Are you looking for a way to embed Facebook status posts in WordPress?

Facebook statuses are an easy way to share important updates and time-sensitive information with your audience. By embedding your Facebook timeline in WordPress, you can get more engagement, let people know what’s happening on your Facebook page or group, and grow your followers.

In this article, we will show you how to embed Facebook status posts in WordPress.

Why Embed Facebook Status in WordPress?

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world and has billions of active users. For website owners, Facebook is a powerful way to connect with a new audience and engage with the people who already know about your brand.

Facebook is also perfect for sharing time-sensitive information in real time. In this way, you can use FOMO to create a sense of urgency.

For example, you might post a status about how visitors are running out of time to enter your giveaway in WordPress, or take advantage of your flash sale.

However, people won’t see your Facebook status if they just visit your website. This makes it difficult to grow your Facebook following and build a relationship with your audience.

By embedding your Facebook status posts in WordPress, you can promote your social media page and encourage more people to follow you on Facebook.

As you post new statuses, they’ll appear on your site automatically, so it’s also a great way to keep your website fresh, even for regular visitors.

That being said, let’s see how to embed Facebook status posts in WordPress.

Adding a Facebook Status Plugin to WordPress

The easiest way to embed your Facebook status feed in WordPress is by using the free Smash Balloon Social Post Feed.

This plugin lets you display text and links from your Facebook page or group.

In this guide, we’ll be using the free version of Smash Balloon as it allows you to embed Facebook statuses no matter what your budget. However, there’s Smash Balloon Facebook Feed that lets you embed different kinds of content. For example, you can embed a Facebook video in WordPress, and show images and videos in a lightbox popup on your site.

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Smash Balloon Social Post Feed plugin. For more details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

After that, you’ll need to connect Smash Balloon to your Facebook page or group, by going to Facebook Feed » All Feeds. Here, click on ‘Add New.’

Smash Balloon pro lets you show posts from your photo albums, timeline, events, and more.

However, the free version only allows you to embed your Facebook statuses so click on ‘Timeline’ and then select ‘Next.’

Now, you need to select the page or group which you’ll get the Facebook statuses from.

To get started, click on ‘Add New.’

On the next screen, choose whether you want to embed the feed from a Facebook group or Facebook page.

After that, go ahead and click on ‘Connect to Facebook.’

This opens a popup where you can log into your Facebook account and choose the pages or groups which you want to get the status updates from.

As soon as you’ve done that, click on ‘Next.’

Facebook will then show all the information that Smash Balloon will have access to and the actions it can perform.

To restrict Smash Balloon’s access to your Facebook account, just click any of the switches to turn it from ‘Yes’ to ‘No.’ Just be aware that this may affect the content that you can embed on your WordPress blog or website.

With that in mind, it’s a good idea to leave all the switches enabled.

When you’re happy with how your Facebook permissions are set up, click on ‘Done.’

After a few moments, you should see a message confirming that you’ve connected your WordPress website to Facebook. With that done, click on the ‘OK’ button.

Smash Balloon will now take you back to the WordPress dashboard automatically.

How to Embed Facebook Status Posts in WordPress

You will now see a popup with the source you just linked to your website. Simply select the radio button next to your Facebook page or group and then click on the ‘Add’ button.

If you accidentally closed the popup, then don’t worry. You can simply refresh the tab to reopen the popup.

After that, Smash Balloon will take you back to the Facebook Feed » All Feeds page automatically. Just like before, click on the ‘Add New’ button, select ‘Timeline,’ and then click on the ‘Next’ button.

Now, select your Facebook page or group, and click on ‘Next.’

Smash Balloon will now go ahead and create a timeline feed from the Facebook page or group you’ve chosen.

This is a good start, but Smash Balloon has lots of settings that you can use to customize your embedded timeline.

How to Customize Your Embedded Facebook Status Posts

To fine-tune your timeline, go to Facebook Feed » All Feeds in the WordPress dashboard.

Here, find the timeline feed you just created and click on the ‘Edit’ button next to it.

