WordPress’s strength is the plugin ecosystem. WordPress’s typical failure is fifteen plugins, three of which overlap, two of which have not been updated since PHP 7.4, and one of which injects a script on every page for a feature you used once.

A plugin is the right answer when the problem is generic

SMTP, 2FA, a well-maintained SEO plugin, and a backup tool you have actually restored from — these are not things to rewrite. Buy them. Keep them updated. That is professional, not lazy.

Custom work wins when the business logic is yours

If you are bending a form plugin, a membership plugin, and a page builder into a workflow that only your company has, you are paying rent on complexity. A small plugin or a set of fields in a custom theme will be easier to test and harder to break during a routine update.

Count the runtime cost, not the license cost

A $49 plugin that loads 200 KB of JavaScript on every URL is expensive. Custom code that runs only on the two templates that need it is often cheaper in Core Web Vitals and in developer hours after the first incident.

Inherited mystery code is still a project

If a previous developer left an undocumented mu-plugin, the first job is to read it, not to add another layer on top. Clients have hired Studio7 specifically for theme customizations and for work that had to move quickly — that only works if someone understands the current stack.

If you are unsure, send the plugin list and the feature request. The honest answer is sometimes “keep the plugin,” and sometimes “stop stacking them.”