{"id":6409,"date":"2017-09-28T12:18:25","date_gmt":"2017-09-28T16:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/?page_id=6409"},"modified":"2026-01-21T10:23:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:23:40","slug":"plugins","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/plugins\/","title":{"rendered":"Plugins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Plugins are little programs that extend the functionality of our sites. They add features that are not included in WordPress by default, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Forms<\/li>\n<li>Page layouts and design components<\/li>\n<li>Directories<\/li>\n<li>Tables<\/li>\n<li>Events<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In the School of Medicine web system, many commonly used features are powered by plugins. When a plugin is enabled, its features become available for use on your site.<\/p>\n<p>Most sites already have a small set of commonly used plugins enabled by default. Additional approved plugins can be enabled as needed. Our Web Guide documentation references plugins where applicable and explains how to use their features.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Important Guidelines<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Only editors assigned the Administrator role can manage plugins<\/strong>.<br \/>\nOther roles will not see the Plugins option in the dashboard.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Only enable plugins you truly need<\/strong>.<br \/>\nEvery active plugin adds complexity to your site and can impact performance, security, and long-term maintenance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>If you\u2019re not using a plugin, leave it disabled.<\/strong><br \/>\nDisabled plugins do not affect your site and can be re-enabled later if needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>How to Enable or Disable a Plugin<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>From the Dashboard, select <strong>Plugins<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019ll see a list of available plugins on your site.<\/li>\n<li>To enable a plugin:\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: lower-alpha;\">\n<li>Locate the plugin in the list.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Activate<\/strong> below the plugin name.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>To disable a plugin:\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: lower-alpha;\">\n<li>Locate the active plugin.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Deactivate<\/strong> below the plugin name.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Changes take effect immediately.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2>Requesting New Plugins<\/h2>\n<p>For security, performance, accessibility, and long-term maintenance reasons, only a <strong>limited set of vetted plugins<\/strong> is available in the School of Medicine web system. These plugins have been reviewed and approved to ensure they meet University standards and can be supported over time.<\/p>\n<p>Sites can enable\/disable <strong>existing<\/strong> plugins but cannot install <strong>new<\/strong> plugins.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/getting-help\/website-help-request\/\">Contact the Web Team<\/a> to request a new plugin. Plugin requests must demonstrate broad value across SOM sites. Plugins intended for a single-site or highly specialized use cases are typically not approved.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plugins are little programs that extend the functionality of our sites. They add features that are not included in WordPress by default, such as: Forms Page layouts and design components Directories Tables Events In the School of Medicine web system, many commonly used features are powered by plugins. When a plugin is enabled, its features &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/plugins\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Plugins\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3206,"featured_media":0,"parent":2168,"menu_order":22,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-6409","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"_links_to":[],"_links_to_target":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6409"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15220,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6409\/revisions\/15220"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}