10 must-have plugins for any WordPress website

in stem •  5 years ago  (edited)





GIF animation was created by taking a Screen-shoot from the WordPress admin area on my self hosted WP on each plugin

Previously posted:

Review:

What is WordPress? - It is a PHP Web application which powers over 30% of all websites indexed by Google.

What is a WordPress Plugin? - It is a set of files and folders created by any developer who wishes to extend WordPress functionality.

There are thousands of WordPress plugins out there, so I have compiled a list of the 10 plugins that any WordPress website must have:

(In no specific order)

1- Jetpack by WordPress.com > This amazing plugin enhances your WP installation in a great manner, it allows you to monitor you site's up-time, has a built-in anti-spam system with the help of Askimet, has a cool CDN service (faster loading speed for cache served sites), it allows to load the images faster and control your plugins updates among other amazing features. It is definitely a must have.

2- Wordfence Security – Firewall & Malware Scan > This plugin sets up a firewall in your installation which protects you from brute-force attacks, it scans your files for malicious software, it gives you a life traffic feed and also scans files outside of your WordPress installation. Furthermore, it has many options to block bot crawlers and a lot more security features. A must have plugin indeed.

3- Yoast SEO > SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and this plugin does a great job to have your WordPress be indexed by Google and other search engines in the best way possible. It has a nice notification system which let's u monitor what changes you must apply and also comes with a nice wizard to get you started. Any WordPress website must have a SEO friendly setup in order to grow, this is why this plugin is on this list.

4- UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin > Amazing plugin which allows you to have a backup of both your files and database on many third party servers such as Google Drive and Amazon among others, it allows you to set up automatic backup schedules, it helps you restore previous versions and a lot more!

5- WP Mail SMTP by WPForms > This plugin allows you to send email from your WordPress installation using the best technologies such as Gmail and other SMTP service providers. The best part is that once you setup this plugin correctly, the emails you send from your website will never go into the recipients spam folder.

6- W3 Total Cache > This plugins allows you to serve a cache version of your site which allows for a better performance and a better SEO ranking overall. There are many cache plugins but this one wins the prize for its simplicity and functionality. It also works well with the other plugins suggested on this post.

7- WP-Optimize – Clean, Compress, Cache > This plugins optimizes your database and makes sure to keep it clean deleting unnecessary data which makes your website a lot faster. This plugin was developed by the same team of Updraft (the backup plugin above) and it really helps a lot specially when you want to keep a backup copy of all your site on a daily basis.

8- Elementor Page Builder > "The most advanced frontend drag & drop page builder. Create high-end, pixel perfect websites at record speeds". This plugin has gained an special place in my heart for its simplicity and its power. You can create beautiful landing pages, templates, posts and anything you can think of without the need to know anything about coding.

9- Really Simple SSL > This plugin forces your WordPress installation to be served under SSL encryption (you need an SSL certificate). SSL certificates can be purchased or if you know where to look (let's encrypt) you can have one for free. There is no excuse not to have your website be served under SSL specially because there are websites like cloudflare.com which allow you to get https and SSL certificates for free.

10- WP Hide & Security Enhancer > This plugin allows you hide the fact your website is a WordPress installation at all. The security this plugin provides is incredible because WordPress is usually the target of many bots which crawl 24/7 to find vulnerabilities and Day-0 problems. This plugin is definitely a must have since it will basically hide the fact you have a WordPress and you can rest assured no bot will target your website for a potential hack.

Now your WordPress installation has the following features:

Down-time monitor, image lazy load, traffic monitor, website firewall, website antivirus & scanner, can send emails properly, can save backups and restore, SEO friendly, has database optimizations, website is served over https, nobody will know your website is a WordPress, it has a nice Drag & Drop page builder, your site loading speed has increased for it serves cache files and more!

That is it for now. Thank you so much for UpVoting, ReSteeming and commenting this post. Share it with anyone you think might benefit from reading it.


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