Essential Free WordPress Plugins Every Blog Needs
WordPress is a leading factor in the change of how the internet is developed nowadays and is widely referred to as the best and one of the most popular platform for almost all types of websites, with the blogging sector being its major area of influence. The main reason for its popularity is its availability; it is without a doubt a perfect launchpad for people and companies who are entering the online market as it is free of charge and has an interface that is easy to understand and use by anyone. Yet, the real might of WordPress is beyond its simple use.
Arguably the most adjustable WordPress is able to serve users as well as ixermasmen differently. The options the users have are only limited to the extent of how many plugins they choose to install and use on their site. A plugin is only a piece of software that can be installed on a WordPress site to extend its features. For instance, if you want to improve your SEO,Security, or social media feed, there is sure a plugin that can help you accomplish that. What If you want a contact form added on your site; a plugin can do that without a hitch. Or maybe your site is slow and you want to speed it up – then you can find plugins that will help you with caching and image optimization.
There are quite a lot of plugins available in the WordPress plugin repository, each one of them programmed for making your blog better and increasing the ease with which you administer it. By transforming readers into participants through gamified experiences or by simplifying the writing and sharing of articles, plugins have endless options. But, the multitude of plugins that exist is a big problem. How to select the ones that will bring your blog to success is the real question. How can you find your way through this enormous terrain of applications and pick out only the ones that fit perfectly with your objectives and needs? This is an imperative question for every WordPress user.
What are WordPress Plugins?
A WordPress plugin is a piece of software that you add to your WordPress site to improve its functionality. You can do almost anything with a plugin. Plugins screen your comments for spam and increase the security of your website. They redirect your links and speed up your pages. They enable quick cross-posting to social media accounts and give you access to free themes. Pretty much anything you can think of, a plugin for it exists. This makes them very popular among WP users, professionals and amateurs alike.
Why should you use WP plugins for blogs?
WordPress is perfectly functional without plugins. In many cases, you can manually do pretty much everything plugins do. But that takes time and skill. If you’re not sure that you can commit to that much work and you want a website that’s more than just functional, then you need WP plugins. Plugins are all about convenience – they make managing your website and producing quality content easier and faster. Ultimately, this is worth the price you’ll pay for premium plugins.
Essential Free WordPress Plugins Every Blog Needs
While plugins are very helpful, and there are no rules as to the number you should have (this will depend on your website), you can definitely have too many. Too many plugins can slow down your website, decrease its functionality, and cause compatibility problems. So you want to focus on getting the most important ones at first. Here are some must-haves:
1. Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO installation is a necessary move if you are running a blog or any website that depends on search engine optimized (SEO) content to get traffic. The use of this plugin is even recommended by a professional commonly found at WP Full Care. Yoast SEO is an all-in-one SEO toolkit, aimed at improving your site visuality and ranking in organic search.
The plugin is helpful in a number of ways. First of all, it facilitates the optimization of new content. While working on a blog post or a page, the text is being analyzed by Yoast SEO in real-time. The elements which are mostly focused on the title, meta description, and keyword density. The tool then evaluates the content according to the optimization level, pointing out both areas of strength and great need. For example, it lets you know if your target keyword occurs too few or too many times, if your headings follow a logical sequence, and if your meta description is inviting.
Moreover, Yoast SEO gives a lot of help with the readability of the texts besides being an optimization tool. The content structure, the length of the sentences, and the paragraph structure are some of the things that this tool checks in the text and it offers changes to make the writing clearer and more reader-friendly. This helps your visitors stay longer on your site and thus, fewer people will leave the site immediately after visiting it. The process of making material more readable has a direct positive impact on users’ experience and a certain indirect one on search engine ranking as well. The good thing about this plugin is that the essential version which includes all the primary functions is available for free.
This makes it a powerful tool that is open to everybody, whether you are a beginner blogger or an experienced website owner, and you can use it to increase your digital footprint.
