I used it all up.
It isn't as bad as it sounds in reality. Right now I am running 33 active plugins on my blog. Whew!
Yep, that is a lot.
Yes, I am actively working on reducing that number and this is why I am deleting Wp Smushit today. Don't get me wrong, it is a great plugin.
But it served its purpose and it is time for it to go.
Now don't get all delete happy and start deleting all of your WordPress plugins randomly. This is a special circumstance.
Some plugins have a job to do and once their job is done, they don't need to stick around.
This past weekend I was doing some optimization on my blog and one of the tasks was to reduce the file size of my images.
You can either manually resize your images and replace them or you can use a tool. Manually resizing your images on a large site would take eons of time and I didn't have that. Imagine downloading an image form your site, resizing it, deleting the old image and replacing the new image.
Obviously that is best case scenario because it is pure.
Ain't nobody got time for that though.
This is why beautiful plugins like WP SmushIt exist. They have a free version, which is what I used, and a premium version.
It took me about 4 hours to smush all of my images because with the free version you can only do 50 at a time. So if you have patience the free version will serve you well. If you are in a hurry upgrade to their premium version and do them all at once.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-smushit/
What WordPress Plugins could you remove for your site? Over the next few weeks I am going to analyze my site and see what I can do away with. I challenge you to do the same thing.
Good point Renee. I recently added wp-smushit for my photos. But, I’m always concerned about having too many plug-ins. I did do a plug-in check recently and deleted two. Thanks for the reminder. I will be taking a closer look.
That’s a very good idea, it’s so easy to end up with all these plugins overtime. I currently resize my images using GIMP, it doesn’t take too long but can see how something like this plugin can be useful assuming it’s doesn’t impact the quality of the image too much!
I use Smush it. It took me a while too. I didn’t have the premium version though. I may look into buying it because I still have a four images that are larger and I would need the premium version to modify them.
Sabrina,
Yep, the premium version sure looks like a great price for the value.
Blog on,
-Renee’
Renee,
It seems like it working how funny. A great article and WP Smush is great plugin to help with pic jpeg’s. Thanks for posting talk soon.
Lori English
Lori,
Yes, I have been quite pleased with how well Wp SmushIt works and how much of a difference it made for my blog.
Blog on,
-Renee’
Oh wow Renee, have you been reading my mind? I was going to put it out there in one of the blogging groups about how many plugins should we be running. My son was looking at my site and told me I should get rid of some. I deleted the ones I’m no longer using. I’m wondering how many is too many?
Tamuria,
I don’t think that there is a number to answer the question. It depends on the all of the plugins play with one another. For example, I have a client that is starting a membership site and all of those required plugins didn’t play well with her other plugins. It just became too much. We moved the membership to a sub domain and that has solved the problem.
Blog on,
-Renee’
WE resize our images as we create blogs & product posts. I have never added a plugin. Whatever our webmaster installed, thats it.
Roz,
That is awesome. If you have a developer that handles all of this for you and you resize your images, you are have it all happening properly.
Good job!
-Renee’
I’m not actually allowed to do anything with the plugins on my WP. Last time I did, it wasn’t pretty. Lol. But I love your expertise!
Susan,
Yes, that is right. You shouldn’t touch such things because, well you should stick to your puppies. :)
Blog on,
-Renee’
I do a plug-in audit from time to time too. If I’m not really using a plugin’s features, it’s going away. It keeps my back office so much more healthy! Great advice!
Jennifer,
Yes, you nailed it. Do I really need this WordPress Plugin or can I live without it? That is the question that we must ask ourselves from time to time.
Blog on,
-Renee’
This is so interesting, to a gal who’s never heard of Smushit! Your post is a great way for me to begin to get up to speed on what is available – and what should be deleted, too!
Reba,
Awesome. This is exactly why I wrote this post so thank you for saying that. Hopefully, this will help speed up your blog a bit.
Blog on,
-Renee’
this is a great reminder for me. I need to optimize my photos for sure. The most recent photos are probably OK because I am more aware of my images sizes these day. But there are tons that may be too large.
Thanks! Looking forward to you future posts.
Alene,
Yay, it is always so awesome to really help a blogger and it sounds like this post did just that. Images are these critters that we often let get out of control. Thank goodness for free WordPress plugins like SmushIt to help us out.
Blog on,
-Renee’
Thankfully someone amazing setup my website for me and guided me on my plugins. There is a lot to learn.
Christy,
Yep, there is a lot to learn but WordPress makes it as easy as they can and that is nice. Good luck with your site.
Blog on,
-Renee’
Hey Renee :)
Yes, I do need to go through my plug-ins and see which ones I really need :) Thanks for the great post and reminder! I do use Smushit and love it…….
Joan,
Yes a plug-in check in is probably a really good idea about once a quarter. Also, don’t forget to keep your WordPress plugins up to date.
-Renee’
Renee, I too have most likely too many plug ins. I have never heard of Smushit but it sounds like I should consider using it to at least reduce the size of my photos. You have wonderful info and I plan on learning a great deal more from you!
Kathy,
Thank you for the kind words about my blog here. Yes, SmushIt could really add a lot of value to your blog and help speed it up. Do note that you will want to start optimizing your images moving forward. If you aren’t comfortable with that then you could leave the plugin and it will smush all new images too.
Blog on,
-Renee’
I still have Smushit and still keep it because it helps every time I upload images which is every week. I do my due diligence and upload images after they are optimized but it still helps to reduce the size.
The other thing, there are many plugins I would love to delete as I changed, like Better CTT to TweetDis but unless I replace all of my old Better CTT with new Tweet Dis CTT, then I will have lost them….that stinks.
Kristen,
I hear you on the Twitter plugins. It is annoying when you find a new better once and replacing it would be so much work. Ughhh.
Blog on,
-Renee’
Wow. 33! I had no idea. I used to build WP websites and as much as I enjoyed it, I gave it up because they were so labor-intensive. (There’s a reason why websites cost so much!) I can’t wait till my new WP website goes live, hopefully in the next 7-10 days. I’m sure my designer has got all the right plugins going in it. After all, that’s why I’m paying her the big bucks. :)
Jackie,
That is why you are paying her the big bucks indeed. It is always so exciting to see a new blog come to life.
Blog on,
-Renee’
Hi Renee,
Nice article and good advice! You must regularly ask yourself: do I really need that plugin? I recently removed Yoast, because I couldn’t work with it. Although “everybody” tells you you need a SEO-plugin. And de-activating is not enough. Completely remove them, and make sure they leave nothing behind! I also wrote an article about it: https://www.webid-online.com/how-to-remove-plugins-completely/ because it is also important to remove plugins completely.
Btw: I will keep WP Smush. Because I like it, and because it does the job right for me.
Question: why can’t I use a https url in the website field? If I try, it says: Please use http:// in front of your url
Ronald,
That is fascinating about Yoast. Some themes come with the SEO feature built into it. Thesis Theme for example doesn’t require the use of Yoast. In regards to the url, I honestly do not know.
Blog on,
-Renee’