WordPress plugins work by adding custom programming to your WordPress website that does not normally come with WordPress out of the box.

The WordPress core is built in such a way that it allows for the integration of custom code via a plugin, theme or function file. This makes it possible for you or a developer to add custom features to your website.

This means you can develop your website to fit your exact needs without the need to have a developer build it from the ground up. You would simply start where WordPress leaves off. Believe me, it's pretty robost.

There are nearly 60,000 plugins at wordpress.org that can be used for almost anything you can imagine. Some are very popular and work quite well, and others... maybe not so much.

WordPress plugins are mainly open source, which means anyone has access to the code. The underlying code could have a license that prevents copy or not. The open source allows for more community interaction and support.

Some plugins have more support than others. Whether it be community or commercial support, the ones with more support tend to function better.

There are also private plugins not hosted at wordpress.org and are not open to community scrutiny. By their nature these private plugins could be more secure than their counter-parts many times, because much of the source code and possible vulnerabilities would not be exposed.

A WordPress plugin can be a life saver when it comes to adding more functionality to your website. With so many plugins on the market, you may still find that none of them do quite what you need. If that's the case, you may need to hire a plugin developer.

Many of the plugins have a lot of unecessary bloat that may slow your site down. There are constant advertisements trying to sell you upgrades or other products, when you login to your site admin.