With nearly ½ of a billion websites on it, WordPress is one of the most popular platforms for building your website.
One of the most appealing aspects of WordPress is its customization options. You can create a completely unique site with all of the features and functions you need.
And no, you don’t need to be a coding wiz to do so.
As most of you know, plugins are the building blocks that allow you to turn your WP site into the perfect custom beast for your business.
When it comes to plugins, there are thousands of options (over 55,000 on WP alone, to be exact) which is both a blessing and a curse.
Choosing the right ones amongst the thousands available can be a bit overwhelming. What do they all do? How many do you need?
Keep reading for an in-depth guide to WordPress plugins!
What are WordPress Plugins?
While many people have heard of plugins, it’s worth briefly reviewing these important little tools. Essentially, plugins function like “apps” that allow you to customize your WordPress website.
The plugins allow you to add and alter major functions without personally touching the code. They save developers time and allow people without software engineering backgrounds the power to build an excellent custom site.
Sites of all kinds benefit from plugins. They’re used on everything from eCommerce stores to blogs and more (hint: this is a WordPress site and we use several plugins!). Depending on what you need, plugins allow you to make minor changes or bring in major alterations. One example of a plugin is a payment gateway that processes the payments when someone purchases from your site.
Additionally, you can use them for both the front-end and back-end of your website. Some plugins simplify the website maintenance of your team, like one that scans for broken links.
How Plugins Work
Plugins allow you to add functionality to your WordPress website without touching the main files and code. WordPress Plugin API provides access points that allow the plugins to link into the source code. When necessary, the access points signal the function of the plugin.
Proceed with Caution
Plugins sound great, don’t they!
Well, they really are. They can transform both the front-end and back-end of your website, allowing you to get the perfect custom site. But before you go plugin crazy, it’s worth taking a pause.
Even though plugins do not directly change the original code of WordPress, they still are not something you want to install haphazardly. On the contrary, you should dedicate some time and think through the process.
If you add poorly-coded plugins to your website, you could expose it to new vulnerabilities (even if accidental from the developer). You could also impact your site speed and cause bugs/ glitches. In the worst case, you could crash your site, leading to many issues until you remove the plugin.
All of this sounds scary, and it is. Still, these risks do not mean you should avoid plugins, they just mean you should proceed with caution and choose plugins wisely.
Where To Find Credible Plugins
Uh, okay, I need to find high-quality plugins that won’t destroy my site. That’s kind of a given. But where exactly do you look?
One of the best places to start is right on WordPress. It offers a directory filled with 60,000 plugins. You can search the directory for what you are looking for. All of these plugins are well-reviewed and safe for your site.
However, there are also third-party websites and marketplaces for plugins. One example is CodeCanyon. If you decide to choose a plugin from a third-party provider, be sure to carefully vet it before downloading or installing it.
The last option is to create your own plugin. You can create your own or hire someone to do so, which gives you the exact functionality you want. Doing this is more time-consuming and costly than finding a free one, so be sure you exhaust your search before deciding to build your own.
How to Add WordPress Plugins
There are multiple ways to install a WP plugin, depending on where you get it from.
WordPress Dashboard
The first option is to add the plugin from your website dashboard. To do this, go to your dashboard and click “Plugins” then “Add New.” You’ll be taken to the WP plugin library, which looks somewhat like a typical app library. Here, you can search for the one you want. Once you find it, you just click “Install Now.” After it’s installed, you will press “Activate” next to the plugin name.
Manually Add
You can also add it manually. Download the .zip file from the WordPress directory or from your plugin source. Then, you’ll again go to the WP dashboard and select “Plugins” and “Add New.” Instead of searching for one, you will choose “Upload Plugin” next to “Add Plugins” at the top of the page.
You’ll be able to select the file from your computer and hit “Install Now.” Once installation is complete, you will need to activate the plugin.
FTP
To add your plugin via FTP, you must unzip the plugin file. Then, you will need to connect your website server with FTP. Open the FTP client and connect to your website by logging in. in your WP file directly, open the folder titled “wp-content” and then “plugins”. Upload your unzipped folder here.
Using Plugins
After you install and activate the plugin, it will work most of the time. However, some more complex plugins may require configuration. For example, you may need to customize the templates of some plugins (like one for forms).
Others may require some configuration. Those that do will commonly bring you to a setup wizard after activation. You can check the customization features anytime by going to Plugins, then Installed Plugins. Select “Settings” under any plugin to view.
The Best SEO Plugins
SEO plugins can help you optimize your content and improve your search rank. Of course, there are a ton of plugins promising to help you boost your SEO and far fewer that match this promise.
Here are some of the top SEO plugins to consider:
Yoast SEO
Perhaps one of the most well-known and highest-regarded, Yoast SEO is a top SEO plugin to consider. It offers several helpful features that are easy to use on many types of content. It’s beginner-friendly, while also offering more advanced options. There’s both a free and premium version available.