2. WP Rocket
Page speed is a major point of user experience and overall website success besides being a technical detail. Users these days are very impatient in the digital world that is moving at a very high speed. They expect websites to be loaded within a few seconds and if your site doesn’t meet this expectation, they will most probably bounce, i.e., leave your site and may be go to a competitor. This results in lost traffic, low engagement, and finally, fewer conversions.
Luckily, there is a solution in WP Rocket and other such tools. This heavy caching plugin is your weapon to drastically increase your WordPress site loading speed. The main techniques used by the plugin are caching, which quickly delivers stored static versions of your pages to visitors, minimizing HTTP requests, and optimizing your website’s code.
As opposed to free plugins such as Yoast SEO, WP Rocket is a premium plugin. A single site license will cost you a minimum of $49 per year. Although it requires an upfront cost, the benefits are usually more than the price. Shorter loading times make the user happier, help ranking in SEO and thus, eventually, website traffic and conversions can be increased, which makes it a good investment for any site owner who is serious about performance.
3. Jetpack
Jetpack is a great tool if you want to simplify your WordPress site and have less plugins. This all-in-one “Swiss Army knife” plugin basically combines the majority of features into one single package. Among the security features that it offers in a strong manner, are the protection against brute force attacks and the downtime monitoring. Besides that, Jetpack also makes the process of backup creation and restoration totally automated, thus, it is your data protector.
Furthermore, it has the SEO tools to increase your website ranking in search engines, as well as it makes the social media integration effortless for you to get the automated posting. There are also the content delivery network (CDN) for faster loading times and site analytics features included. The free version, which is a very good and complete suite of features, is there to give you the essential functionalities. Meanwhile, Jetpack offers different premium plans. These paid levels will give you access to an advanced set of features like priority support, deep security scans, and more sophisticated design customization options.
4. WordFence Security
As WordPress grows in popularity among users, it also becomes more popular as a target for hackers. Even if you think your odds of being targeted are slim, it’s better to be safe than sorry. So you’ll want to increase the security of your WP website. One of the easiest ways to do this is with a security plugin like WordFence Security. With a malware scanner, firewall, two-factor authentication, and more, this is one of the most comprehensive security plugins for WP on the market. The free version provides solid protection, but you’ll need to invest in the premium version to unlock all features.
5. Akismet
Akismet is probably the greatest single WordPress plugin to have ever been made, and for a good reason as well. In a nutshell, it is a module that protects a website and its users from the so-called spam. Without displaying its merits, this very important plugin is always there, checking comments and mailings for bad guys.
Once it is detected, it removes the spam from the zone where it waits to be published before it can be published and thus, avoids it from dirtying your website, or, in the worst case, spreading spam links or content. The basic feature set of Akismet is kept free-of-charge, thus, it is available to all WordPress users. But a premium subscription is offered to those who want additional features at just $5 a month.
This update brings to life some very useful features, such as comprehensive spam statistics, enabling you to keep track of the performance of Akismet and to know which types of spams it is blocking. Moreover, a premium user has the advantage of receiving the support service at the highest priority level, so in case he needs help, he will be assisted quickly. Akismet is the one tool without which the web will become a dirty place for both the operator and the visitors.
6. UpdraftPlus
Does the thought of losing your website’s data haunt you every night? Do you ignore the making of backups and when you think of losing everything you just freak out? In such a case, an ideal solution for you would be UpdraftPlus. This extremely easy-to-use WordPress plugin allows you to have automated website backups, thereby, avoiding the hassle of the manual process and making sure that your valuable content is safe.
UpdraftPlus is doing backups without your involvement at the time intervals that have been set in advance, e.g. daily or weekly, based on the parameters you have set. It makes sure that you always have the latest version of your website at your disposal. Just envision the security you would feel if the rescue of your site took barely any time when you get hacked, your server crashes or you mistakenly delete the essential files.
