What Makes WordPress so User Friendly?
One of the selling points of WordPress has always been its user-friendly design and flexibility. Getting set-up is no trouble, as the majority of hosting companies allow you to install WordPress quickly and easily. Administering your site is straightforward, as is posting articles or content. Editing pages on WordPress is no more difficult than applying edits on Microsoft Word.
You can get more in-depth and intricate if you feel comfortable with coding. In any case, the learning curb is relatively forgiving. One of the advantages of WordPress is that it’s got such a big community. If anything goes wrong you can usually find quick support through dedicated support services and third party forums.
What to Do When a WordPress Plugin Causes an Error
25% of all new websites are powered by WordPress. Most people would agree that the rich variety of plugins is the key ingredient in its spectacular success. But what should you do if a plugin stops working properly?
This can happen of course, as with any function. And that’s all a plugin is; a function. It’s a shortcut to providing functionality to your site without the work of having to add additional coding. Dealing with a faulty plugin often involves trial and error. Sometimes you’ll have a good idea of what triggered the problem. It may be that you just updated or installed a theme or plugin.
You will usually find that something about the page or something about the plugin itself looks unusual or is not functioning correctly. Reasons for errors are diverse. Sometimes it can be as simple as bad coding. The developer may not have taken proper care to ensure their plugin was properly WordPress compatible. It may be a conflict between two different plugins or a conflict with functions available through the theme.
How to Solve a Conflict between a Plugin and a Theme
In order to identify if there is a conflict, go to Dashboard. In Appearances, select Themes. Change your theme to something generic like Twenty Eleven. Then return to your homepage and see if your plugin is working. If it is, then you know you have a conflict between plugin and theme.
The conflict is often related to the use of short codes. It may be the case that both theme and plugin are defining the same short code. One is therefore overwriting the other. To avoid this kind of conflict it is important to determine in advance if the short code already exists. If it does, you may have to remove it and register a new one.
If you are using a WordPress site for your business, a Premium account can save you a lot of grief. Premium WordPress plugins have their own support sections and can provide handy walk throughs if or when errors occur.
