Top 10 WordPress essential plugins

Considering the unimaginable number of plugins currently residing in the WordPress directory (over 50 000!), it can be a difficult task for site owners to choose the best ones which would suite their business needs.

Site speed, security, providing top quality user experience – these are all essential elements when establishing your online presence and growing a successful business.

Today we will talk about the top 10 WordPress plugins which are absolutely essential for your website.

Why are WordPress plugins so important?

Plugins help you create each element of your WordPress website, by adding major functions such as improving your SEO, site speed, building your online store, adding contact forms, offer newsletter options and so much more. All of this is possible thanks to plugins.

There are two options when choosing a plugin. You can go with the free plugins or the premium ones. You need to take into account as well that by choosing to purchase the premium version of a plugin, you can also take advantage of all the bonus features the product offers. This would lead to increasing your traffic and sales, and who doesn’t want that!

WP Rocket

Considered by some as the most powerful caching plugin on the market, WP Rocket is used to improve site speed, conversions and SEO rankings. And all of this without any coding knowledge needed!

The plugin improves the loading time of your WordPress website upon activation, sparing you a lot of time and unnecessary headaches.

It’s also extremely user-friendly, automatically applying the 80% of web performance best practices. It’s easy to set up, while taking all the benefits.

WP Rocket provides excellent customer support, with a team on standby always ready to answer any questions or fix any issues which might come up.

Features:

• Page caching
• GZIP compression
• Cache preloading
• eCommerce optimization
• Browser caching
• Excellent compatibility

UpdraftPlus

Are you on the lookout for a trusted plugin which can backup, restore and clone your WordPress website? Look no further! UpdraftPlus will help you keep your website safe from hacking, dodgy updates, server crashes and even simple user errors.

The plugin provides complete, general-purpose backup, offering users many features and advanced tools. It’s been tested and installed on more servers than any other backup plugin.

UpdraftPlus offers users easy-to-use interface which helps you backup and restore your website with just one single click.

Features:

• Multi-site compatible
• Highest-ranking backup plugin
• Runs everywhere that WordPress runs
• Back up sites of 100 GB
• WP-CLI support
• Incremental backup

MonsterInsights

MonsterInsights is the best Google Analytics plugin you will find, providing powerful features and user-friendly interface to its customers.

You can use the Universal Tracking feature to track your website stats and campaigns on any device, setting it up with a few easy clicks. The plugin also allows you to see your website’s analytics report inside the WordPress dashboard.

Let’s not forget the enhanced e-commerce tracking where with just one click you can monitor your stats for WooCommerce, MembersPress and Easy Digital Downloads.

Features:

• Universal tracking
• eCommerce tracking
• EU compliance
• Outbound link tracking
• Affiliate link tracking
• Enhances link attribution
• File download tracking
• Hash URL tracking
• Media tracking

Elementor

The motto of the creators is “Elementor was built for you”. And they are right. No matter whether you are a developer, designer , entrepreneur or marketer, you can create stunning landing pages, customize your store, and even design a blog!

The plugin is available in over 50 languages, compatible with translation plugins and offering complete RTL support. It also integrates seamlessly with pretty much any WordPress plugin and theme, allowing you to use your favorite tools without any issues.

Take advantage of the dedicated tools and generate more traffic and conversions. There is no need to download multiple plugins anymore, not when you have Elementor.

Features:

• Drag and drop editor
• 300+ designer made templates
• 90+ widgets
• Responsive editing
• Popup builder
• Theme builder
• WooCommerce builder
• No coding
• Global editor
• Finder
• In-line editing

WooCommerce

WooCommerce offers everything you need to start your online business. Just add it to the WordPress site and you have your very own store in a couple of minutes. Secure payments, endless shopping options – all of it for free.

WooCommerce is entirely customizable, allowing you to add features and even extend the functionality of your store by using extensions from the WooCommerce Marketplace.

You also have the flexibility or running your store from anywhere by using the WooCommerce App, where you can create new products, keep track of stats, and process orders.

Features:

• Extensions
• Social media integrations
• Google Analytics integration or other reporting features
• Coupon and promotion options

All in One SEO

One of the best SEO WordPress plugins on the market, All in One SEO’s features make it extremely powerful and user-friendly.

It allows you to manage access of different user roles without losing control of your website, while at the same time providing you with tools you might need to improve local SEO. By using the Rich Snippets Schema, you get more traffic with rich snippets. Let’s not forget that All in One SEO can be integrated with all social media platforms so that you can easily control content.

Features:

• SEO custom user roles
• Google News sitemap
• Local SEO
• Rich snippets scheme
• RSS content
• Social media integration
• TruSEO on-page analysis
• SEO audit checklist

OptionMonster

The most powerful conversion optimization toolkit on the market helps you grow you email list, and boost sales in just 3 simple steps, OptionMonster can generate more leads, sales and subscribers just by using the traffic you already have.

It offers multiple form types, like floating bars, popups, slide-ins, fullscreen overlays, and more. You can personalize your campaigns based on the users’s behavior, which in turn maximazes conversion and sales.

Features:

• Beautiful lead capture forms
• Multiple form types
• A/B testing
• Exit Intent ® Technology
• Page level targeting
• Advanced Traffic Redirection
• Analytics and Insights
• OnSite Retargeting and Personalization

YoastSEO

Considered to be the number 1 SEO plugin, YoastSEO helps you configure keywords, synonyms, keyphrases and related keywords.

With the premium version, you can not only check the keyword and phrase you have entered, but analyze the text in all different variations of the word.

YoastSEO will boost the relevance of your content by optimizing the keywords which visitors are using. Available in multiple languages, the plugin will allow you to manually research, edit and improve your content.

Features for Premium version:

• Access to all YoastSEO courses
• Finding and adding high-performing keywords
• Keyword optimization
• Available in multiple languages
• No outdated content
• Preview of your page
• Readability check

Sucuri

This security plugin helps you to stay on top of any new security threads. Every WordPress website needs to have a security plugin installed and what better one to try than Sucuri. It also offers a premium subscription plan for additional coverage, but a lot of users find all necessary features with the free version.

• Features:
• WordPress hardening
• Email alerts
• Malware scanning
• Core integrity check
• Post-hack
• Sucuri Firewall integration

WPForms

Contact forms make it easy for visitors to contact you, and WPForms is the most user-friendly contact form plugin available. It’s a drag and drop form builder which can be used to create email forms, contact forms, payment forms, online order forms and so much more.

It can be integrated with all major payment and marketing platforms, which allows you to build your form in less than 5 minutes.

Features:

• Form builders
• User tracking journey
• Geolocation tracking
• Form abandonment
• GDPR friendly

Conclusion

It’s impossible for a WordPress website to run without using plugins. Whether you are looking to optimize your content for search engines, engage users, add social sharing buttons, or boost your website speed, your plugin is out there, designed to meet all of your needs.

Plugins significantly improve user experience, which in turn means wider audience and higher engagement.

We hope of top picks will help you get started on your journey to a successful e-commerce business!