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I’m currently building a website for the first time and after looking around I’m still a bit confused by the plugin aspect, it seems that there is a plugin for everything, yet everyone I’ve looked at says buy a template that can do 90% of what’s required for the website, why wouldn’t I use a free template and achieve everything with plugins? I understand this isn’t an option as no one does it but why not? And when should I use plugins if not in this scenario?
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Plugins are not necessarily bad. Where they cause potential problems is adding bloat and attack vectors. Each plugin may load libraries, often on pages the plugin doesn’t even do anything. The developer may also leave a security hole without knowing it. Or if the dev gets bored a year from now and stops updating the plugin, then you’re stuck either risking issues later or finding a replacement.
Same could be said for a theme that includes a bunch of shit though. It’s really no difference other than how many places you have to look if something comes up.
Such is life as a developer though. Many of the same issues whether you use WordPress, Drupal, Joomla… or even hand code everything.