WordPress is an awesome platform for any kind of website. Its plugins are part of what makes it so flexible and able to suit so many needs, from blogs to corporate sites to portfolios to e-commerce sites. There are tons of plugins out there, so how do you know which ones are the best? Reviews are a good place to start, but here are my UPDATED recommendations for the MUST HAVE WordPress plugins that every site – no matter it’s purpose needs!
[Updated 5/14/2018 with new, updated recommendations!]
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1. Akismet*
This anti-spam comment plugin comes with every WordPress install for good reason: it’s great! It will catch most spam comments before you even see them. Do yourself a favor and activate this plugin.
2. Jetpack
Jetpack gives you tons of great features in one simple plugin. WordPress is always adding new features to this plugin. All you need for this is a free WordPress account. It covers everything from enhanced security, more control over your widgets, and even access to WordPress’s stats.
3. A Security Plugin
- Limit Log in Attempts – This simple plugin will help keep your site secure. It automatically limits login attempts, which can help stop brute force hackers and keep your site secure.
- Sucuri Security– This plugin scans your site for malware and even gives you options to secure your site, it also gives you lots of other security options such as log in notifications and more!
- Bulletproof Security– Keep your site secure with this free plugin. It’s a very powerful security plugin that offers just about every security feature you might need, including securing your login.
- WordFence* – This plugin is great because it’s not only an awesome security plugin (my new favorite actually) but it also has an awesome cache feature as well!
4. Ninja Forms*
Creating forms doesn’t have to be hard! Ninja Forms is a robust and easy to use plugin that lets you create custom forms by simply dragging and dropping. No coding needed. Quickly & easily add forms to your site wherever you need one.
5. WordPress SEO (Yoast SEO)*
This is one of, if not the best SEO plugin around! It gives you everything you need to improve your site’s SEO. From sitemaps to titles this plugin has it all, including social media meta content for the all-important SMO (social media optimization).
Happy with your SEO plugin, but need some sitemaps? You need Google XML Sitemaps. This plugin makes it easy create and submit XML sitemaps of your site to all of the major search engines.
6. SumoMe
Need an email signup pop-up? A header bar? Social share icons? Sumo Me has you covered! All these features plus more like page heat-mapping and content analytics are all in this plugin for free! There are also some paid options available to give yourself even more flexibility and features.
7. Updraft Plus*
How often do you backup your site? Not often enough, eh? When you need a backup you NEED a backup! Don’t get caught without one! Updraft Plus will automatically back up your site files and database at intervals you set. You have control over when your site is backed up and how it’s backed up. It works with many popular file storing services including Dropbox or it will email your backups directly to you. It’s the best way to make sure you always have a backup of your site.
Bonus Recommendation!
A Cache Plugin
A cache plugin will help your site to run quickly and give your viewers a better experience. Your viewers won’t hang around waiting for a page to load! Every second of loading time matters! Increase your site’s speed with any of these awesome cache plugins (or WordFence as mentioned above).
*Highly Recommended
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