant data handling, no dark patterns, no invisible tracking.
- Does it leave the admin clean? No upgrade nags, upsell banners, or fake security alerts.
- Is the author trustworthy? Active maintenance, honest support forum, no deliberate freemium breakage.
- Document why each plugin is on the site. Future-you (or your next developer) should be able to answer “why is this installed” in 30 seconds.
- Prefer fewer, better plugins over many cheap ones. One well-chosen plugin replaces five that almost work.
- Pay for premium when premium earns it. Free isn’t a goal. Quality is.
What I decline
- Plugins that gate basic functionality behind upsells in the admin.
- Plugins that inject ads, “deals,” or sales messages into your dashboard.
- Plugins that phone home with site data without explicit, granular consent.
- Plugins that show “critical security alerts” as a marketing technique.
- Plugins that ship with a free version that’s deliberately broken so you’ll upgrade.
- Plugins from authors who treat the support forum as a sales funnel.
Why this is the position
Your team logs into wp-admin every day. What they see there shapes how they feel about the site, the platform, and increasingly about you. A nagware plugin trains your editors to dismiss admin notices reflexively. The next time a real warning appears, they’ll dismiss that too.
There’s also a craft argument. A senior developer’s plugin choices are a fingerprint. Anyone can install Yoast and move on. Choosing the right plugin for this site, this team, and this content model takes judgement, and judgement is what you’re hiring.
The Helpful Neighbour test applies to plugins the same way it applies to people. The neighbour who fixes your fence and quietly mentions where they got their tools is helpful. The neighbour who sells you a tool every time they walk past is exhausting. I don’t put exhausting plugins on your site.
See also
- Accessibility isn't a phase. It's a precondition.. Companion stance on the buyer-protection side of plugin and theme decisions.
- WordPress is rarely the wrong tool. On why senior plugin judgement is part of what makes the platform work in practice.
- The WordPress Site Audit Most Agencies Skip in 2026. The audit that catches the bullying plugins after the fact, when the original developer didn't pick them carefully.
