If you’re a blogger then you already know just how important plugins are for your WordPress site.
There are literally thousands of plugins for WordPress, that it may seem overwhelming when you’re getting ready to install one.
You are probably asking questions like, “Is this one the best?”. “Will it slow down my website?”. “Is this other plugin better?”, and the list goes on.
While plugins are very important for your blog, it’s good to know which ones you really need to keep your site running smoothly and at an optimal level.
You just may be wondering what are plugins anyway and do you really need them?
In this post, I’ll help you decide on the ‘must have’ plugins you need for the best results on your WordPress website.
Some of the plugins I’ll mention are some of the most popular. I’m not listing them just because they’re popular, but because of how useful they are – hence their popularity.
First, though let’s find out what plugins are and a few useful things they help us to do.
Also, be sure to Pin this post for later when you’re ready to start installing your plugins!
What are Plugins?
Plugins are software that adds functionality and features to a WordPress website.
They’re actually written in what we call PHP programming language, and work pretty well with the WordPress platform.
They are very popular for a range of users because you simply install them to your site and they start working.
So you don’t need to know code or programming to do it. Yay!
With plugins you can do just about anything on your website like:
- Create a daily job board
- Open an online store
- Create a stock photo website
- Launch a podcast
You can add these plugins when you’re just setting up your blog or any time after. If you haven’t started a blog as yet, check out this step-by-step- guide on starting a blog from scratch.
This is just the beginning of making your website unique with WordPress plugins. Check out the list of 10 must have WordPress plugins below.
1) UpdraftPlus
UpdraftPlus is a very popular WordPress plugin is also one of the more important ones as you’ll soon find out.
Its popularity can’t be denied as it is rated 4.8 stars out of 5 among WordPress users, and is even ranked in the top 30 of the most popular plugins.
Why is this plugin a must have though?
Well, for starters, UpdraftPlus allows users to set automatic backups of their website, or do it manually if they so prefer.
It also backs up limitless non-WordPress files and even external databases.
These backups will then be uploaded to a remote location of your choice, be it Dropbox or Google Drive.
I use UpdraftPlus myself and schedule it to backup daily.
To be honest, this isn’t really necessary, but I just like to be on the extra-safe side.
Most users schedule for backups weekly, as more significant changes take place during this time such as weekly blog posts.
Why it’s a must have plugin
- Schedules backups of your website automatically
- Recovers files easily after any website issues
- Choose from multiple backup locations
2) Yoast SEO
I know that almost every blogger or website user has heard of the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress, or has at least used it at some point.
It is ranked as one of the most popular plugins of all time with users saying it’s very easy to use.
As a matter of fact, Yoast SEO has more than 50 million users and that’s saying a lot.
This shows just how important SEO is for bloggers and website owners trying to rank in search results. SEO helps you get more traffic to your website if done the right way.
If you implement SEO best practices consistently, there is a guarantee that you will see results.
When using the Yoast SEO plugin, you’ll be able to improve your overall SEO score which is great for your ranking in Google.
It also suggests tips on improving the readability score for your blog so that your readers will have an easier time reading your posts.
If you have a blog and haven’t installed this plugin as yet, I recommend you do as it’s really helpful.
Why it’s a must have plugin
- Improves readability for website visitors
- Can help improve your ranking on search engines like Google
- Simple to use with helpful hints and suggestions
3) Askimet
Developed by the folks behind WordPress, this next plugin is all about spam control.
If you’ve been reading blogs for some time now you know that they have a comment section.
No doubt you’ve seen some weird comments with suspicious-looking links in them.
No one wants to see them or click them. That’s where Askimet comes in handy.
What it will do is monitor and filter all the spammy, pesky comments from your blog posts.
It also shows the history of each comment so you can know the spammy ones.
This makes it super-easy to remove them, along with the suspicious link that came with it.
This plugin is great for keeping away unwanted and potentially unsafe comments from lingering on your website.
It greatly enhances your visitors’ experience and saves you time.
Busy moms like myself might find it very hard to go through every single comment on our blog checking for annoying spammy comments all day.
So this plugin is a life-saver.
Why it’s a must have plugin
- Saves you time in getting rid of unwanted comments
- Keeps a record of all your comments so can easily assess them
- Helps with your readers experience on your website
4) WP Super Cache
This is a useful plugin that helps with your website’s overall performance. WP Super Cache helps with caching, cache rebuild, and compression of files.
How it works is that it creates static files from your blog and then the webserver will show an HTML file rather than the heavier file that would cause your website to be slower.
Another plus is that the plugin integrates a CDN which is a set of computers that deliver the content from your website.
The files are served through these computers rather than from your dynamic WordPress blog, so your site loads faster.
Website speed is critical for your website’s performance and leveraging traffic. You definitely want your site to load faster rather than slower because it decreases the likelihood of your visitors leaving.
I give this plugin a thumbs up!
Why it’s a must have plugin
- Helps with cache building and compressing files
- Improves website speed and overall performance
- Decreases the likelihood of visitors leaving
5) Thrive Architect
If you want to design dazzling landing pages and integrate features that aren’t included in the native WordPress page builder, then the Thrive Architect Page Builder Plugin is for you.
The Thrive Architect page builder makes it easy to create beautiful custom forms, opt-ins, landing pages, and other unique customizations without knowledge of HTML or coding.
What I especially love about the page builder, is how I can just drag and drop certain elements and adjust them as needed!
The page builder also comes with more than 250+ page templates to choose from that you can then customize by changing colors, fonts, and outlines.
