This article on '25 Must Have WordPress Plugins for Your Website', will address all the queries mentioned above and give you a clear idea of the absolute necessary WordPress Plugins for your website.
And as always, for any one-on-one consulting and assistance, you may mail me at tariq@bloggersbloom.com
What is a WordPress Plugin?
WordPress Plugins are bits of software that when uploaded (or rather installed and activated) into your WordPress backend, extend the functionality of your website.
We can compare the WordPress Plugins to the apps you install of your mobile device. When you purchase a new mobile, what are some of the apps you install? An app lock, WhatsApp, battery enhancers, photo editors, etc. These apps enhance or rather adds functionalities to your mobile device. On similar lines, a WordPress Plugin enhances the functionality of your website.
WordPress Plugins are written in the PHP programming language. And don’t worry, you needn’t know anything about programming to install or use a WordPress Plugin. Installing a WordPress Plugin is as easy as 1-2-3. That’s right, 1 – Search, 2 – Install, and 3 – Activate.
Check out the WordPress website and you will notice there are more than 55,000 plugins at this point in time. There is a plugin for just about any functionality you require.
For e.g., if you are looking for a plugin to help you with SEO, you will have options such as Yoast SEO, All-in-one SEO, RankMath, etc. If you are looking for a plugin to help you with your website backup, you have options such as All-in-one WP Migration, UpDraft, etc. And for adding SSL to your website, you could consider Really Simple SSL, etc.
Here are a few more examples,
WordPress Plugins for Caching
WP Super Cache
This plugin generates static html files from your dynamic WordPress blog. After a html file is generated your webserver will serve that file instead of processing the comparatively heavier and more expensive WordPress PHP scripts.
W3 Total Cache
W3 Total Cache (W3TC) improves the SEO and user experience of your site by increasing website performance and reducing load times by leveraging features like content delivery network (CDN) integration and the latest best practices
WordPress Plugins for Online Courses
So, as I said. There is a WordPress Plugin for just about anything and any functionality.
Ok, so which WordPress Plugins can we install? How do we know if a WordPress Plugin is safe to install? How many WordPress Plugins can we install? Will WordPress Plugins slow down your website? Yo! One question at a time! 😉
We will cover all these questions in this article, before finally jumping into the must-have WordPress Plugins for your website.
Next obvious and frequently asked question is,
How to Install a WordPress Plugin?
Before we get into how to install a WordPress Plugin, a quick mention of, how to identify or select a good plugin. There are a number of plugins. To be precise, more than 55,000 plugins. How do we know which is a good plugin?
To begin with, if you are downloading a free WordPress Plugin, download it from the official WordPress website – WordPress.org. If you are buying a WordPress Plugin, ensure it is a trusted source. You wouldn’t want to end up installing a WordPress Plugin which is coded poorly and results in slowing down the performance of your website or even, leaving open ends for hacking.
The next thumb rule to follow while selecting a plugin is to note the number of active installations and the ratings. While this alone cannot be a yardstick for installation, it does help on most occasions.
And the reason I say this is, a plugin may have just been launched and its functionality may be great. But it takes time to reach, let’s say, a million downloads. Hence, the active installations alone cannot be a yardstick for comparison. But, nevertheless, it’s a start and a good rule of thumb.
To install a plugin, simply go into your WordPress dashboard. From the left-hand side menu links, select ‘Add new’ under Plugins.
You type out the name of the plugin or search for the functionality you require. For e.g., I will search for SEO. I then get a list of plugins under SEO. I select a plugin which has
- A higher number of active installations
- A higher rating
- And preferably one which is compatible with my version of WordPress
Once you have identified and decided on a WordPress Plugin, click on the ‘Install Now’ button against the plugin. Once installed, the button changes to ‘Activate’. Go ahead and click on ‘Activate’, and voila, your WordPress Plugin has been installed.
I have included a video on How to install a WordPress Plugin. I have also mentioned in the video, how to deactivate and delete a WordPress Plugin if it is not required.
Are WordPress Plugins Free?
Yes, a majority of the WordPress Plugins are free to use. As shown in the WordPress website, there are more than 55,000 WordPress Plugins. And all these are free. Nevertheless, some of the plugins have a paid version, rather a PRO version.
Should you be buying the PRO version?
It really is a personal choice. Some plugins, e.g., Elementor (which is an awesome page builder) comes free and has some really great features. At the same time, the PRO version has some even better features and is one tool you could consider buying. I personally use Elementor and it is by far the best page builder I have used. And hence, I went ahead and picked up the PRO version.
On similar lines, you may have some plugins that you are using currently and may find the PRO version to add to your existing plugin functionalities. Hence, it would make sense to buy the PRO version.
Having said that, will the free version suffice? Absolutely YES!
In addition to the above, one common and frequently asked question is,
How Many Plugins Can I install on my WordPress Website?
Will installing too many WordPress Plugins affect the website speed, performance, security, etc?
A simple answer is, No! It depends more on the quality of the WordPress Plugins than the quantity.
To explain this, I will have to go a wee bit technical.
Any website has what is called a front-end and a back-end.
The front-end, yes, is what you see on the website. The look and feel, the font, the colors, the contact forms, the image galleries, etc.
The back-end is part of the admin section of the website. The part of the website you do not see. You have in here, the database, the back-ups, integrations, etc.
