How are WordPress Themes and Plugins different?
Plugins add new functionality to your WordPress website, while a theme will define how it looks. In this guide, we’ll outline, “How are WordPress Themes and Plugins different?”
If you’re starting with WordPress, you may have run into the terms “plugins” and “themes” and wondered what the difference is. Well, you’re not alone, it’s not uncommon for WordPress newcomers to confuse plugins and themes for one another.
WordPress Plugins
Plugins are generally for adding new features to your website. In a sense, they affect what your site can do. With thousands of plugins available, there are plenty of features you can effortlessly add to your website.
For example, some plugins allow you to create contact forms, message boards, and other enhancements that make your website more interactive. Others support your websites SEO strategies, enabling you to optimise your content and improve its quality.
Developers are always releasing new plugins, so If there’s a feature you’d like added to your website; then there’s probably a plugin for it.
You can choose use as many plugins as you’d like. However, we recommend only using the plugins you need.
WordPress Themes
Themes change your website’s appearance, including its layout, colour palette, and buttons. Unlike plugins, you can only use one “theme” at a time.
There are countless themes to choose from each with their unique styles and use cases. Some help your site look more personal, while others are sleeker and more modern.
The WordPress theme that you use on your website should reflect the content that you’re going to use. After all, having a theme suited to images and video won’t be much use if your content is text-based.
WordPress themes come in three price points, “Free”, “Premium” and “Bespoke”. Premium themes cost will range from £10s up to £100s, and a bespoke theme can set you back anything from £100 up to £100,000.
Many premium WordPress themes utilise a page builder system that allows you to create unique looking layouts without the need to know any of the developer jargon.
The Blurred Line between themes and plugins
If plugins change what your website can do, and themes change how your website looks, why do people mix them up?
That is because some plugins function similarly to themes and change the appearance of a website. For instance, some plugins enable drag-and-drop functionality for your design, so you can move different website elements and adjust the layout.
Some themes come with all the features you need to build a specific type of website, and some plugins let you do the same. Suppose you want to create a FAQs page. You can either opt for a theme that has one premade or use a plugin to help you build one.