Hello Dolly…Goodbye Dolly

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As we talked about in our main blog, this blacklisted plugin is on the list because it really serves no purpose. Yep, you guessed it. We are talking about the Hello Dolly plugin. Why is this here and what does it do?

Where did Hello Dolly come from?

Hello Dolly was the first ever plugin to be created. It was created and first came out with the 2004 release of WordPress 1.2. There were four other plugins that came pre-installed in that WordPress version: Search Hilite, Markdown, Textile1, and Textile2.

What is Hello Dolly?

So this plugin really doesn’t do much for your site but it comes pre-installed when you create a new WordPress site. It actually is a homage to the song sung by Louis Armstrong titled Hello Dolly. It shows a line of the song in the upper right corner when you log into the back end of your site. So no real practical use, but it does give you encouragement.

Should I keep it?

Honestly, that choice is yours. Hosting companies like WP Engine recommend removing it as it slows your site down since it’s an unnecessary plugin. It won’t affect your site if you remove the plugin and it may do you some good to remove it. Plugins that are preinstalled are sometimes used by hackers to get into your site since people won’t look there.

Really it’s better if you delete it but if you really enjoy seeing the different lines of the song, by all means, keep it. Just make sure your site has the necessary security and sing away. We feel the worst that can happen is it slows your load time a little. As we always say, make sure you get with your hosting company to see what plugins they blacklist and prefer you not to use. Make sure you come back next week to check out our main blog about what we use to be social media rockstars.

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