This opens the Smash Balloon feed editor, which shows a preview of your timeline to the right.

On the left-hand side, you’ll see all the different settings you can use to customize how the timeline looks on your site. Most of these settings are self-explanatory, but we’ll quickly cover all the main areas.

To start, you can change how the statuses are displayed by clicking on ‘Feed Layout.’

On this screen, you can switch between list and masonry layouts, as well as change the feed height. As you make changes, the preview will update automatically so you can try different settings to see what looks the best for your website.

You can preview how your status feed will look on desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones using the row of buttons in the upper-right corner.

Mobile devices usually have smaller screens and less processing power, so if you’re not happy with how the feed looks then it’s smart to show fewer statuses on tablets and smartphones.

To make this change, just type a different number into the ‘Mobile’ field in the ‘Number of Posts’ section.

By trying out different layouts you can create a Facebook status feed that looks great across all devices.

By default, Smash Balloon feed shows fewer columns on smartphones and tablets, compared to desktop computers. This helps your Facebook statuses fit comfortably on smaller screens.

After testing the mobile version of your WordPress website, you may want to show fewer columns on smartphones and tablets.

To do this, simply change the numbers under ‘Columns.’

When you’re happy with how the feed looks, click on the ‘Customize’ link.

This will take you back to the main Smash Balloon editor, ready for you to explore the next settings screen, which is ‘Color Scheme.’

Smash Balloon uses a color scheme inherited from your WordPress theme by default, but on this screen, you can switch to a ‘Light’ or ‘Dark’ look.

You can also create your own color scheme by selecting ‘Custom’ and then using the controls to change the text color in WordPress, change the background color, and more.

By default, Smash Balloon adds a header to your feed, which is your Facebook profile picture and the name of the group or page.

To customize this section, click on ‘Header’ in the left-hand menu.

Here, you can change the header size and color, hide your Facebook profile picture, and more.

If you would prefer to remove the header entirely, then click to turn off the ‘Enable’ toggle.

Next, you can change how the individual posts look inside your feed by selecting ‘Post Style’ from the left-hand menu.

After that, click on ‘Post Style’ again.

On this screen, you can choose between a regular and boxed layout.

If you select ‘Boxed’ then you can create a colored background for each Facebook post.

If you choose ‘Regular’ then you can change the thickness and color of the line that separates your different social media posts.

In the following image, we’ve added a thicker line to our Facebook status feed.

You can also customize the individual parts within each status by going back to the main settings screen.

Once again, select ‘Post Style’ but this time choose ‘Edit Individual Elements’ instead.

You will now see a list of all the different content that Smash Balloon includes in each post, such as the date, post author, and event title.

To remove a piece of content from your feed, simply click to uncheck its box.

You can also customize how each type of content looks by clicking on it.

For example, in the following image, you can see settings to change the size and color of the author text.

By default, Smash Balloon doesn’t include the Facebook ‘like’ button in your feed.

This button makes it easier for visitors to follow you on Facebook, so you may want to add it to your status feed by selecting the ‘Like Box’ settings.

After that, simply click on the ‘Enable’ button so that it turns blue.

You can now use the settings to change where the link box appears and the kind of content included in the box, such as your Facebook cover photo and total number of followers.

If you upgrade to Smash Balloon premium, then there are some more settings to explore. This includes a lightbox feature that allows visitors to explore your content in a popup.

Since you’re using the free version of Smash Balloon for now, you can go ahead and click on ‘Save’ to store your changes.

The next step is adding the Facebook status feed to your WordPress website.

How to Embed Facebook Status Posts in WordPress

You can add your Facebook status feed to WordPress using a block, widget, or shortcode.

If you’ve created more than one feed using Smash Balloon, then you’ll need to know the feed’s code if you’re going to add it using a block or widget.

To get this information, simply go to Facebook Feed » All Feeds and then look at the feed=”” part of the shortcode. You’ll need to add this code to the block or widget, so make a note of it.

In the following example, we’ll need to use feed=”8″.

