My last post described some difficulty with the site being slow.  Problem solved.  Thanks to some really great support from my hosting provider, Dreamhost, I disabled some WordPress plug-ins and presto!  It was a lesson learned for future installs, and let me know that using a gang of plug-ins will come at a price.  I’m not sure if a philosophy has emerged, but it has motivated me to consider carefully the nature and function of third-party and WP-supported plug-ins to be used on a site.

Carefully determine if a plug-in is necessary and adds to the purpose and goals of the site.  If you must have a photo gallery, have you researched all of the available options?  Do you really need all 10 of the most downloaded plug-ins to “keep up with Jones?”  It’s a balancing act that has to be regularly monitored in order to keep visitors coming back.