Eighteen years ago, English developer Mike Little and American developer Matt Mullenweg introduced the revolutionary WordPress (WordPress.org). It is a content management system (CMS), open-sourced and free, written in the renowned scripting language known as PHP. Moreover, WordPress can be combined with either a MariaDB or MySQL database. This ground-breaking technology is the go-to CMS for bloggers worldwide. In 2021, according to W3Techs, 41.9% of all websites use WordPress as their CMS. Hence, WordPress holds the majority of 65% market share in the content management system.
The CMS tool needs to be installed on an internet hosting service like www.dev2host.com, etc., to function properly. To improve the websites’ user experience and visual appeal, the website owners can use various plugins to achieve exactly what they need. Plugins can also improve the functionalities of your website. For instance, plugins can improve the loading speed, cause a significant improvement in SEO, etc.
WordPress contains over 50,000 plugins in its directory. In addition, there are countless more third-party plugins available too. So, to make this overwhelming task easier for all, dev2host WordPress experts have compiled a list of 9 WordPress plugins that you must have.
1. Yoast SEO:
Dutchman Joost de Valk initially released the widely popular plugin for WordPress in 2007. Since then, Yoast SEO has become a household name for all WordPress users. This potent tool can analyze the readability of all the contents on your website. Meanwhile, it improves your overall SEO by optimizing posts and pages according to the meta description and keywords. Its basic version is completely free, while the premium version is available with additional features. Read more about the Yoast Plugin.
2. Redirection:
Undeniably one of the most integral and dominant plugins for WordPress is Redirection. As the name suggests, it is a redirection manager. The plugin allows you to arrange 301 custom redirection within your website. It also keeps a detailed record of all the redirection and the clicks.
All search engines lower the ratings of websites with a broken link. If you have a website with many links, you can likely not manually keep track of them. Installing this Redirection plugin will ensure that all broken links are automatically tracked. Thus, you will know about all the 4XX page errors, and you can fix them as soon as possible. The best part is that it is a free plugin. Read more about the Redirection Plugin.
3. WP Rocket:
Another plugin that helps dev2host programmers to reduce loading time is WP Rocket. This potent plugin caches the pages on your site to reduce the load on your server. This significantly reduces the loading time and boosts the speed. It can also be integrated with the Content Delivery Network (CDN). However, it is not a free tool. The annual license for a single year costs about $49 for basic features. Read more about the WP-Rocket Plugin.
4. Revive Old Post:
Everybody wants maximum coverage of their websites after taking up a web development service. So, how do they accomplish this target? Easy! Use social media to generate traffic. It is no secret that social media generates over 30% of all website traffic. Hence, the plugin “Revive Old Post” is the best fit for your needs. This plugin automatically shares the old and new publications of your WordPress website on Facebook and Twitter to expand your coverage net. Read more about the Revive Old Post Plugin.
5. WPForms:
Do you want visually satisfying, wonderful forms? Maybe, a form that is so attention-grabbing that people will come looking for it? Then, WPForms is the best custom WordPress plugin for you. This plugin gives you customizable, state-of-art forms, which has better conversion rates, brings in more survey results, improves the aesthetic look of the page, etc. While the WPForms Lite is a free version, the WPForms Pro is a premium version that contains many different features and templates to choose from. Read more about the WP-Forms Plugin.
6. wordFence:
With more than two million active users, wordFence is indeed one of the most popular WordPress plugins. Unlike other security plugins, wordFence has an extremely user-friendly dashboard. To use this plugin, you do not need to be a tech-savvy person who has a background in IT or has studied cybersecurity.
The ability to see information about your entire website traffic trends is one of the favorite features of this WordPress plugin. The free version of wordFence includes a plethora of attributes that will keep your website secure. You will be protected against attackers and the wordFence firewall will block thier IPs. Read more about the wordFence Plugin.
7. WooCommerce:
Do you want to sell products and services through your website? WooCommerce is a high-quality plugin that turns your WordPress blog into a perfectly functioning online store. Its possible to use WooCommerce to sell both virtual downloadable products as well as physical products. Thanks to its endless customization, there is so much you can do with this amazing free plugin. Read more about the WooCommerce Plugin.
8. Strong testimonials:
One of the most configurable WordPress plugins is the Strong Testimonials. It has a variety of display options. A testimonial slider, masonry layout, grid layout, single-column layout, and other features are available. It also has a template where your visitors can quickly add their testimonials and reviews easily. If you’ve been gathering customer feedback on social media, the pro version of this plugin can embed feedback from Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, and other sites. Read more about the Strong Testimonials Plugin.
9. Soliloquy Slider:
Most websites have slider on their homepage. Its a good way to grab your visitors attention. wordPress slider plugins can slow page load times and cause SEO issues. If you do want to use a slider (slideshow), then Soliloquy is your best bet for a visually impressive and fast page loading experience. It is fully responsive. There is a small cost for the premium version. Read more about the Soliloquy Slider.
Thanks for reading our blog about the top 9 preferred plugins. We have chosen these plugins based upon what our customers here at dev2host are using as well as by researching internet reviews.