If you want to embed your Facebook statuses in a page or post, then we recommend using the ‘Custom Facebook Feed’ block.

Simply open the page or post where you want to embed the status feed. Then, click on the ‘+’ icon to add a new block and start typing ‘Custom Facebook Feed.’

When the right block appears, click to add it to the post or page.

The block will show one of your Smash Balloon feeds by default. If you want to use a different feed instead, then simply find ‘Shortcode Settings’ in the right-hand menu.

You can now add the feed=”” code to this box. Once you’ve done that, click on the ‘Apply Changes’ button.

The block will now show all the status updates from your Facebook page or group. Just publish or update the page to make the feed live.

Another option is to add the feed to any widget-ready area, such as the sidebar or similar section. This allows visitors to see your latest Facebook updates across your entire website.

Simply go to Appearance » Widgets in the WordPress dashboard and then click on the blue ‘+’ button.

Now, start typing ‘Custom Facebook Feed’ into the search bar to find the right widget.

You can now drag it onto the area where you want to show your Facebook status updates. By default, the widget will show one of the feeds you created using Smash Balloon.

To show a different feed instead, type the feed’s code into the ‘Shortcode Settings’ box and then click on ‘Apply Changes.’

You can now click on the ‘Update’ button to make the widget live.

For more information, please see our step-by-step guide on how to add and use widgets.

Finally, you can embed your status on any page, post, or widget-ready area using a shortcode. To get the shortcode, simply go to Facebook Feed » All Feeds and copy the value in the ‘Shortcode’ column.

You can now add this code to your site. For more information, please see our detailed guide on how to add a shortcode in WordPress.

We hope this article helped you learn how to embed Facebook status posts in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to create an email newsletter and the best WordPress Facebook plugins to grow your blog.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Embed Facebook Status Posts in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

Recently one of our readers asked if it was possible to restrict countries in your WooCommerce store?

By hiding your WooCommerce store from specific countries, you can control your product visibility around the world. That way, your products will only be available in specific countries.

In this article, we will show you how to easily add country based restriction to WooCommerce products or even your entire WooCommerce store.

Why Restrict Your WooCommerce Store in a Country?

When selling products online, an online store owner can come across a lot of problems. For example, you can get a product order from a country where that product is illegal, or your payment gateways can’t process fees.

When building a WooCommerce store, it is important to provide the best user experience to your customers. You don’t want the customer to place an order only to find out that they can’t complete their purchase.

This can result in customer frustration, and it can keep them from ever coming back to your site or buying something else from you.

To avoid these kinds of situations, it is better to restrict access to your WooCommerce store or products from specific countries.

With that being said, let’s take a look at how you easily can restrict your WooCommerce store and products in specific countries.

You can jump to either method by clicking the links below:

Method 1. Restricting Countries Using WooCommerce Settings

You can easily hide your online store in specific countries using WooCommerce default settings.

First, go ahead and click on the WooCommerce » Settings option in your WordPress dashboard and then go to the ‘General’ tab.

Once there, scroll down to the ‘General Options.’ Here you will find the ‘Selling Location’ section. Simply click on the dropdown menu in the field where you will find three options.

You can either select the ‘Sell to specific countries, except for…’ option, or you can choose the ‘ Sell to specific countries’ option.

When you select the ‘Sell to specific countries, except for…’ option, another field will appear.

Now, just select from the dropdown any countries where you don’t want to sell your products.

If you’ve chosen the ‘Sell to specific countries’ option, a ‘Sell to specific countries’ field will appear in the settings below.

Now you can select all the countries where your store will be available.

This method is very easy to use, and you don’t have to download any additional WooCommerce plugins for it.

The main downside of this method is that you cannot hide specific products.

By restricting countries using the default settings method in WooCommerce, the restrictions will be applied to your whole online store, and users in those countries won’t be able to buy any of your products.

If you only want to hide some specific products in different countries, it is better to use a plugin mentioned in Method 2. Let’s take a look at how to restrict specific WooCommerce products in different countries.