Yoast SEO features include:
- Page optimization (meta description, keywords, URLs, page titles, etc)
- Google search console configuration
- Automatic XML sitemap
- Robots.txt
SEOPress
SEOPress is another flexible, comprehensive SEO tool for WP. Much like Yoast, it’s beginner-friendly with advanced options, including a free and premium version. Its features include:
- Redirection
- Titles
- Meta descriptions
- XML images
- Content checks
One aspect to note is that the price for the premium version is less than Yoast.
Rank Math
Rank Math has been steadily growing in popularity because it aims to offer more free features than other plugins.
The top features that Rank Math offers include:
- Integration with Google Search Console
- Ability to import settings from other plugins
- Pre-selected settings
- Snippet integration
- Advanced SEO analytics
- Social media optimization
All In One SEO
All in One SEO (or AIoSEo) is another popular plugin for optimizing your site. It provides an SEO audit checklist for your entire website, as well as actionable insights for improving the optimization of your site.
Other key features include:
- Automatic sitemap generation and submission
- Schema
- Knowledge graph
- Local SEO
- AMP
The Best e-Commerce Plugins
If you plan to sell on your site, then you need e-Commerce plugins for payment processing. When it comes to something as important as your online store, you want to make sure you have quality plugins.
Here are the top e-Commerce plugins to consider:
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a well-known e-Commerce plugin created by the same company as WordPress. It’s one of the top choices for those selling on WordPress, and it offers tons of customization options.
The primary function of WooCommerce is free, with premium options for those who need it and endless flexibility to customize.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce e-Commerce platform can integrate with WordPress. With the plugin, you can embed your products in WordPress. Some of the top benefits of BigCommerce include:
- Scalable solution
- Multichannel selling, integrate BigCommerce on other channels
- No transaction charges
- Enjoy the benefits of BigCommere and WordPress
WP EasyCart Shopping Cart
While WP EasyCart is not as well-known as some other options, it’s quickly gaining traction. It is well-suited for small businesses and does not require people to dig too deep into e-Commerce tools. It’s easy to sync with Quickbooks, MailChimp, and ShipStation. The free version offers a wealth of features and stands as a strong WooCommerce competitor.
Blogging/Page Building Plugins
The pages and blog of your website are critical for engaging site visitors. There are many helpful plugins that improve the look and function of your website pages and blog. Here are a few of the top ones:
Elementor
Elementor is a top page-builder that allows you to drag-and-drop elements. It can be used for building your site, and it is commonly used specifically for designing visually-appealing blogs. This plugin makes it fast and easy to custom-design pages without any coding.
Revive Old Posts
Revive Old Posts automatically shares your new blogs to Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, it pulls old articles and re-posts them on social media to boost its reach. You can also schedule publications, add hashtags, and track your clicks. It has a free version as well as a premium version that allows you to share posts to more channels.
OptinMonster
OptinMonster is designed to maximize leads. You can target people leaving your site with prompts to subscribe to your mailing list. You can leverage custom opt-in forms and personalized messages to encourage subscribers and prevent abandoned carts. The basic version costs $9 per month.
Site Performance/Backend Plugins
Not all plugins are for the appearance of your site or the front-end. There are many available that help you better manage the back-end of your site, including site performance, speed, and spam.
Here are some of the top site performance plugins to check out:
Jetpack
Developed by the same team as WordPress, Jetpack is a suite of tools that can take our site to the next level. With one plugin, you can handle backups, security, lead gen, social share buttons, email subscriptions, and more. It’s a great option to get many key features without overloading your site with plugins.
W3 Total Cache
One of the top caching plugins in W3 Total Chace. Caching stores your website content in the visitor’s browser, which allows it to load quicker the next time they access your site. With W3 Total Cache, you can reduce website load times and improve your website speed, which can help user experience and SEO. It’s an effective back-end plugin that requires minimal configuration.
Smush
Images commonly drag down the load time for your website. Optimizing them can boost website speed, but it’s not easy to do manually. Smush is a plugin for optimizing your images, it compresses the images on your site as you upload them. It allows you to automatically compress and optimize your images to ensure website performance and speed.
Akismet Spam Protection
Constantly tracking spam comments and fighting against website spam is a headache. Akismet automatically assesses your site for spam and helps you stay spam-free. You can review the content that it blocks as well, but overall it helps you save time managing spam on your website.
Customize Your WordPress Site Today
Plugins are a key part of building a beautiful, high-performing WordPress site. They allow non-developers to take control of the site customization process, and they streamline the process regardless of your tech experience. The reality is that plugins are synonymous with creating an effective WP site, and something to implement today.
Start by checking out some of the top plugins we shared today and improve your site’s appearance, function, and performance.