Plugin review: Jetpack

The popular Jetpack plugin adds a whole lot of functions in one giant package. It’s often installed automatically with WordPress.

I don’t care for it, and the automatic setup program for “One Hour Author Website” deactivates it if it’s present. Instead, I use smaller plugins that perform just the functions you actually need. There are several reasons I don’t recommend Jetpack, but it mostly comes down to it’s a giant, untamed monster that poops on the floor.

More specifically:

• It’s big, and contains a lot of functions you won’t use. This slows your site more than many individual smaller plugins.
• Because it ties your site in to WordPress.com and sends data there, there are privacy concerns. I prefer plugins with an eye toward privacy for your visitors and GDPR compliance.
• Sending requests to the WordPress.com site is also a performance bottleneck, compared to executing code on your own site.
• The Jetpack versions of various functions are rarely the best implementations of those functions, especially when considering simplicity and performance.
• Configuring Jetpack functions can be difficult and confusing – some of the settings are on your own site, some are in the WordPress.com site, and it’s not always easy to find the setting you want.

If there’s a particular Jetpack function you need, I encourage you to search this site for my recommended alternative.