Must Have WordPress Plugins
Last Updated on 1st October 2023 by Ajmer Singh
Are you looking for “Must have WordPress plugins for your new website”?
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) in the world, powering millions of websites across the internet.
One of the reasons for its popularity is the wide range of plugins available that can be used to extend its functionality and add new features to a website.
These plugins can be used to improve website performance, enhance user experience, increase security, and much more.
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Importance of WordPress Plugins
If you’re new to WordPress, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about.
Well, let me tell you, plugins are one of the most powerful and versatile tools available to you in the WordPress ecosystem.
Put simply, plugins are small pieces of software that add extra functionality to your website.
There are over 60,000 plugins available in the official WordPress plugin repository alone!
And that’s not even counting all the premium plugins available from third-party developers.
Let’s say you want to add a contact form to your website.
You could try to code one yourself, but that’s going to take time and effort that you might not have.
Instead, you could install a contact form plugin like Gravity Forms or Contact Form 7.
With just a few clicks, you’ll have a fully functional contact form up and running on your site.
In short, WordPress plugins are an essential part of any WordPress website.
They can save you time, effort, and money, while also adding valuable features and functionality to your site.
So don’t be afraid to explore the WordPress plugins – your website (and your visitors) will thank you for it!
30+ Essential WordPress Plugins
In this article, I will explore some of the best WordPress plugins available for various purposes, helping you choose the right ones for your website’s success.
No matter if you’re looking to boost your website’s SEO, improve its performance, or create custom forms, I’ve got you covered.
1. SEO Plugins
Yoast SEO – Yoast SEO is one of the most popular and comprehensive SEO plugins available for WordPress.
It provides a range of features, including on-page optimization, meta descriptions, XML sitemaps, and more.
All in One SEO Pack – All in One SEO Pack is another popular SEO plugin that offers similar features to Yoast SEO.
It’s a great alternative if you prefer a simpler interface or want to customize your SEO settings in more detail.
SEOPress – SEOPress is a relatively new SEO plugin that’s gaining popularity among WordPress users.
It offers a range of features, including on-page optimization, XML sitemaps, social media integration, and more.
Rank Math – Rank Math is a feature-rich SEO plugin that offers a range of advanced features, including schema markup, redirections, and internal link suggestions.
It’s a great choice if you want to take your SEO efforts to the next level.
The SEO Framework – The SEO Framework is a lightweight and easy-to-use SEO plugin that offers essential SEO features, including meta titles and descriptions, schema markup, and more.
2. Caching Plugins
Autoptimize – Autoptimize is a powerful optimization plugin that can help speed up your website by optimizing your website’s HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
It can also minify and compress your website’s files to reduce their size and even has an option to lazy load images for faster loading times.
WP-Optimize – WP Optimize is a popular caching plugin that helps to clean up your website’s database and optimize your website’s performance.
It can help to remove unnecessary data and optimize your website’s images to reduce their size and improve load times.
LiteSpeed Cache – LiteSpeed Cache is a caching plugin that’s specifically designed for websites that use LiteSpeed servers.
It offers a range of features, including page caching, image optimization, and more, to help improve your website’s performance.
WP Super Cache – WP Super Cache is a simple and easy-to-use caching plugin that offers a range of caching options, including page caching, browser caching, and more.
It’s a great choice for beginners who want to improve their website’s performance without getting bogged down in technical details.
3. Security Plugins
Wordfence Security – Wordfence Security is a comprehensive security plugin that offers a range of features, including malware scanning, firewall protection, login security, and more.
It also has a real-time traffic feature that shows you who’s accessing your website in real time, so you can detect any suspicious activity.
iThemes Security – iThemes Security is another popular security plugin that offers a range of features, including malware scanning, two-factor authentication, and brute force protection.
It can also hide sensitive areas of your website to prevent unauthorized access.
Sucuri Security – Sucuri Security is a security plugin that’s known for its powerful malware scanning capabilities.
It can scan your website for malware, DDoS attacks, and other security issues, and also offers firewall protection and DDoS mitigation.
Jetpack Security – Jetpack Security is a security plugin that’s included in the Jetpack plugin suite.
It offers a range of security features, including malware scanning, brute force protection, and spam filtering.
It also has a backup and restore feature, which can be helpful in the event of a security breach.
4. Backup Plugins
UpdraftPlus – UpdraftPlus is a popular backup plugin that offers both free and premium versions.
It allows you to schedule backups, select specific files and databases to backup, and store your backups on remote cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and Amazon S3.
BackupBuddy – BackupBuddy is a premium backup plugin that offers a range of features, including full website backups, scheduled backups, and the ability to store backups on remote cloud storage services.
It also includes a migration feature that allows you to easily move your website from one server to another.
Jetpack Backup – Jetpack Backup is a backup plugin that’s included in the Jetpack plugin suite.
It offers daily or real-time backups, the ability to restore backups with a single click, and the option to store backups on remote cloud storage services.
WP Time Capsule – WP Time Capsule is a backup plugin that offers incremental backups, meaning that only the changes made since your last backup are backed up.
It also allows you to store backups on remote cloud storage services and offers an easy-to-use backup and restore process.