Method 2. Add Country Based Restrictions for WooCommerce Products

The best way to hide your store products in some specific countries is by using a WordPress plugin like the Country Based Restrictions For WooCommerce.

It is a free WooCommerce plugin that allows you to hide your products in specific countries.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the ‘Country Based Restrictions For WooCommerce’ plugin. For more details, please take a look at our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

After you’ve activated the plugin, go to Plugins » Installed Plugins.

Here, click on the ‘Settings’ link in the ‘Country Based Restrictions for WooCommerce’ entry.

Once you’re on the ‘Settings’ page, just click on the ‘Catalog Visibility’ option.

After you’ve clicked on the ‘Catalog Visibility’ option, you will have 3 choices:

Hide Completely – Restricted products will not appear in your store.Hide Catalog Visibility – Restricted products will only be available by direct links, but not through browsing or search results.Catalog Visible (non purchasable) – Restricted products will appear as normal, but customers will be unable to purchase them.

Once you’ve chosen an option, simply click on the ‘Save Changes’ button.

Next, go to WooCommerce » All Products in your WordPress dashboard.

Locate the product that you want to restrict and simply click on the ‘Edit’ link.

This will open the ‘Edit Product’ page. You can then scroll down to the ‘Product Data’ section.

Next, simply click on the ‘Country Restrictions’ option to the left.

After you’ve clicked on the ‘Country Restrictions’ option, you’ll see a ‘Restriction Rule’ field.

Simply click on the dropdown menu beside the field and select the ‘Product Not Available For Selected Countries’ option.

After that, go to the ‘Select Countries’ field and click on the dropdown beside it.

Then, simply choose the countries where your product won’t be available for purchase.

Once you’re happy with your choice, don’t forget to click on the ‘Publish button.’

Now, if a customer from the chosen country visits your store, the product you’ve restricted won’t appear.

Bonus: Geolocation Targeting for WooCommerce to Grow Sales

Did you know that geotargeting in WooCommerce can help you grow sales?

We have created an ultimate guide to geolocation targeting in WordPress that will show you how to create personalized content and offers for users in specific countries using various tools.

For example, you can use a plugin like OptinMonster to run specific discounts for certain locations, offer different prices based on countries, and so much more.

We hope this article helped you learn how to restrict countries in your WooCommerce store. You may also want to see our ultimate WooCommerce SEO guide to improve your SEO rankings, or see our tutorial on how to fix WooCommerce not sending email issue to improve your email deliverability.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Add Country Restriction for WooCommerce Products first appeared on WPBeginner.

Do you want to track conversions on your WooCommerce store?

Conversion tracking helps you understand what’s working on your online store and what needs more attention. It helps you keep track of your best-performing products while also allowing you to see what’s stopping customers from completing a purchase.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to easily set up WooCommerce conversion tracking, step by step.

Why Set up WooCommerce Conversion Tracking?

WooCommerce makes it easy to sell anything online. However, once you have set up your WooCommerce store, you will need to learn what works on your website to grow your business.

You will need to learn which products are popular among your users, what they are viewing the most, how many users end up making a purchase, how they are finding your website, and more.

To get all this information, you need to set up conversion tracking on your online store. This helps you get access to insights you need to make informed decisions about growing your business.

Conversion tracking helps you unlock key performance indicators including your eCommerce conversion rate, average order value, shopping cart abandonment, cost per acquisition, top referral sources, and more.

Apart from that you also get to learn about:

Shopping behavior – It tells you what products users are adding to carts, which products are being abandoned, what pages lead users to a successful purchase, and more.Checkout behavior – Helps you view how users successfully complete a checkout.Product performance – Tells you which products are bringing you the most sales.Product list performance – This allows you to group products and see their performance as a list. This comes in handy when you want to see how different product categories are doing in your online store.

That being said, let’s take a look at how to unlock all this useful information by setting up conversion tracking on your store.

Setting Up WooCommerce Conversion Tracking in WordPress

The easiest way to track WooCommerce conversions is by using MonsterInsights.

