Why Can’t I Add or Install Plugins in WordPress? (5 Reasons)

One of the most common questions our readers ask us is: “Why can’t I add plugins in WordPress?”

This situation usually happens when the user is seeing an upgrade message or their admin area doesn’t have the Plugins menu. If you are dealing with this issue, then you are in the right place, as we’ll break down the most common reasons in this article.

Keep reading to find out why you cannot add or install plugins in WordPress.

This guide has listed 5 of the main reasons why you can’t add or install plugins in WordPress. Feel free to use the quick links below to skip to the specific topic that applies to your situation:

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. See our guide on the difference between WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org for more details.

WordPress.com users cannot install plugins unless they upgrade to the Business plan or higher, which starts at $10 per month. If you are on a Free, Personal, or Premium plan, then you cannot install third-party plugins.

If you don’t want to pay for that amount, then you can move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.

If you need help doing that, then you can use our free WordPress blog setup service. Just make a note that you want us to transfer your site, and we will do it for free.

2. There Are User Role Restrictions

WordPress has a built-in user role management system that assigns different levels of access to users on your website.

Administrators are the highest user role with full access to all functionalities on your WordPress site, including adding, installing, and activating plugins.

On the other hand, Editors, Authors, Contributors, and Subscribers cannot install plugins.

If you’re working on a website but don’t see the ‘Plugins’ menu, it’s possible you don’t have Administrator access.

In this case, if you trust the person managing the website (e.g., a developer or webmaster), you can politely ask them to grant you Administrator permissions to install the plugins you need.

3. You Are Facing a Memory Limit Issue

The second most common scenario is that you can see and access the Plugins page, but you can’t install plugins. When you try to install plugins, you will see an error message.

This error is usually caused by the PHP memory limit. WordPress is written using the PHP scripting language, and each PHP script uses a certain amount of memory.

There are settings in your WordPress hosting and inside the WordPress core that define the amount of memory a PHP script can use.

When a process reaches this limit, it either gets terminated or shows an error like this on your WordPress website:

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 67108864 bytes exhausted

The quick fix to this problem is increasing your PHP memory limit. You can do that by adding this line to your wp-config.php file:

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

For more detailed instructions, see our guide on how to fix the WordPress memory exhausted error.

Do note that while increasing the PHP memory limit can sometimes resolve the issue and allow you to install plugins, it’s important to understand that it’s not always the ideal solution.

Malicious code could exploit a high memory limit to consume more resources than intended, potentially impacting your WordPress site’s security.

Before modifying the memory limit yourself, it’s strongly recommended to consult your WordPress hosting provider. They can analyze your website’s specific needs and advise on a safe and appropriate increase in the memory limit, if necessary.

For more information, you can read our article on how to properly ask for WordPress support.

4. You Are on a Multisite Network

Another possible reason that you can’t see the Plugins menu in WordPress is if your site is part of a WordPress multisite network.

A WordPress multisite network allows you to manage multiple websites from a single WordPress installation. This can be useful for situations where you need to run a network of similar websites.

However, a key difference between a multisite network and a typical WordPress installation is that the network administrator has more control over individual sites.

In some cases, the network admin might disable the Plugins menu for individual sites within the network to maintain consistency or ensure stability across all sites.

To solve this problem, you can ask your network administrator to install plugins for you.

For more on this topic, see our guide on why you don’t see all plugins on WordPress multisite installs.

5. You Uploaded the Wrong Plugin File

Let’s say you want to upload a third-party plugin file, but WordPress keeps showing an error message like below:

In this case, you may want to see if you are uploading the right file in the first place. Plugin files usually come in a .zip package, which means they’ll use the .zip format.

You may also want to check if the zip content files you’ve downloaded are compatible as well. Not all third-party plugins come from trusted sources, and this may be the reason why they’re not uploading properly.

For more information about installing plugins, check out our guides below:

• How to Install a WordPress Plugin (Step by Step)
• Beginner’s Guide: How to Choose the Best WordPress Plugin
• Should You Install Plugins Not Tested With Your WordPress Version?

Also, to minimize security risks, we recommend only installing plugins from reputable sources like the WordPress.org plugin directory. The WordPress.org directory has a review process and tends to offer plugins from trusted developers.

Here are some additional tips for choosing secure plugins:

• Look for plugins with active development and good user ratings.
• Check the ‘Last Updated’ date to ensure the plugin is compatible with your WordPress version.
• Read the plugin description and reviews to understand its features and potential compatibility issues.

Learn How to Fix Common WordPress Errors

Aside from not being able to install plugins in WordPress, you may come across other types of problems from time to time. Check out the articles below to solve some of these common issues:

• Forgot Password? How to Recover a Lost Password in WordPress
• How to Recover and Restore Deleted Pages in WordPress
• How to Uninstall and Delete a WordPress Theme (Step by Step)
• How to Uninstall and Reinstall WordPress (Step by Step for Beginners)

We hope this article helped you learn why you can’t add or install plugins in WordPress. You may also want to see our beginner’s guide to troubleshooting WordPress errors and our article on how to fix common image issues in WordPress.

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