5. Page Builders Plugins
Elementor – Elementor is a popular page builder plugin that offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
It includes a visual editing feature that lets you see changes in real time.
Beaver Builder – Beaver Builder is another popular page builder plugin that offers a range of pre-designed templates and modules.
It offers a range of advanced features, including custom CSS, shortcodes, and widgets.
Themify Builder –Themify Builder is a powerful page builder plugin that offers a drag-and-drop interface and a range of pre-designed templates and modules.
It also includes a live editing feature and offers a range of advanced features, including custom CSS, shortcodes, and widgets.
I use Themify Builder (pre-installed with the purchase of any Themify Themes).
Divi Builder – Divi Builder is a page builder plugin that’s included in the Divi theme.
It includes a range of advanced features, including custom CSS, shortcodes, and widgets.
WPBakery Page Builder – WPBakery Page Builder is a popular page builder plugin that offers a range of pre-designed templates and modules.
It offers a range of advanced features, including custom CSS, shortcodes, and widgets.
6. Contact Form Plugins
WPForms – WPForms is a popular forms plugin that offers a drag-and-drop interface, making it easy to create forms quickly.
It includes a range of pre-designed form templates and offers advanced features such as multi-page forms, conditional logic, and file uploads.
Gravity Forms – Gravity Forms is another popular forms plugin that offers a drag-and-drop interface and advanced features such as conditional logic and multi-page forms.
It also includes a range of add-ons that can help you integrate your forms with other services and applications.
Ninja Forms – Ninja Forms is a free forms plugin that offers a user-friendly interface and advanced features such as multi-part forms and conditional logic.
It also includes a range of add-ons that can help you extend the functionality of your forms.
Formidable Forms – Formidable Forms is a powerful forms plugin that offers advanced features such as conditional logic, multi-page forms, and file uploads.
It also includes a range of pre-designed form templates and offers integrations with a range of third-party services.
7. eCommerce Plugins
WooCommerce – WooCommerce is the most popular eCommerce plugin for WordPress and is used by millions of websites worldwide.
It offers a range of features, including product management, payment processing, shipping options, and tax calculation.
It also includes a range of extensions that can help you extend the functionality of your store.
Easy Digital Downloads – Easy Digital Downloads is an eCommerce plugin designed specifically for selling digital products.
It offers features such as product management, payment processing, and file download management.
It also includes a range of extensions that can help you customize your store and improve your sales.
BigCommerce – BigCommerce is a popular eCommerce platform that offers a WordPress plugin for integrating your store with your WordPress website.
It offers a range of features, including product management, payment processing, shipping options, and tax calculation.
It also includes a range of integrations with third-party services and applications.
Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping Cart – Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping Cart is a powerful e-commerce plugin that offers a range of features, including product management, payment processing, and shipping options.
It also includes a range of integrations with third-party services and applications and can be used to sell both physical and digital products.
Bonus WordPress Plugins (Recommended by me)
These two plugins are recommended by me.
As they are must-have WordPress plugins that are very useful in SEO as well as in affiliate marketing.
1. Internal Link Plugin
Link Whisper is a WordPress plugin that helps you improve your website’s SEO by suggesting relevant internal links to your content.
Link Whisper also offers a number of other features, including:
Keyword-based linking: You can choose to have Link Whisper suggest links to pages that contain specific keywords.
Bulk link changer: If you have ever changed the URL structure of your website, you know how tedious it can be to update all of the old links.
Link Whisper makes this process much easier by allowing you to bulk change the URLs of all of the links on your site with a single click.
Broken link checker: Link Whisper can scan your website for broken links and allow you to fix or delete them.
2. Affiliate Plugin
Lasso is a WordPress plugin that helps you manage, track, and display your affiliate links.
It’s a complete solution for affiliate marketers, with features that allow you to:
- Cloak your affiliate links to make them look more trustworthy
- Track clicks and conversions so you can see how well your links are performing
- Create custom affiliate link displays that match your website’s design
- Integrate with Amazon and other affiliate networks
- Get alerts when your affiliate links change
Lasso is easy to use and set up. Once you’ve installed the plugin, you can create new affiliate links and add them to your website’s content.
Lasso will automatically cloak your links and track clicks and conversions.
You can also create custom affiliate link displays that match your website’s design.
It’s easy to use and set up, and it offers a wide range of features that can help you track your links, create custom displays, and get alerts when your links change.
If you’re an affiliate marketer, Lasso is a powerful tool that can help you increase your income.
Conclusion – Must Have WordPress Plugins
“I Recommend:
- Yoast for SEO
- Autoptimize/Litespeed for Caching
- Wordfence for Security
- Updraft plus for Backup
- Themify for Page Builder
- Formidable for Contact Form
- WooCommerce for eCommerce
- Link Whisper for Internal Linking
- Lasso for Affiliate Marketing“
Choosing the right WordPress plugins is essential for the success of your website.
However, installing too many can slow down your website and even cause compatibility issues.
When choosing plugins, it’s important to consider your website’s specific needs and goals.
It’s also important to choose reputable plugins that are regularly updated and supported by their developers.
This will ensure that your website remains secure and up-to-date with the latest WordPress features and functionalities.
So, take the time to research and choose the right plugins carefully, and you’ll be well on your way to WordPress success.
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