Even though it’s a premium plug-in, it’s a one-time payment of $69 and you can use it forever!
Yes. That’s it.
You also have the option of using a monthly subscription that comes with other Thrive products. But for me, just using Thrive Architect is enough.
Let’s be honest here, design isn’t an easy task. But with the Thrive Architect plugin, you can create your own pages from scratch using blocks or pre-made templates.
You also get a live view of your page while you’re building it, so you don’t even have to preview pages.
Another plus is that you can create almost any kind of design imaginable, so the possibilities of a unique website theme are limitless.
Why it’s a must have plugin
- Has ready-made templates for easy design and editing
- Attractive layouts for almost every niche
- Comes with a range of customization options
6) Monster Insights
Hailed as the best Google Analytics Plugin for WordPress, Monster Insights is a must if you want to get all the important stats right inside your WordPress dashboard.
It’s easy to set up and rather intuitive, so you’ll be able to access all your data and get right to the business formulating of a plan for your website.
This plugin allows you to see just how people get to your website, how many page-views you have, as well as the bounce rate.
This info can help you to optimize your landing pages, configure leads, and to improve your methods for getting traffic to your website.
As with most other plugins, Monster Insights has a free version, but the paid version is much more detailed and useful.
Why its a must have plugin
- Easy to set-up with Google Analytics
- Tracks audience location and habits
- Helps increase website traffic and boosts conversions
7) Jetpack
Website security is very important in keeping your blog itself and the people who access your site safe.
The Jetpack WordPress plugin will put all your worries to rest with its simple-to-use interface and powerful features that will ensure your website is running smoothly.
The basic plan packs a strong punch and includes a range of essential tools such as website security, traffic growth, website performance, image optimization, and lots more.
Jetpack will also allow you to add subscription forms, CDN services, and social share buttons to increase engagement.
One special feature that’s really great is the Infinite Scroll feature that allows visitors to keep scrolling on the page without it refreshing.
This will help with visitor engagement and more time spent on your site.
You can also adjust how your actual posts are loaded based on user behavior making it much easier for visitor accessibility.
Why it’s a must have plugin
- Faster loading time for images
- Enhanced security against brute force attacks
- Increased visitor engagement on site.
8) WooCommerce
The WooCommerce platform has grown to become one of the most popular e-commerce programs for bloggers and website owners.
One big plus is that it’s free, and as a store owner, you actually have complete control over its contents for as long as you use it.
With the Woo Commerce plugin, you can create gorgeous storefronts based on your website’s theme and for your specific industry.
It’s also pretty easy to customize pages whether you’re going to sell digital products or physical goods.
What’s also great about it is that you can choose how customers pay.
So if you want to use credit card payments, PayPal, or Stripe, it’s easy to add a payment option and make it effortless for your customers.
The simple dashboard interface allows you to keep an eye on your store’s performance and for marketing to customers through various channels like MailChimp or even Facebook integration.
If you’re ever going to start a store I’d recommend using WooCommerce because of the control that you have over your own store and the plugin’s usability.
Why it’s a must have plugin
- It’s absolutely free for lifetime use
- You have total control over your store and its contents
- Create beautiful storefronts to attract customers
9) Grow by Mediavine
Grow by Mediavine gives you some of the best-looking social share buttons to add to your WordPress blog posts.
It also allows you to integrate these social share buttons so that they align with your website design.
You also get to add these social share buttons throughout conveniently placed areas on your blog, so that your readers will be able to share your content more easily and increase engagement.
The free version actually comes with five different social media platforms which include Google+, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
You can customize the buttons to add a bit more flair. Whether you want them to be circular or rectangular it’s up to you -whatever fits your style is best.
To be honest the buttons are really eye-catching and I’m sure your readers will notice them once they’re on the page and they’ll be more inclined to hit the share button.
You can also choose to show how many shares that specific post has had.
Whenever you would like to add more social media platforms to your website, you can upgrade to the premium plan.
If you’re looking for styled social share buttons that you can easily add to your blog post I highly recommend adding Grow by Mediavine. You’ll definitely love it!
Why it’s a must-have plugin
- Visitors can easily share your post and spread the word
- Nicely designed buttons that readers will be more inclined to hit
- Increased engagement from visitor
10) ShortPixel
Have you ever been on a website that takes forever to load? There can be multiple reasons for this but in most cases, it happens to be the image file size on that page.
While adding images to your website is often necessary, it’s a big help if you can actually get them compressed before you upload them to your page.
The reason being is that the larger the file size, the longer your page takes to load. This can be annoying for visitors and can cause them to abandon your website.
The Short Pixel plugin actually compresses every single image file that’s located on your WordPress website.
It takes your images and optimizes them for just the right image size for your viewer’s browser by at least 90%!
They do this by using an API from their Cloud which makes sure that there is no added weight on your blog from images you upload.
What’s even better is that it takes the file size right down without affecting the quality and your reader won’t even notice.
So it’s a win-win for you both. If you want your site speed to be much faster and your images optimized give ShortPixel a try.
Why it’s a must-have plugin
- Faster load time for your website
- Compression of images while maintaining quality
- Optimizes readers experience
Finally
There you have it. Ten must have WordPress plugins that you definitely need for your blog.
Although you might not use every plugin that’s on this list, they are actually very useful in helping your website speed, performance, privacy, and overall usability.
They will also help in enhancing your visitors’ experience which is an A+ in my book. Having a successful blog takes time but these tools can make your blogging life much less stressful!
Please let me know which of these plugins you use or any other great ones I might have missed.
If you liked this post, please PIN it for later!❤️️????
