Plugin Safety: Best Practices for Managing WordPress Plugins

Plugins are one of the most powerful parts of WordPress—they extend your site’s functionality with tools for forms, design, optimization, and more. However, because plugins come from different developers, it’s important to use them responsibly to keep your site secure and running efficiently.

This guide covers best practices for plugin safety and lists the approved plugins the Design Shop team uses and supports.

Why Plugin Safety Matters

Each plugin adds new code to your website. Poorly built or outdated plugins can cause:

• Conflicts with other site features or themes

• Security vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit

• Performance issues, like slow page load times

Using only trusted, supported plugins helps protect your site and keeps it stable.

Step 1: Use Only Approved or Trusted Plugins

When adding functionality, always start with our approved plugin list. These have been tested for compatibility and reliability with your LeagueApps Design Shop site.

Approved Plugins List

Here’s a partial list of the plugins we actively support and recommend:

• Advanced Custom Fields PRO

• Beaver Builder (Pro Version)

• Beaver Themer

• Classic Editor

• Custom Adobe Fonts (Typekit)

• Custom Post Type UI

• Duplicate Page

• Forminator Pro (Forms)

• Google Site Kit

• Hustle Pro (Popups & Marketing)

• Max Mega Menu

• Nested Pages

• Ninja Tables Pro

• Post Types Order

• Real-Time Find and Replace

• Smush Pro (Image Optimization)

• SVG Support

• TablePress

• Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder

• WordPress Importer

• WPForms Lite

• Yoast Duplicate Post

• Yoast SEO

• Defender Pro (Security)

⚠️ Note: We have phased out the Smash Balloon Instagram Feed plugin. If your site uses Instagram, we can replace it with SnapWidget at no additional cost.

⚠️ Important Warning: Do NOT Install WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a powerful e-commerce plugin for WordPress—but it is not supported or compatible with Design Shop websites.

Our Design Shop websites are built as marketing and content sites, not online stores. Installing WooCommerce can:

• Cause severe site performance issues

• Break page layouts built with BeaverBuilder

• Introduce unnecessary database tables and scripts

• Conflict with the LeagueApps registration and payment systems

If you need e-commerce or online payment functionality, LeagueApps already provides secure, optimized tools for that.

❌ Do not install or activate WooCommerce or any related add-ons (such as WooPayments, WooSubscriptions, or WooCommerce Blocks).

✅ If you’d like to sell merchandise or add payment links, contact the Design Shop team. We can recommend secure alternatives that work with your current setup.

Step 2: Keep Plugins Updated

Outdated plugins are one of the most significant security risks.

• Update plugins regularly through Dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins.

• Do not close the browser window until updates finish to avoid errors.

• If you notice errors after an update, contact us—we make daily backups so that we can restore your site safely.

Step 3: Remove Unused or Inactive Plugins

Inactive plugins still take up space and may introduce vulnerabilities.

1. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins.

2. Click Deactivate.

3. Then click Delete to remove them completely.

Step 4: Avoid Duplicate Functionality

Using two plugins that perform similar tasks (e.g., two SEO or form builders) can cause conflicts. If you’re unsure whether a new plugin duplicates existing functionality, check with our team first.

Step 5: Let the Design Shop Team Help

Our team reviews your site regularly to ensure plugins stay secure and compatible.
We can:

• Review plugin requests and suggest safer alternatives.

• Install and configure Defender Pro, Smush Pro, and Forminator Pro.

• Help troubleshoot update issues or plugin conflicts.

All of this is included at no additional cost for Design Shop partners.

Best Practices Summary

✅ Use only approved or trusted plugins.
✅ Keep all plugins up to date.
✅ Avoid duplicate or inactive plugins.
✅ Don’t close the browser during updates.
✅ Contact our team before adding new plugins.