If there is a plugin installed on your website which sends a lot of backend requests, or rather, sends constant backend requests, this obviously reduces the performance a wee bit.
For instance, an eCommerce website is a classic example. The products displayed on the frontend is as a result of the requests made on the backend database. So, there is a constant ‘https’ request made on the backed. If you have a wrongly coded plugin installed for this server request, chances are that your website will slow down, and in some cases, be brought down.
Another example is your 404 Page not found request. It constantly checks if there is a broken link on your website when a request is made.
Hence, more than worrying about the number of plugins, you must be conscious of the quality of the WordPress Plugins being installed. A basic website could start off with 10 to 20 WordPress Plugins. As you scale up the website or even if you were to build an eCommerce website, you may have more WordPress Plugins, in the order of up to even 30. The emphasis is more on quality than quantity.
25 Must Have WordPress Plugins for Your Website
1. Sucuri Security
The Sucuri Security WordPress plugin is free to all WordPress users. It is a security suite meant to complement your existing security posture. It offers its users a set of security features for their website
2. UpdraftPlus Backup Plugin
UpdraftPlus simplifies backups and restoration. It is the world’s highest ranking and most popular scheduled backup plugin, with over two million currently-active installs. Backup your files and database backups into the cloud and restore with a single click!
3. Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO: The #1 WordPress SEO Plugin
Since 2008 Yoast SEO has helped millions of websites worldwide to rank higher in search engines. This WordPress SEO plugin helps you with your search engine optimization.
4. Rank Math
FREE WordPress plugin for writing SEO-friendly content and ranking higher in search engines
Rank Math SEO plugin helps YOU optimize your content for search engines and outrank your competitors.
5. WP Forms
WPForms allows you to create beautiful contact forms, feedback form, subscription forms, payment forms, and other types of forms for your site in minutes, not hours!
At WPForms, user experience is our #1 priority.
6. Monster Insights
The best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. See how visitors find and use your website, so you can keep them coming back.
Join 2,000,000+ using MonsterInsights to Grow their Business with Confidence!
7. Optin Monster
Convert and Monetize Your Website Traffic
Instantly grow your email list, get more leads and increase sales with the #1 most powerful conversion optimization toolkit in the world.
8. Ninja Forms
The 100% beginner friendly WordPress form builder. Drag & drop form fields to build beautiful, professional contact forms in minutes.
9. Elementor Page Builder
The most advanced frontend drag & drop page builder. Create high-end, pixel perfect websites at record speeds. Any theme, any page, any design.
10. Beaver Builder
The best drag and drop WordPress Page Builder. Easily build beautiful home pages, professional landing pages, and more with Beaver Builder.
11. WP Rocket
WP Rocket is a premium cache plugin for WordPress. WordPress experts recognize it as the most powerful caching tool.
WP Rocket caching ensures websites will load blazing fast, which is essential to improve SEO rankings and increase conversions
12. WP Super Cache
This plugin generates static html files from your dynamic WordPress blog. After a html file is generated your webserver will serve that file instead of processing the comparatively heavier and more expensive WordPress PHP scripts.
13. Pretty Links
The best WordPress link management, branding, tracking & sharing plugin. Link shortener helps you easily make pretty & trackable short links.
14. Google Search Console
Site Kit is a one-stop solution for WordPress users to use everything Google has to offer to make them successful on the web.
15. Smush
Optimize your images turn on lazy load, resize, compress and improve your Google Page Speed with the incredibly powerful and 100% free WordPress image smusher
16. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a flexible, open-source eCommerce solution built on WordPress. Sell anything, anywhere and make your way.
17. LearnDash
The Most Trusted WordPress LMS
The #1 choice of Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide for creating (and selling) their online courses.
18. MemberPress
MemberPress is an easy to use WordPress Membership Plugin. It will help you to instantly start charging your users for access to your content.
19. Lasso
Quickly Create Affiliate Link Displays That Earn More Money
Increase conversions. Find new affiliate link opportunities. Earn more revenue! Less than 5 minutes to set up.
This plugin allows you to add extra scripts to the header and footer of your blog by hooking into wp_head and wp_footer.
21. LiveChat – WP live chat plugin
Use the WordPress Live Chat Plugin by LiveChat to add live chat support to your WordPress website quickly and effortlessly. Provide instant communication with on-site visitors and customers and enable a prompt resolution to their questions or concerns.
Social media plugin which let’s you add share icons for RSS, Email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, ‘Share’ (covering 200+ other social media platforms) and upload custom share icons of your choice.
23. Jetpack
Safer. Faster. More traffic.
Security, performance, and marketing tools made for WordPress sites by the WordPress experts
24. bbPress
Are you looking for a timeless, elegant, and streamlined discussion board? bbPress is easy to integrate, easy to use, and is built to scale with your growing community.
bbPress is intentionally simple yet infinitely powerful forum software, built by contributors to WordPress.
25. All-in-One WP Migration
This plugin exports your WordPress website including the database, media files, plugins and themes with no technical knowledge required.
Upload your site to a different location with a drag and drop in to WordPress.
I hope you found value in this article.
Please do share your views and feedback in the comments section below. It will only help me improve and in turn, help me in bringing out quality content for you.
Thank you!
For any inquiries please email
