Weekly Links Roundup – Too Many Plugins, WordPress Tutorials, Monetizing WordPress

This week’s WordPress and web marketing links.

(Yep, I changed this series’ name because a friend pointed out that this weekly post shows up in social media on other days than Fridays).

I’ve seen WordPress sites with just a couple of plugins run like a drunk turtle on a low-quality hosting environment. I’ve also seen sites with 40 plugins fly like the wind on a great managed host. So how many plugins are too many?  The answer varies. While it’s true that having more plugins can put you at greater risk of hacking, conflicts, and slower performance, keeping your site updated and using high-quality plugins and good hosting can make your site safer and faster than one with fewer plugins that’s chronically out of date on a poor-quality host. I’d recommend using only the plugins you really need, removing anything that’s not activated, and keeping it all up to date. If you’re not sure you need something, don’t use it.

For the DIY types: if you like getting your hands dirty, here’s a big list of 44 WordPress tutorials for everything from speeding up your site to moving to HTTPS and how to use the command line. If you’re interested in getting into the backend development of WordPress this is a good reference.

Finally – do you like money? If you do, here’s a nice post on monetizing your WordPress site. From ad management to notification bars, this is a good overview of ways to enhance conversions on your site.