It is the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress and comes with an eCommerce addon that literally enables all the tracking within a few clicks.

The challenge is that setting up Google Analytics with WooCommerce requires a lot of custom coding, event tracking, and more.

The good news is that MonsterInsights makes it super easy to set up eCommerce tracking, and you can do it without writing any code. It works seamlessly with WooCommerce and supports other popular eCommerce plugins.

For this tutorial, we’ll use the MonsterInsights Pro version because it includes the eCommerce addon, advanced tracking features, and eCommerce dashboard report. There is also a MonsterInsights Lite version you can use to get started for free.

First, you will need to install and activate the MonsterInsights plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you can see the MonsterInsights welcome screen in your WordPress admin area. Simply click the ‘Launch the Wizard’ button.

Next, you can follow the onscreen instructions in the setup wizard to configure Google Analytics with your website. See our guide on how to install Google Analytics in WordPress for complete installation instructions.

With MonsterInsights, you can also set up dual tracking and set up a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) property. GA4 is the latest version of Google Analytics, and it will replace Universal Analytics on July 1, 2023.

After this date, you won’t be able to track your online store’s data in Google Analytics and will have to start from scratch. However, dual tracking lets you send data to GA4 and Universal Analytics at the same time.

This way, you will have historical data in your GA4 property when the time comes to completely switch to the new version. For more details, please see our guide on how to switch to Google Analytics 4 in WordPress.

Once you have installed Google Analytics using MonsterInsights, you can move on to installing the MonsterInsights eCommerce addon.

First, you need to visit the Insights » Addons page from your WordPress dashboard and navigate to the ‘eCommerce’ addon.

Go ahead and click the ‘Install’ button. The addon will now install and activate on your site. You should see the ‘Status’ change from ‘Not Installed’ to ‘Active.’

Next, you’ll need to enable enhanced eCommerce in Google Analytics.

Enable Enhanced Ecommerce in Google Analytics

First, you need to go to your Google Analytics account and select your website.

From here, you need to click on the Admin button located at the bottom left corner of the screen.

Next, you need to click on the ‘Ecommerce settings’ option.

It is located under the ‘View’ column.

After that, you need to turn on the toggles for ‘Enable Ecommerce’ and ‘Enable Enhanced Ecommerce Reporting’ options.

Google Analytics will now turn on the eCommerce reporting feature for your account.

Next, you can go back to your WordPress dashboard and head over to the Insights » Settings page.

From here, switch to the eCommerce tab and make sure to turn on the ‘Use Enhanced eCommerce’ option.

MonsterInsights will automatically detect your eCommerce software. Currently, it supports WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, LifterLMS, and MemberPress.

That’s all, you have successfully set up WooCommerce conversion tracking on your online store.

Viewing WooCommerce Conversion Reports

Now that you have set up conversion tracking on your WooCommerce store, you need to give Google Analytics some time to collect data.

After a while, you will be able to view your eCommerce reports in both MonsterInsights and Google Analytics.

Let’s start with your eCommerce reports in MonsterInsights.

eCommerce Reporting in MonsterInsights

Log in to your WordPress site and go to the Insights » Reports page and switch to the eCommerce tab.

At the top, you’ll get your most important conversion metrics including the conversion rate, transactions, revenue, and average order value.

Below that you will see a list of your top products with quantity, sale percentage, and total revenue.

Next, you’ll see your top conversion sources. You can use this report to attract more customers and offer exclusive discounts for customers from specific sources.

That’s not all the data. You can dig deeper with more advanced reports under your Google Analytics account.

WooCommerce Tracking in Universal Analytics

Google Analytics provides even more in-depth reporting for your WooCommerce store.

Simply visit your Universal Analytics dashboard and click on Conversions » Ecommerce from the left column.

First, the overview report will provide you with important numbers such as revenue, conversion rate, transactions, and average order value.

You can then switch to different reports for more in-depth analysis. For example, the ‘Shopping Behavior’ report will break down user sessions to add to cart, cart abandonment, and sessions that resulted in the checkout.

