WordPress uses plug-ins to extend the core functionality of blogs. There are over ten thousand plug-ins which have been developed by the WordPress Community. The Plug-in Directory provides download access to them, and lets you search by keyword and tags.

The Commons provides access to a subset of this huge group of plug-ins. These plug-ins are installed and ready to be enabled. The list of plug-ins changes over time. If you know of a plug-in which you would like to use, but which is not installed on the Commons, send an email to [email protected]. Check out Tweaking Your Site for a listing of popular WordPress plugins. Each entry provides a brief description and a link to a post about it.

How to Activate a Plug-in on a Commons Blog

Activating a plug-in is a one time operation – on the WordPress Dashboard, click on “Plug-ins.” Then scroll down until you find a plug-in you’d like to try out. Click the checkbox and the “Activate” hyperlink. If you don’t like the plug-in or find that it doesn’t do what you want, you can follow the same procedure, by click on the “DeActivate” hyperlink.