In the previous month I’ve talked to countless people about WordPress. One question keeps coming back over and over again: How many plugins can I install without facing negative affects? There’s only one answer to that question: It depends on the plugins.

I’ve seen slow sites with 5 plugins and I’ve seen rocket fast sites with 30+ plugins. It’s not a question of the quantity, but of the quality. So, where does the myth come from that too many plugins are bad for your site?

A plugin either operates on the front-end or the back-end (dashboard). Front-end plugin often load additional sources, e.g. CSS or JavaScript files, while back-end plugins often cause additional database queries. Both cases might lead to a slower response of the server. Furthermore not evert plugin goes along quite well with every other plugin. Some plugins lead to conflicts when installed and activated at the same time. These are the main reasons why people think too many plugins are bad for your site performance. However, as mentioned before, it’s not a question of the quantity, but a question of the quality of the installed plugins.