I check the official plugin directory to see if any good plugins have been released. The vast majority of plugins that are released are small hacks that don't add a lot of functionality to your website; though even the smallest tweaks will be useful to some people, depending on what you use WordPress for. That being said, there are a lot of plugins that are being released that I just can't see the point of. For example, the other day I came across a plugin called Alert before your post. All the plugin does is alert you when you click the publish button to check your article for mistakes. What's the most pointless WordPress plugin you've come across? Kevin
If you go to wpplugins.com and search for it you will find at least two premium ones for it, and they're priced around $10 . . . pointless.
I think I can beat that. I just checked wpplugins and the first plugin that came to my attention was a plugin for $10 that removes the hyperlink when you add an image. Mmmmm - isn't that what the Link URL None button is for!
Logins that do stuff already possible via shortcodes, or YouTube embed ones when you can just paste the URL and you're done. Also get frequently disappointed with reviews of premium (for-pay) plugins where the reviewer doesn't mention the alternatives that cost nothing.
I've been guilty on that on occasions. I sometimes link to free alternatives, I sometimes don't. It depends. If a premium plugin is feature rich and there is no free plugin that comes close to it, I don't always link to an alternative. Also, I personally don't think it's necessary to link to a free alternative if the plugin only costs $5 or so (from codecanyon etc).
I've also been guilty of this too, but, as you said, I also don't think it is always necessary. If I'm writing a review of a plugin, as I try to do somewhat frequently, I'm writing about that plugin, not trying to get people to go try other similar plugins. And, as Kevin said, if a plugin is only $5, no big deal. If it's $50, then sure, link to other free versions.
I haven't seen any pointless plugins. I think every plugin is created for a purpose. Some plugins might seem so pointless to us, but maybe it is useful to someone else.
I understand what you're saying but there are still plugins out there that are pointless. For example, the plugin I mentioned above that removes the link from images. This functionality is already built into WordPress.
I think the google analytics plugin is pointless. Just copy the code to the theme, why use a plugin that may result in performance issue? Well, but that's just me, maybe it's useful for people who don't understand how to add the code to their theme.
Actually I love the use of Google Analytics plugin. I use Google analycator and Google analytics dashboard.
Analytics dashboards are useful as a quick way of viewing your stats. I agree that plugins that simply insert the code into the footer for you are kind of pointless.
Well, to be 100% honest, NOT ONE. Let me explain a bit as some might be upset or think I'm funny. At this stage I have a few plugins which I do like, but it would be nice to have them as one plugin. If I had to incorporate plugins into 1, they would be the following: JetPack SEO Friendly Images Subscribe To Comments GoCodes Google XML Sitemaps W3 Total Cache Wordpress Download Monitor Author Advertising Google XML Sitemaps It would be n ice if WP could actually have a few of the above part of their setup. Like the SEO images, subscribe to comments and jetpack. The above is just my opinion.
I don't think it's practical to have different kinds of plugins from different developers being grouped into the one plugin. However, I think some of the plugins you mentioned should be incorporated into the WordPress code. For example, subscribe to comments and a good XML sitemap option.
Just because the purpose of a plugin is not obvious to you, does not mean it is not extremely useful to somebody else I strongly disagree with both of you. There are multiple reasons why people would use those plugins. If the person administrating the site does not have the ability to edit PHP files It is a multi-site network where the same theme is used for multiple sites Abstraction of code - user can change themes without needing to worry about moving their analytics code. Avoidance of error: Analytics code plugins can check that you have entered the code correctly and that it is loading in the correct place. Allows individual site owners on a network to set their own code, yet allows the network admin to hook in their network wide analytics code in unison with it Plus probably a bunch more reasons I just can't think of right now I ended up creating a custom plugin for reasons 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. All of the existing plugins which satisfied all of my requirements featured horrid advertising in the admin panel and usually had way more options than I needed (I had fairly basic requirements).
Automatically converting URLs is not guaranteed behaviour on all sites. Shortcodes are required in many situations.
You make some good points Ryan. I have the habit of looking at the quality of a plugin on the assumption that the administrator has at least a basic knowledge of HTML and PHP. I think this is because I don't create websites for clients. Those who do create websites for others may find plugins that I may think as pointless very useful as they make the admin area more user friendly.
