Uploading and installing a WordPress plugin ZIP file

Download the installable ZIP from the official developer account or trusted project repository. Avoid unofficial repackaged commercial plugins. Confirm the supported PHP and WordPress versions, required dependencies, and whether a separate licence is needed for updates.

Back up files and the database. For an existing plugin, preserve custom modifications and export settings where supported. A vendor ZIP will not contain edits made directly to the installed files.

1. Open Plugins > Add New Plugin > Upload Plugin.
2. Select the ZIP and choose Install Now. Wait for WordPress to unpack and inspect the package.
3. If WordPress reports that the plugin already exists, review the installed and uploaded details. Use the replacement option only when you intentionally want to overwrite that plugin's files.
4. Activate a new plugin when ready, then complete the developer's configuration steps. Check whether a replaced plugin remains active.

Check the plugin name and version in Installed Plugins, then test the feature it provides. Review relevant logs if the interface succeeds but the actual integration fails. Purge caches only where needed to load changed assets.

An invalid package error may mean you selected a distribution bundle instead of the plugin ZIP. An upload limit error needs a hosting configuration review or another supported deployment method, not a renamed file extension. If a fatal error appears, use WordPress recovery mode or ask us for help disabling the specific plugin safely.

Replacing files with an older ZIP does not automatically reverse database migrations. Use the developer's downgrade guidance and a compatible backup when a rollback is necessary. Keep the previous package and the backup until the replacement has been verified.

• Installing a plugin from the WordPress plugin directory
• Deactivating and deleting a WordPress plugin
• Reinstalling a WordPress plugin without falsifying its version

• Managing plugins
• Add plugins screen