We’ll be discussing some essential WordPress plugins that would be a big help on your website. Plugins are applications that expand the functionality of your website. If we were to compare your website to your smartphone, then plugins would be like the apps you install so you can play create Word documents, trade cryptocurrency, chat on social media, or make your smartphone into a vibrator (for neck massages, of course).
Plugins help you add functions to your website like forms, social media share buttons, security, performance enhancement, and so much more. They can also help you connect your website to other websites or services like your social media channels, email marketing platforms, or web analytics. The possibilities are endless.
One of the advantages of using WordPress for your blog is its vast library of essential plugins, which extend the functionality and customization options of your site. From SEO optimization to security and performance enhancements, there are plugins available for almost every function you want your website to carry out.
Here are some essential WordPress plugins to consider for a successful website:
1. Yoast SEO
This essential WordPress plugin helps optimize your blog posts for search engines, ensuring that your content gets the visibility it deserves. Before I prepare a blog post, I do keyword research for popular keywords that apply to my title and then I write my post using the result of my research. Yoast SEO helps by making suggestions on how best to naturally work my researched keyword phrase into my blog post. It makes suggestions like the number of times to use the keyword in headers, paragraphs, image alt text, and so on. If you write your blog posts with the help of Yoast SEO, your website stands a better chance of being found and this can mean more visitor traffic.
2. Contact Form 7
Forms are a great way to get information from your website visitors. You can use them to provide a way for visitors to contact you and tell you exactly what you need to know. This plugin is helpful if you wish to build forms for your website. As is the case with WordPress, there are many other options to choose from (like WPForms, Ninja Forms, Formidable, etc) but I find CF7 to be one of the most flexible form builders out there. There are also a great number of other plugins that further extend what CF7 can do.
3. Akismet
If you run a blog, you are going to want comments. These show that your content is engaging and search engines love this. The problem, however, is that there are spammers out there looking to use your comment section to advertise products that are not related to your content. And worse still, most of the links they post are unsafe and very harmful to your SEO. Akismet is a powerful plugin that protects your blog from spam comments, saving you time and ensuring a better user experience.
4. Jetpack
Jetpack has a comprehensive list of plugins that offer a range of features, including site statistics, social sharing buttons, and enhanced security measures. I especially recommend Jetpack if you run the Woocommerce plugin. This combination makes it conveniently possible to run your blog posts and online shop from an app on your mobile device.
5. W3 Total Cache
This plugin improves the performance of your blog by caching content and reducing load times, providing a better user experience and potentially boosting your search engine rankings.
6. Wordfence Security
Wordfence is a robust security plugin that protects your blog from malware, brute-force attacks, and other security threats. There are a bunch of other plugins out there that do just as much but I have always found Wordfence Security to be the most convenient for me. The few times I had to clean websites that had been affected by malware, this plugin came through for me with its scan settings and security suggestions.
7. UpdraftPlus
Backup is crucial for any website, and UpdraftPlus simplifies the process by allowing you to schedule automated backups and store them in secure cloud storage. I have seen instances where website owners lost their websites to cyberattacks or malware infection and had to start from scratch because they didn’t have a backup. I have also personally experienced the joy of simply restoring websites from a backup after such of such situations. We don’t pray for misfortune but it pays to be prepared. UpdraftPlus is an essential WordPress plugin to have if your blog or website starts getting too big to be easily rebuilt from scratch.
8. Smush
Images play a crucial role in engaging your audience, but they can also slow down your site. Smush optimizes your images without sacrificing quality, improving page load times. If your website has a lot of images, then I strongly recommend using this plugin. You must also note that Jetpack also has image optimization features so you will want to decide which one works best for you.
9. WooCommerce
If you want to sell products online (especially products you are blogging about), WooCommerce is another essential WordPress plugin that makes it easy to turn your blog/website into an online shop. It comes with settings that cover a lot of online shopping possibilities like shipping, inventory, payment, and so much more. There is also a long list of other plugins that further extend the functionality of Woocommerce or allow you to link it with other plugins.
10. Elementor Website Builder
WordPress on its own can be quite limiting when it comes to creative web design. Fortunately, WordPress’s library of themes comes with impressive design out-of-the-box. If you are a creative designer, however, you might still want to put a personal touch to page designs. Elementor serves as a valuably essential WordPress plugin regarding page design. You can carry out a lot of customization to your website’s design. If, on the other hand, you just want to blog, you might not need this one.
Conclusion
Remember that while plugins can enhance your blog’s functionality, it’s important to avoid installing too many, as this can slow down your site and potentially cause conflicts. Choose plugins that are essential to your blog’s success and regularly review and update them to ensure compatibility and security.
If you need recommendations about plugins to use for any function on your website, we can discuss them in the comment section below (for the benefit of others). Just don’t compliment me on how great this article was because it will get flagged as spam.
