Why Can’t I Add or Install Plugins in WordPress?

The most common questions asked by WordPress beginners. It usually follows up with how the user is seeing an upgrade message or that their admin area doesn’t have the plugins menu. If you’re encountering this issue, then you’re in the right place. In this article, we will explain why you cannot add or install plugins in WordPress.

Installing WordPress plugins isn’t that difficult when you’re working with a self-hosted version of WordPress. It’s similar to the Apple App marketplace. Your search for what you want and it’s a one-click install.

1. You are On WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a blog hosting service that offers a limited version of the popular self-hosted WordPress software. let us get details about the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org

with WordPress.org, You host your own blog or website.WordPress.org is where you’ll find the free WordPress software that you can download and install on your own web server.

WordPress.com, on the other hand, takes care of all of the hostings for you. You don’t have to download software, pay for hosting, or manage a web server.

WordPress.com users cannot install plugins unless they upgrade to the business plan which costs about $299 per year. If you are on a free, personal, or premium plan, then you cannot install third-party plugins.If you don’t want to pay the $299 per year, then you can move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.

2. You are Facing Memory Limit Issue

The second most common scenario is that you can see and access the plugins menu but unable to install plugins.

The failure notice is usually caused by the PHP memory limit. There are settings in your WordPress hosting and inside your WordPress core that define the amount of memory a PHP script can use. When a process reaches this limit, it either gets terminated or it gives an error like this:

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 67108864 bytes exhausted

To adjust on your own, here are some methods to try. Be aware that this section requires advanced knowledge; it is not basic.

Edit your wp-config.php file

define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’);

Edit your PHP.ini file

If you have access to your PHP.ini file, change the line in PHP.ini

If your line shows 64M try 256M:

memory_limit = 256M ; Maximum amount of memory a script may consume (64MB)

Edit your .htaccess file

If you don’t have access to PHP.ini try adding this to a .htaccess file:

php_value memory_limit 256M

3. User Role Restrictions

WordPress comes with a built-in user role management system. Sometimes web developers don’t give administrator access to their clients. Instead, they create an editor account for them.
Only administrators can install and activate plugins on a WordPress site. If you are the owner of the website, then you need to ask your developer to make sure that you have administrator permissions.

4. You are on a Multi-Site Network

Another possible reason as to why you can’t see the plugins menu in WordPress could be that your site is part of a WordPress multi-site network, and the network admin has disabled the plugins menu item on network sites.

It is pretty much the same scenario as WordPress.com. The network admins need to consider the server stability, WordPress security, and load balancing issues to solve this problem, you can ask your network administrator to install plugins for you.

Conclusion

We hope this article helped you learn why you can’t add or install plugins in WordPress.