One of the biggest benefits of using a platform like WordPress for your website over services like Wix, Squarespace, and the GoDaddy site builder, is its ability to be fully customizable. Through custom coding and a near-infinite variety of user-generated plug-ins, WordPress offers users unlimited possibilities when it comes to website functionality.
Below are 5 of best plugins for WordPress to help take your website to the next level:
1. WordPress SEO by Yoast
This plugin is essential for any WordPress site that wants to rank well in search engines. It covers all the bases of SEO, from title tags and meta descriptions to XML sitemaps and social media integration. Additionally, Yoast offers both a free and paid version of its plug-in allowing you to go as deep as you need and providing real-time data to see where your pages need help.
2. Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms is a must-have for any WordPress site that needs to gather data from users. It lets you create custom forms and manage submissions easily. From lead capture to payment collection, If your site relies on customer contact forms this is the plug-in for you.
3. WP Smush
Image files can be quite large, which can slow down your website. WP Smush helps optimize images for faster loading times. With the ability to bulk edit, WP Smush allows you to optimize, resize, and compress website images on the fly. With the rollout of Google’s Core Web Vitals update, Smush will help any website owner create a better and faster user experience while also keeping the site compliant with Google.
4. W3 Total Cache
Speaking of Google Core Web Vitals, W3 Total Cache is another great plugin to help optimize your website. Caching can speed up your website significantly, and W3 Total Cache is a powerful caching plugin that is easy to set up and configure. With its powerful tools, you can instantly minify your CSS, javascript, and HTML code to speed up page load times and reduce server impact. Pairing this with a plugin like WP Smush will give your entire site a major speed boost.
5. Jetpack
Jetpack is a plugin from WordPress.com that gives you tons of features and options for your WordPress site. It includes social media integration, security, backup, and more. With a wide variety of tools, Jetpack allows website owners to quickly create real-time site backups with one-click restore capabilities, malware scanning, and spam protection filters for contact forms and post comments.
These are just a few of the best WordPress plugins that you should have for your website. These essential plugins will help you rank better in search engines, gather data from users, optimize your images, and speed up your website.
If you need help finding the right plugins for your WordPress application, please feel free to contact us anytime.
