WordPress is a great tool that can be made even better with a handful of plugins. With so many choices, does it make more sense to pay for a plugin, or get a free alternative?

People often argue that paid WordPress plugins are well maintained and therefore security bugs are quickly squashed, however this isn’t always the case, with some paid WordPress plugins not being updated quickly or at all if the developer stops working on them.

So how do you decide which WordPress plugin is for you?

The easiest way – trial and error – can be your greatest friend. By simply testing a free plugin to see if it does what you need, reading the plugin forums and checking the update log which shows you how often the plugin is being updated.

If a free plugin doesn’t do what you need, you can check for a paid option and see if it offers the features you require.