WordPress is the superstar of the internet: business owners like it, and bloggers love it. In fact, a staggering 810 million websites run on WordPress today, roughly 43% of the Internet! The popularity isn’t without a reason: WordPress development is comprehensive and boasts a massive free, open-source ecosystem providing all the information you’ll ever need.
However, if you’re strapped for time or would like to direct your focus elsewhere, there are many web design agencies that will take care of everything for you.
That said, if you decide to go at it yourself, learning about the best WordPress plugins you can use is imperative. If that’s the case, you’re in the right place, so let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
- What Are WordPress Plugins?
- Great Free WordPress Plugin: All In One SEO
- Best eCommerce Insight Tool: MonsterInsights Lite/Pro
- Lightning Fast: WP Rocket
- Safeguard Your Site: Solid Security (SolidWP)
- Share and Care: Blog2Social
- Put Your Customers in Good Hands: Fluent CRM
- We All Know It: WooCommerce
- Convert With Ease: FunnelKit
- The Best WordPress Plugin for Forms: WPForms
- Always Have a Backup: UpdraftPlus
- Conclusion
- FAQ
What Are WordPress Plugins?
If you understand the basics of WordPress, you know that a plugin is software that adds particular features to websites. They can extend functionality and customize a site without the need for coding, as you only need to install them.
Various plugins are available for the WP platform, and each serves to improve a particular aspect of a website. For starters, simpler plugins streamline things like adding contact forms, and others are more technical, optimizing website speed, improving SEO, and enhancing security.
Whether you're looking to boost user experience or streamline backend processes, there's a plugin available to help you achieve your goals efficiently.
Great Free WordPress Plugin: All In One SEO
AIOSEO is among the best free WordPress plugins that enhance page and content optimization. It’s essentially an SEO plugin that monitors keyword rankings, examines website performance, analyzes search trends, and signals content decay.
The plugin comes with a basic free version that offers site audit tools and on-page analysis that help catch potential optimization issues before your rankings take a hit. It also scans and scores readability, ensuring that your posts are structured properly with the right heading lengths, and so on.
The pro version also offers the Link Assistant tool that generates reports of your internal linking statistics. It can also work with ChatGPT to generate enticing headlines.
The most notable features of AIOSEO, however, include automatic meta tags, WooCommerce SEO, Semrush integration, schema markup optimization, and smart XML sitemaps.
Pricing:
- Free
- Premium $49.60/year
Pros:
- Better SEO audit than competitors
- Intuitive SEO panel
- Broader sitemap Functionality than competitors
Cons:
- Non-clickable premium features present with free version
- Premium offerings not worth asking price
- No support for free version
Best eCommerce Insight Tool: MonsterInsights Lite/Pro
MonsterInsights Lite is a plugin working as an “agent” that connects your Google Analytics account to your website. It helps you track your eCommerce performance without any additional setup. The plugin enables you to get your basic reports and visitor metrics directly from your backend without visiting the analytics console on GA.
The free Lite version lets you access visitor demographics and track downloads and outbound links on your platform. This version also comes with the Site Notes feature, which tracks changes to your metrics after making any kind of site edit, which is great, as it can help you assess the impact of site changes on traffic.
Opting for the pro package extends the list of features with trackable eCommerce conversion, top-performing page listing, ad campaign tracking, form submission monitoring, and more.
Pricing:
- Lite version: free
- Plus version: $99.95/year
- Agency version: $799.50/year
Pros:
- Detailed reports
- Intuitive interface
- Supports multiple add-ons
Cons:
- Free version may be limited
- Costly premium
- Short 14-day free trial
Lightning Fast: WP Rocket
WP Rocket is among the Best WordPress plugins for improving site speed, caching, and overall site performance. It covers image optimization, page and browser caching, javascript, and CSS modification, greatly improving your site's TTFB (time to first byte) without needing expert knowledge on your end.
The plugin also supports static HTML caching, lazy loading, and GZIP compression and cleans up unused data like spam comments, auto drafts, and post revisions.
Pricing:
- One site: $59/year
- Two sites: $119/year
- Unlimited: $299/year
Pros:
- Static HTML caching
- Two-week money-back guarantee
- Automatic configurations for speed improvements
Cons:
- CDN addon costs $8.99 per site
- Possible update and security issues (WP Rocket isn’t on wp.org)
- No quick customer support
Safeguard Your Site: Solid Security (SolidWP)
WordPress security is something that people often outsource for a reason. Things can get complicated, but Solid Security is among the best WordPress Plugins and serves no-frills safeguard for your site. Setting up and configuring the software takes only a few minutes, and you can customize your security options based on the website type, whether a simple blog, network, portfolio site, or eCommerce platform.
The base version can stop brute force attacks and offers two-step login authentication, among other features. The premium version adds much more to the table, with regular error and malware checks, attempted login device identification, automated vulnerability patching, and automatic theme updates.
Pricing:
- Basic version: free
- Premium: $119/year
Pros:
- Available Solid Suite option
- Comprehensive protection
- Helpful support system
Cons:
- Premium package can be expensive for one site
- Some features require more technical knowledge
- Other two Solid Suite plugins have no free versions
Share and Care: Blog2Social
Blog2Social is a great option if you want to distribute your content efficiently on social media and WordPress. The plugin connects all your social channels with your site and automatically publishes your posts on your social networks like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Blog2Social can greatly aid your omnichannel marketing strategy via scheduled posting. The premium version also includes a sharing calendar that visualizes your posting schedule.
