The WordPress plugin directory has over 58,000 versatile plugins that can transform a simple website into an absolute pro. Plugins are like fixins to your meals, you can never have too much, and you always enjoy the variety.
But why do you need plugins?
The reason is simple – when you create your WordPress website, you basically have the same version as everyone else. You wield power to change the face and functionality of your WordPress website with these plugins. So, in simple terms, you can buff out a unique website with great creativity from a generic website with the help of plugins.
But, out of the 58,000+ plugins, which ones are the best for your website? Which plugins are must-haves? Which should you choose only under given circumstances? Should you choose custom WordPress plugin development?
Through this blog, we’ll attempt to answer such questions!
Once your website is live and ready to be crawled, your first step is to add a contact form where your potential customers can inquire about your products or services.
For this purpose, Contact Form 7 is your perfect partner. Of course, there are multiple alternatives, but Contact Form 7 has many variations that you can integrate into your website.
Contact Form 7 variations can include User Registration, Tracking GeoLocation, Generating PDF, Accepting Stripe Payments, Accepting QPay payments, or Accepting PayPal payments, identifying Abandoned Contact Form 7, and many others.
Content Form 7 supports extensive customization with a simple markup and supports AJAX-powered submission, CAPTCHA, and more features. In addition, if you’re looking for a customized Contact Form 7, you can consider WordPress Plugin Development.
2) Yoast SEO
Without Yoast SEO, your website may not find its position on the SERPs. Its vivid features such as automated Canonical Tags, Meta tags, advanced XML sitemaps, full control over site breadcrumbs, faster loading times, and more can boost your website’s position on the SERPs with the right approach and effort.
Needless to say, your website is empty without a wholesome SEO strategy. And to create a killer strategy, you first need to download the Yoast SEO plugin. The fact that it is crawler-friendly is assuring that your website is aligned with a useful plugin.
For people waiting for the “icing on the cake” moment, Yoast SEO is multilingual, shows a google preview, creates an innovative schema block, and conducts a thorough SEO analysis. Now, all of this comes to your free of cost, but you can always buy the premium version if you want additional features.
3) Akismet
Think of this as your guardian angel warding off evil from your website. Akismet checks each comment and contact form submission on your website against its global spam database. Such a constant check allows you to rest assured that your website is safeguarded against any spam.
Another great thing about this plugin is that it analyzes every comment to remove spam comments and even spam URLs. Also, you get a list of all the comments that have been removed, and you can block a user permanently based on their history.
Akismet is free for personal blogs, all you’ve got to do is request an API key to use it. For a commercial and business website, it comes at a price.
4) WooCommerce
eCommerce is the future of retail sales, and given the pandemic situation, it is also essential that businesses pay attention to their eStores.
WooCommerce is a great WordPress plugin that converts your website to an eStore with exceptional features. Its Setup wizard helps you set up your store from themes to creating products and getting the website live.
With a variety of payment gateways to choose from, WooCommerce ensures safety and security. In fact, you can integrate Contact Form 7 with PayPal, SagePay, QPay, Stripe, or any other gateway effortlessly.
WooCommerce offers diverse shipping configuration options to its merchants enabling customization and personalization.
5) LearnDash
Given that the education system has gone digital, catering to sustainable use of stationary and leveraging the digital arena, Learning Management Systems are a great addition.
LearnDash is a plugin for your website that can transform your WordPress website to an LMS and get your online classes going.
Its robust features are user rewards upon completing a course, timers to keep tests time-bound, monetization options for memberships, and payment supports.
Once you’ve integrated Yoast SEO, you must integrate this plugin to keep track of your Google analytics. This plugin has over 2 million active installs when it comes to analyzing Google analytics reports.
MosterInsights allows you to make data-driven decisions about your website and never miss out on any popular trends.
What’s great about this plugin is that you can integrate it in no time, even without having to hire a WordPress plugin developer.
Wrapping Up
2021 is the year of trying new and coming things. Through this blog, we have tried to list essential plugins for the year that serve various purposes. While there are a plethora more, these are my favorite when it comes to setting up a website.
In case you’re still confused about these plugins, you can always hire a developer for customized WordPress plugin development just for you.
For any further queries, feel free to get in touch with our consultants to find out more about these plugins and how they can grow your business by giving you an advanced website.