By itself WordPress is a fantastic content management system for web developers, or even web design agencies like ourselves. However, when you pair it with some feature-rich plugins…that’s when it really begins to shine!

We have a standard list of popular plugins we use on the sites we design just to add more functionality or to help improve security. Many of these plugins are free, or limited in features they provide, but offer paid versions to fully unlock their potentials.

Now keep in mind there are literally thousands upon thousands of plugins you can filter though and install on your websites. A lot of them just come down to what is your personal preference, just like our list below!

WPForms Lite

Every website should include some type of form to allow visitors to submit feedback. WPForms is a great and easy to use plugin that gets you drag and drop form creation, all without the hassle of manually creating forms or coding.

If you are not looking to do anything fancy and just want your basic “contact us” form, the free version will get you everything you need!

Free

AIOSEO

All In One SEO is just what it says it is…everything you will need for search engine optimization (SEO). The free version gets you all the basics of SEO you need to improve your website’s ranking with search engines. Meta titles, descriptions, headline and page scoring, keyword targeting, and more.

Of course like they say, you get what you pay for. So if you are looking for more features to help get you that #1 Google ranking, it may be worth spending a little $$ to upgrade to the pro version.

Free

Woocommerce

If you are looking at starting an ecommerce site and selling online, Woocommerce is the #1 choice of online stores. Out of the box you will get all the features you’ll need to start building your products and services.

Owned by Automattic, the same people that give you WordPress, Woocommerce boasts a large community of users. The majority of popular themes and templates also have built in support to their designs.

Free

Redirection

Plain and simple, Redirection does what it says…it redirects pages on your site. When you rename posts or pages broken links happen, that’s normal. With Redirection you can see all the links not found and yep, redirect them.

You don’t need to know Apache or know how to edit your .htaccess file, the plugin does it all for you!

Free

All In One Security (AIOS)

Security is a must for websites, especially in today’s world. All In One Security is your one plugin answer to cover all security aspects you’ll need. The free plan will most likely get you everything you want such as: login security, MFA, hardening of files, database security, and loads more!

And if you are one of the extra cautious types, $70/yr is well worth the price to unlock even more security.

Free/$70yr

WP Mail SMTP

This plugin ties in with WPForms, of course since they make both. WP Mail SMTP takes the hassle out of setting up email for your contact forms and ensures messages get delivered. You get the ability to connect to an existing service such as Microsoft or Google, which bypasses the need of using another 3rd party service.

Don’t lose those potential customers over missed emails.

Free

MonsterInsights

One of the most popular analytics plugins is MonsterInsights. Simply connect it to your Google account and it will pull all your search statistics into your WordPress dashboard. Now if you are looking for custom views or more specific reports, you’ll have to upgrade from the free version.

Free