The free version is pretty powerful and it can work with some of the most popular cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Google Drive. For example, you can set up automatic backups to your own Dropbox account without any difficulty. However, by paying for the premium version, you not only get an extended list of places where you can save your files but also a number of additional features such as Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, and so on. Besides, there are features like incremental backups, which only changes are saved, thus, cutting down on the time and storage space and also database encryption to make sure that no one unauthorized can access your information.
7. Elementor
If you are going to make a website and want a simple design process without the trouble of coding, then Elementor would be a great pick. This user-friendly visual drag-and-drop page builder is a powerful tool for anyone to make attractive web pages, no matter what their level of web design knowledge might be. Essentially, you can reorder parts such as texts, pictures, or buttons in your site just by dragging them and dropping them into the new location.
Elementor presents a very approachable interface for you to be able to shape your website and simultaneously view the results. The core plugin is open to everyone and free of charge, which means that it provides a good starting point for your website. Nevertheless, it is the paid version that opens up the gate to a multitude of new features; this includes access to binding-styles, a great number of widgets, dynamic effects, and advanced customization options. With the help of Elementor, you are able to create a website of a professional standard without the necessity of coding even a single line.
8. WordPress posts bulk edit plugin
The WordPress posts bulk edit plugin is one of the best tools for managing WordPress blogs and editing content efficiently. Performing tasks like changing post dates, titles, short descriptions, categories, tags, and more individually can be time-consuming and error-prone. However, this plugin simplifies these tasks with bulk editing capabilities, ensuring accurate and efficient management of posts. One of its standout features is the ability to easily switch between editing WordPress posts, specific custom post types, or pages directly from within the plugin interface. Another powerful feature is its robust filter form, allowing you to filter posts based on any available field in WordPress before initiating bulk edits.
Inline editing within the table view further enhances usability. The plugin supports exporting any field from custom posts and includes a history feature for easy rollback to previous stages, ensuring peace of mind when making edits. Its highlight is the comprehensive bulk editing capability, enabling adjustments to any field across multiple posts effortlessly. In summary, WordPress posts bulk edit plugin streamlines blog management with powerful bulk editing, seamless post switching, robust filtering, export capabilities, and a reliable history feature, making it indispensable for efficient content management in WordPress blogs.
Key Features of WordPress Posts/Pages Bulk Editor
- Offers a powerful filter form to easily locate posts and pages with advanced filtering options.
- Support any WordPress custom post type.
- Provides a comprehensive bulk editing form for efficiently editing multiple posts or pages at once.
- Allows bulk editing of any custom field in WordPress posts or custom post types.
- Supports inline editing within the table for quick adjustments.
- Enables the deletion of multiple WordPress posts or custom posts simultaneously.
- Facilitates bulk editing of all fields in the posts at one time.
- Features a user-friendly design for a smooth and intuitive experience.
- Helps find and delete duplicate posts easily.
- Fully supports all fields in WordPress posts for comprehensive editing.
Essential Free WordPress Plugins Every Blog Needs
WordPress plugins are in general made with great consideration of ease and convenience of the users, thus they are very user-friendly and simple, and even a person who doesn’t have any prior knowledge of blogging can easily grasp them. The main reason why WordPress is so widely used is largely due to this factor. Nevertheless, if they are not, in fact, 100% intuitive, then you may stumble upon a plugin functioning in a manner that you are unclear about or not knowing which setting is the right one.
One of the most important things to be aware of when having WP plugins is that it is necessary for them to be updated regularly. The updates they bring along should not be regarded as trivial changes since their role is essential in keeping the plugin safe and functioning. Moreover, the transition of time will let a plugin become susceptible to security holes, bugs, and incompatibility issues with the latest versions of WordPress or other plugins.
Hence it is a must-have habit for you to perform the plugin update at every occasion when a new edition is made available. Most of the time, WordPress informs you of such instances right from the dashboard. In this way, you will obtain the newer features, the fixed and well-functioning parts of the code, as well as the security patches all included in the updates, thus making it possible for you to use WordPress plugins at their peak capability and in addition, your blog will stay in good shape – secure and efficient.
