Beta & Developer Plugins

While we support most beta and developer plugins and software here at WordPress.com, there are a few things you might want to know before installing. This guide will outline the risks and considerations when installing beta or developer plugins/software on your site.

Plugins are updated regularly to include new features and security improvements. As part of the development process, a plugin developer might provide a “beta” or “developer” version.

Beta and developer versions are available for users to test the updates before they are officially released. These pre-release versions of the plugin are not required for your site to continue using the stable version of a plugin.

If you want to test a plugin to ensure there are no conflicts with other plugins on your site, you can install a beta or developer version of that plugin. Before you do so, be prepared to restore a backup if the beta/developer plugin breaks your site.

Make sure you know how to switch between the Beta/Developer version and the production-ready (stable) version of a plugin. In their documentation, developers should include instructions on changing back to the production-ready plugin.

Since beta and developer plugins are released before testing is complete, they are often unstable and can cause unintended consequences on a website. Here are some examples of issues that beta/developer plugins have been known to cause:

• Blocks not working properly
• Compatibility issues with other plugins
• Images display issues
• Critical errors that make a site inaccessible

Due to the unstable nature of this software, it is strongly recommended that you do not install beta or developer versions of plugins on a live website that should remain accessible to your customers and visitors. Beta and developer plugins or more appropriate for a staging site or other testing environment that is not publicly accessible.

Here are some frequently-used beta and developer plugins you may encounter.

The Elementor Beta (Developer Edition) plugin allows users to participate in developing new features. It is not recommended for live sites, so if Elementor Beta is installed on your website, you can follow these steps to safely remove it:

1. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins in your dashboard.
2. Locate the Elementor Beta (Developer Edition) plugin and click the “Deactivate” link.
3. Navigate to Elementor → Tools → Version Control.
4. In the dropdown menu, select the latest version (normally the highest number) of the Elementor (non-dev version) plugin.
5. Click the “Reinstall” button.
6. If you also use Elementor Pro, repeat the last two steps for the Elementor Pro dropdown too.
7. Refresh the Elementor → Tools → Version Control screen where it should state your chosen Elementor version without dev in the version number:

You may need to clear your site’s cache after reverting the Elementor version.

For more information, visit the Elementor guide to rolling back to a previous version of Elementor.

The BP Beta Tester plugin is “a plugin to switch between stable, beta, or RC versions of BuddyPress.” This allows users of BuddyPress software to test new features before the general release.

The WooCommerce Beta Tester plugin allows users to “easily update to pre-release versions of WooCommerce for testing and development purposes.” This plugin is helpful for developers using WooCommerce functionality in their software to ensure compatibility with new releases.