WooCommerce Tracking in Google Analytics 4

To view your WooCommerce reports in Google Analytics 4, you can go to Reports » Monetization » Ecommerce purchases.

In the report, you’ll see different metrics like total items viewed, add to carts, eCommerce purchases, and more for each product.

Boost Your WooCommerce Conversions and Increase Sales

Now that you have the data you need to track your WooCommerce conversions, let’s take a look at how to improve your conversion rates and make more sales.

1. Improve Speed and Performance

According to a StrangeLoop case study, a 1 second delay in page load time can lead to a 7% loss in conversions, 11% fewer page views, and a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction.

Slower websites create a bad user experience which results in lower conversion rates. See our complete step-by-step guide to improve your WooCommerce speed and performance.

2. Recover Abandoned Cart Sales

On average 60 – 80% of people who “add to cart” do not end up buying. This means if you have an online store, then you’re losing out on a lot of sales.

Luckily, there are several best practices that help you recover some of those abandoned cart sales. See our tips on how to recover abandoned cart sales and increase your conversions.

3. Provide Users with Alternatives

If users decide to leave your website without making a purchase, then there is very little chance that they will ever see your website again.

You need to provide users a chance to stay in touch even if they don’t end up making a purchase.

You can do this by creating an email newsletter for your WooCommerce store.

We recommend using Constant Contact or SendinBlue. Both of them are on our list of the best email marketing service for small businesses.

For more techniques, see our guide on how to convert WooCommerce visitors into customers.

We hope this article helped you set up WooCommerce conversion tracking on your eCommerce store. You may also want to see our list of the best WooCommerce plugins and how to choose the best blogging platform.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Setup WooCommerce Conversion Tracking (Step by Step) first appeared on WPBeginner.

Are you wondering whether it’s safe to install and use an outdated WordPress plugin?

Sometimes when you are searching for a plugin to add a new feature to your website, you may find one that looks perfect, but it hasn’t been updated for a while or hasn’t been tested with your version of WordPress. Often times this leads to beginner readers asking the question can I use it without breaking my website?

In this article, we’ll discuss how to determine whether or not you can safely install outdated WordPress plugins.

How Do WordPress Plugins Become Outdated?

A WordPress plugin can become outdated if it hasn’t received any updates for a while, or if it hasn’t been tested by the plugin author to ensure it’s compatibility with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress.

We always recommend our readers to keep the plugins in your WordPress website up to date. These updates keep the plugin compatible with changes made to WordPress core, add new features, fix bugs, and address security vulnerabilities.

But what if a plugin that you are using or want to use hasn’t been updated for some time? Or what if it hasn’t been tested with the latest version of WordPress? Is it still safe to use?

The short answer is, it depends on the plugin.

Sometimes outdated plugins simply will not work correctly with newer versions of WordPress. Or the plugin may have even been abandoned by the developer, so that no new features will ever be added.

The biggest concern with outdated plugins is that there may be security issues that can come up. If the plugin isn’t maintained or updated, it might become a target for hackers.

However, just because a plugin is outdated doesn’t mean that it has any of those issues. Some outdated plugins are perfectly safe to use. However, we recommend that you thoroughly test the plugin before installing it on your live site.

With that being said, let’s take a look at how to tell if a WordPress plugin is outdated, and how you can decide whether it is safe to install.

Checking Whether a Plugin Is Outdated

The WordPress Plugin Directory displays a lot of useful information about each plugin. For example, it clearly shows the date each plugin was last updated, and the latest version of WordPress it was tested with.

If a plugin has not been tested for several versions of WordPress, then a warning will be displayed at the top of the plugin page, similar to this one:

Where does WordPress get this information? Plugin authors are required to provide it in a readme file when submitting plugins to the WordPress plugin directory.

Unfortunately, busy developers don’t always update the readme file when a new WordPress update is released. Sometimes a plugin was tested more recently than its plugin page shows.

Now that you know how to check if a WordPress plugin is outdated, let’s take a look at how to tell whether it is safe to install.

