How to use external PHP file in СakePHP 2?

Is it better to use WordPress plugins to add in social network sharing buttons, or to add the buttons manually into the single.php theme file?

• The question is for somebody with programming knowledge with WordPress and PHP. The question relates to plugins for Linkedin Share buttons, Twitter Tweet buttons, and Facebook Like buttons. These are for blog posts on a WordPress blog which is at a subdomain of a site that is built in CakePHP. Considering the possibility of plugins becoming outdated, and the possibility of losing share / tweet / like counts if this happens, I'm wondering if it's better to add in the buttons manually into the single.php theme file. Is it better to use plugins to add in these buttons, or to add the buttons manually into the single.php theme file?

• Answer:

  There are pros and cons with each direction. Overall, it depends on which path you are taking in terms of speed, server load and future theme updates. I recommend trying to find a function that can do the same thing as the plugin (often reducing the line count significantly). Pros for plugins: Simple to install Often functional straight away Very quick to get started Non theme dependant No need to edit any code Updatable Cons for plugins: Many plugins slow down a website Often a plugin is bloated beyond what it needs to function May break on updates If not using a plugin, you will have to edit code specific to each theme I have only lightly touched on the pros and cons but from that list alone it's a choice-based scenario. If you can actually keep your plugin count to a minimum but still get the share links working (i.e. using an external code like Addthis) you will save space on your server, possibly increase the speed (vs plugin route) and be less prone to updating problems. I recommend (if possible) using no more than 10 plugins installed on your blog at any time. You would be surprised what you can find by searching Google - sometimes a plugin with 100's of lines of code can be reduced to 10-20 lines via functions. Hope that helps.