For the uninitiated, the concept of a plugin is pretty simple. It’s any software that enables another piece of software to do something it normally couldn’t.
As a WordPress user, you can use a ton of awesome plugins to enhance both your experience and that of those visiting your site. And by a ton, I mean over 55,000.
With so many options, a list of the top WordPress plugins could be pretty dang useful. Lucky for you, that’s just what this is. Here are some essential plugins to make your WordPress top notch.
Akismet Anti-Spam
If there’s one thing you’re going to want, it’s an anti-spam plugin. One of the awesome features of WordPress is that it allows people to comment on your page and interact with you and each other. The downside of that is that spam comments are not in short supply.
You’ll find that promotional links and other spam comments will pop up with increasing frequency as your page grows in popularity. Akismet is the most downloaded anti-spam program out there, so this is definitely the top choice when it comes to keeping your comments section free of clutter.
Jetpack
Jetpack makes this list by virtue of the fact that it’s an impressive jack of all trades. One thing you want to avoid is overstuffing your site with plugins. There’s no better way to do that than by getting one plugin that performs many tasks at once.
Jetpack has site analytics, automated social media posting, spam blocking, various WordPress themes, and login security, among many other features.
The automated posting can be especially crucial since it’s very easy to get sidetracked and forget to make crucial updates. There are also services out there like LightHouse Graphics that do that for you, so you’ve got some options.
It comes in a free version and three different tiers of paid plan. With so many features to choose from, it makes it perfect for everything from personal blogs to small businesses.
Contact Form 7
Providing visitors to your page an easy way to contact you is of the utmost importance. Contact 7 is a plugin that does just that.
For one thing, this plugin allows you to manage multiple contact forms on the same site, which is great if you have different contacts for different purposes. It also allows for form customization so that your contact page can look just how you want it to.
Contact Form 7 incorporates the aforementioned Akismet functionality to make sure you’re not getting spam through your contact submission form. Paired with captcha functionality, this is a great plugin for every type of WordPress page.
Yoast SEO
Finally, no site is complete without an SEO plugin, and Yoast is the top-rated one out there. If you’re unaware, the super-simplified definition of SEO is utilizing keywords to boost your ranking in search engines.
There’s a lot more to it than that, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that a better search engine ranking yields way more traffic to your page. Yoast allows you to set your keywords, but it also provides feedback on how to improve your SEO.
Suffice it to say that you want this.
These WordPress Plugins Will Get You Started
By implementing any or all of these awesome WordPress plugins, you’ll have a great foundation for your site. While there are thousands more out there, this basis will let you build out in any direction.
Now that you know what plugins to get, you might want to consider the actual look of your site. Keep reading to get the scoop on some great WordPress themes.