Checking Whether an Outdated Plugin Is Safe to Install

Just because a plugin hasn’t been updated or tested recently doesn’t mean that it won’t work. How can you tell if the plugin is safe to install on your WordPress site?

Check User Ratings and Reviews

You can click on the ‘Reviews’ tab on the WordPress Plugin Directory to see user opinions and complaints about the plugin. If there is a compatibility problem with a recent version of WordPress, then other users may have mentioned it on this page.

You can also check the user ratings. If the reviews are recent and five stars, then it’s safe to assume that you can use the plugin on your website.

Check the Plugin Support Page

When you click the ‘Support’ tab, you will be taken to the support forum for the plugin. Here you can see any issues that users have been having with the plugin.

You will also see how responsive the plugin’s developer is, and whether they successfully solve issues in a timely manner.

If you decide to install the plugin, this is where you should come if you need support. You can learn more in our guide on how to properly ask for WordPress support and get it.

Check the Plugin Development Page

Another way to check whether it’s safe to install the plugin is by going to the plugin development page. This shows you how active the plugin developer is.

Simply go to the WordPress plugin page and click on the ‘Development’ tab.

In particular, take a look at the ‘Changelog’ section to see how often the plugin is being updated and what recent changes and improvements have been made.

If the developer is actively updating the plugin, then it usually means the plugin is high quality and safe to use on your WordPress website.

On the other hand, if a plugin hasn’t been updated in more than two years, then it may mean the plugin has been abandoned. In that case, you shouldn’t install the plugin since the developer is not actively maintaining it.

Check for WPBeginner Tutorials on the Plugin

You can also check whether the plugin is safe to install on the WPBeginner blog. You can look for tutorials on the plugin by navigating to the Blog » WordPress Plugins page or by using the search feature.

If we recently published a tutorial on a plugin, then this means the plugin was compatible with the latest version of WordPress when we tested it.

Testing the Plugin on a Staging Site or Local WordPress Installation

Let’s say that you’ve gone through the steps above and decided that an outdated plugin looks safe to install. What should you do next?

Instead of immediately installing the plugin on your live site, you may wish to first test it on a staging site or local WordPress installation.

A WordPress staging site is a test site that you can use to safely test a plugin for problems before going live.

The staging site lives on your web hosting server, so you can be confident that if the plugin works there, you won’t encounter problems on your live site.

Some of the best WordPress hosting companies such as Bluehost, SiteGround, and WP Engine offer one-click staging websites. You can also create a staging site manually or by using a plugin.

You can learn how in our guide on how to easily create a staging site for WordPress.

As an alternative to a staging site, you can install WordPress on your own computer and test the plugin there. You can follow our guides on how to install WordPress locally on Mac or Windows, or using XAMPP.

If the plugin works fine on your test site, then it’s safe to install it on your live website.

Final Thoughts

While it’s not a good idea to use outdated plugins, sometimes the plugin you’re looking for is the only one that does what you need. In that case, you will need to do your due diligence as we mentioned in our guide.

Other things you can look for is author’s reputation. If it’s a popular plugin author, then you can email them and ask whether they have plans to update the plugin.

Some plugins are so simple that they don’t need any updates, and this is why the author may not push out an update because they know it still works. The popular Page Links To plugin is a good example of that.

It’s written by one of WordPress core contributors, Mark Jaquith, and the plugin has been around for a long time. It doesn’t need any active development because it does one thing and does it well. So even though it shows the outdated error on WordPress.org, this plugin would be something that you can safely install.

The downside though is that if you were hoping to have more advanced redirection features, then it’s going to be lacking in the plugin which is why many users switch to the All in One SEO plugin because it includes this feature and many more powerful SEO features in the plugin.

We hope this tutorial helped you learn whether it’s safe to use outdated plugins with WordPress. You may also want to learn how to register a domain name for free, or check out our expert pick of the must-have WordPress plugins to grow your site.

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The post Is It Safe to Use Outdated WordPress Plugins? first appeared on WPBeginner.