Many developers and open-source projects utilize the project hosting site GitHub. As a WordPress user, occasionally, you may stumble across plugins or themes stored on GitHub. It may be challenging for a novice user to figure out how to download and install a plugin or theme from GitHub since it is not designed specifically for creating WordPress-based websites. This post will demonstrate how to get WordPress plugins and themes from GitHub and install them on your website. 

What is GitHub? 

GitHub is a service that hosts computer code, as mentioned in this article’s previous section. Even though it does not charge anything for open-source projects, it has become the most popular project hosting service. Developers that work on open-source software use it the most. Because it uses the Git revision control system, it is often referred to by its trade name, GitHub. GitHub not only makes it simpler to work with other people but also includes several features for social networking, such as the capability to follow individuals, give repositories stars, subscribe to repositories and projects, and so on. In addition, GitHub makes it easier to collaborate with other people. 

GitHub may be used for projects that use the version control features provided by Git. For instance, Open Source educational resources, documentation projects, manuals, guidebooks, and so on. Users can work together in teams thanks to the tools that GitHub offers and invite other users to join in their projects. 

The Process of Getting Plugins and Themes for WordPress from GitHub and Installing Them 

Make sure that you can receive updates for the WordPress theme or plugin you want to install from GitHub before installing it. We shall discuss that section later in this essay. 

Themes and plugins may be easily installed from GitHub. Similar to manually installing a WordPress plugin, 

To begin, go over to the source for the plugin or theme on GitHub. To get the repository’s zip file, go to the main page, choose the clone or download option, and then select the Download Zip button. 

Now, go to the Plugins > Add New page inside the administrative section of your WordPress site. 

To use the plugin, you will need to upload it from your computer manually. To do this, choose the “upload” item from the menu. 

This will display the plug-zip-in file upload option. 

You will need to click on the “Choose file” option, go to where the ZIP file is stored on your computer, and choose it. 

The Install Now button must then be clicked. Now WordPress will unzip and install the plugin for you when it has uploaded the zip package from your computer to your website. 

When it is completed, you will get a message congratulating you on your achievement. You may then click on Activate Plugin link to activate the plugin on your site. 

How Do I Update WordPress Plugins That We Already Have Installed From GitHub? 

By default, WordPress will search for a more recent version of the plugin using the read me file and plugin header. These files include information about the most recent stable version available to use. However, WordPress does not display automatic updates for plugins downloaded from GitHub by default. Theme and plugin developers need to put in a little more work to make it possible for end users to automatically get updates straight from GitHub sources. 

To do this, certain plugins and themes from GitHub may already have incorporated the code, which will allow you to get automatic updates. 

In some circumstances, the creator of the theme or plugin may request that you install the GitHub Updater plugin, allowing you to acquire updates for GitHub plugins and themes applying this technique. 

To be certain that you will get updates when they release a new version in any scenario, you must communicate with the plugin/theme creator through GitHub and inquire about the updates situation. 

You should now be able to install GitHub-hosted WordPress plugins or themes successfully. 

If you appreciate the plugin or theme you are using from GitHub, don’t forget to star that plugin on GitHub. This will convey to the developers that you recognize the hard work that they have put in. By commenting below, let us know what intriguing WordPress projects you find on GitHub.