Top 10 WordPress Plugins in 2017
If you want to start a website, WordPress is the best platform to build it on. With a quarter of the world’s websites being powered by WordPress, no wonder that this platform is the place to start your personal or business website. One of the things that makes WordPress so attractive is its variety of plugins which can improve your website in so many ways. Here are 10 popular WordPress plugins you should keep in mind:
1. Yoast SEO
We all know it – without SEO, websites are left in the dumpster. Not sure what to tackle on your website to make it stand out on Google search? Meet Yoast, an all-in-one plugin to easily optimize all your webpages for SEO. This WordPress plugin helps you add keywords throughout your articles, tells you if your copy is SEO-friendly, and provides many more SEO features and tips. It also grades your webpage based on how well it’s optimized for SEO. All in all, if you care for your website’s search engine rankings, get Yoast.
2. MonsterInsights (Google Analytics for WordPress)
Google Analytics is a must-have tool for any website owner. So, if you’ve got a WordPress website, why not install Google Analytics directly into WordPress? MonsterInsights provides a detailed view on essential website analytics. It lets you check traffic data, where visitors are coming from, ads performance, and more with just a few clicks.
3. Jetpack
Jetpack is one of the most wide-ranging WordPress plugins. As its name suggests, it packs a set of features aimed at helping you skyrocket your website to success. The features include security and backup, traffic and SEO tools, social media sharing, content creation, and more. Most features are free, but some of are paid.
4. Akismet
Millions of spam comments are sent every day on WordPress. They’re so annoying, that Akismet – the anti-spam WordPress plugin – comes preinstalled with WordPress. The tool automatically checks all comments and filters out spammy ones, so your website stays free from that junk. Akisment is free for personal blogs, but you need to pay if you’re running a business website.
5. W3 Total Cache or WP Super Chache
Website speed improves your SEO standings and this is how a caching plugin can help. Caching is a process that speeds up page loading for users that revisit the same page. With the help of W3 Total Cache or WP Super Cache, your overall website performance will improve, making your visitors and search engines happier.
6. Wordfence Security
Passwords alone are not enough to safeguard your WordPress website from cyber attackers. There’s bots, malware, security holes, and much more to worry about. WordFence Security is a comprehensive WordPress plugin that stops all those digital threats in real-time, keeping your website safe and secure.
7. WooCommerce
Though you likely won’t create the next Amazon anytime soon, an e-commerce WordPress plugin is the place to start. WooCommerce is the most popular plugin in that category, allowing you to sell anything, anywhere. The tool offers simple and advanced features to manage your online store with flexibility.
8. MailChimp for WordPress
Email marketing is still an effective way to attract customers. No doubt, managing and sending emails in a bulk will greatly improve your productivity. MailChimp is one of those services and WordPress plugins you can’t live without if you’re a marketer or business owner that wants to grow their business.
9. Contact Form 7
A contact form is a standard feature on every website. In WordPress, you can easily create them with Contact Form 7 without coding or anything like that. The plugin lets you customize the input forms and drop down menus, so visitors will add the details you want when contacting you.
10. Smush
Images are a website requirement and optimizing them is a priority. As WordPress doesn’t come with many image manipulation options, you’ll need one to make your images shine. Smush is a freemium WordPress plugin that helps you resize, compress and optimize your images. More lightweight images also means more website performance and a boost in SEO.
Looking for more ways to improve your WordPress website? Check out our 10 best tips for WordPress SEO and 8 reasons why blogging will boost your business.