Pricing:
- Free plan
- Smart plan: $11/month
- Pro plan: $16/month
- Business plan: $39/month
Pros:
- Auto-share on your platforms
- Customizability options for each social channel
- Auto-posting at optimal times
Cons:
- Tutorial videos on the website miss crucial info
- No auto-posting for old blog articles
- Limited base version
Put Your Customers in Good Hands: Fluent CRM
Fluent CRM is a plugin that you should consider if you want to build your customer relationships, expand your email lists, build sales funnels, and create more efficient email campaigns. Overall, your conversion rates will likely increase in the process if implemented effectively.
Among the features at your disposal is comprehensive customer relationship management with analytics and reporting, which is essential for creating effective automated sales workflows, marketing processes, and email campaigns — all from your dashboard.
Fluent CRM also offers lead tracking, activity logging, email automation, and contact segmentation. You can also track your revenue and conversions while seamlessly integrating FluentCRM with other awesome WP plugins like WooCommerce, which we’ll touch on in a bit, and other third-party solutions like Zapier and LearnDash.
Pricing:
- One site: $129/year
- Five sites: $249/year
- 50 sites: $499/year
Pros:
- Managing everything from the Dashboard
- Email headline A/B testing
- Gutenberg & Custom HTML Email Editor
Cons:
- No pre-built email templates
- Can’t bulk-select all contacts at once
- No dedicated backup system for plugin CRM data
We All Know It: WooCommerce
WooCommerce is one of the most popular eCommerce plugins ever built. According to BuitWith, there are over 6 million live websites using it.
So why is it so popular? Well, WooCommerce enables you to create a virtual storefront from your WP platform, offering several shipping and payment options with deposit and subscription support. In other words, it’s the best alternative to Shopify.
We’ve already covered their differences, but in short, you can automate shipping rate and tax calculations, use a dedicated app to manage your store from your phone, and add a long list of extensions.
Pricing:
- The plugin is free, but you’ll need to consider WooCommerce hosting
Pros:
- Freely available source code
- Promote products on any channel
- Easy to use
Cons:
- May require additional plugins to work effectively (hidden costs)
- Limited customer support
- Limited scalability
Convert With Ease: FunnelKit
FunnelKit is a lead generation software that gives users several tools and templates to create high-converting pages for marketing. Users can easily craft thank-you, webinar registration, opt-in, and sales pages without any coding knowledge. It's an awesome tool for improving conversion rates and covering more ground to acquire and retain customers.
There’s also a drag-and-drop editor for customization of video, image, text, form, and button content. However, the A/B testing with premade modules and designs for Gutenberg, Elementor, Oxygen, and other popular themes takes the cake.
Pricing:
- Basic: $129
- Plus: $299
- Professional: $399
- Elite: $599
Pros:
- Easy funnel creation wizard
- Cart abandonment features
- Great support
Cons:
- Together with other heavy plugins, FunnelKit might negatively impact site performance
- CRM features come only with the $499 yearly plan
- Steep learning curve
The Best WordPress Plugin for Forms: WPForms
WPForms has several form templates and an easy-to-grasp drag-and-drop interface. With built-in features like conditional logic, geolocation, captcha, and email automation via Constant Contact and Uncanny Automator, WPForms elevates form creation to new heights.
Additionally, its compatibility with various payment gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, and Square ensures smooth transactions for businesses. While the free version offers essential functionalities, upgrading unlocks advanced options like multi-page forms, extra fields, and expanded integrations with platforms like MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, and Sendinblue, catering to diverse requirements.
Pricing:
- Basic: $99.50
- Plus: $199.50
- Pro: $299.50
- Elite: $599.50
Pros:
- Drag-and-drop builder
- Great documentation
- Pre-made form templates
Cons:
- Elite version most expensive among form plugins
- Free version only has limited features
- Can’t upload several forms at once
Always Have a Backup: UpdraftPlus
UpdraftPlus offers seamless backup solutions, making it one of the most trusted WP plugins. The plugin enables you to back up your site easily, with only a few clicks, which acts as a safeguard, enabling you to completely restore your site even after a major malfunction or breach.
UpdraftPlus offers accessible features like one-click backups, which don’t require extensive technical knowledge, making it convenient, simple, and reliable for users. It also comes with support for cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Amazon S3.
The plugin also features database encryption and website migration in the premium version, providing enhanced security and flexibility and catering to diverse user needs. Whether backing up to local or cloud storage or swiftly restoring sites with a single click, UpdraftPlus simplifies website management and ensures peace of mind for WordPress users.
Pricing:
- Free
- Personal (two licenses): $70/year
- Business (10 licenses): $95/year
- Agency (35 licenses): $145/year
- Enterprise (unlimited licenses): $195/year
- Gold (unlimited licenses+): $399/year
Pros:
- Massive options for off-site storage
- Central management
- Great cloning and migration tools
Cons:
- No real-time backups
- The need to keep track of multiple (five) backup files
- May not work well with larger sites.
Conclusion
As there are literally thousands of WordPress plugins, all aiming to expand the functionality of your website, sifting through them can be overwhelming. If none of the ones we featured fit your needs, it might be a good idea to reach out to WordPress development companies who will take the guesswork out of the process.
FAQ
Are Plugins Worth It on WordPress?
Plugins can help you maximize the potential of your site in several areas, regardless of whether you're managing a blog, running a small business, or doing online retail. Plugins can help you enhance the UX of your website, improve its speed and visibility, and upgrade its security.
How Many Plugins Can My WP Site Handle?
There’s no predetermined plugin number that you're limited to. However, developers advise using no more than you require to reach your website's full potential in terms of functionality and features, as unused plugins cause database bloat. In turn, that may slow down loading times and even create vulnerabilities.
Can You Have Too Many Plugins?
Plugins are highly useful, but having too many of them running at once can decrease the overall performance of your website and hurt its UX. Still, there’s no exact threshold that causes problems, as it all depends on your hosting and the size/type of your website.
