If you’ve just created your first WordPress site, you have to add plugins to extend and add more functions to your website. But, the challenge is to select trusted and verified plugins that can add value to your business.
That can be done when you spend the time searching on WordPress, for example, but, I will save you the time with a list of must-have WordPress plugins, that every blogger needs to install.
1. Wordfence Security
This is the first and most important WordPress plugin to protect your blog, and stay safe from hackers. It scans your files and database, searching for malware and viruses. Best of all, it’s free but with powerful functions. If you really want to protect your blog, you should install Wordfence Security.
2. Akismet Anti Spam
Most WordPress auto-installer software comes with this plugin, but if you deleted it by mistake, or simply don’t have it installed, you should do it. Akismet is a free plugin from WordPress, it protects your blog from spammers who post links, and even submit hundreds of comments at once.
You need to think about this, especially, when comments files slow down your blog, so install it and kill spam. Now, it’s included in the above plugin.
3. CAPTCHA
Akismet can’t protect 100% of your blog from spammers. What you need here is to install CAPTCHA, which will add a verification box to comments and even your WordPress login. Thus, 99% of spam comments will be detected automatically and without problems.
4. Limit Login Attempts
This is a powerful plugin to block hackers who try to log in more than “x” times to your WordPress dashboard. You can set the number of allowed attempts to log in. Thus, people, who try hundreds of auto-login codes, will be blocked. And, you receive notifications, to change your password for better security. You don’t have to pay to get this plugin, you can use it for free.
5. TinyMCE Advanced
When you install WordPress and start your first post, you can’t edit and modify the font and use bold, or headlines, you will need to learn the WordPress Codex. Luckily, TinyMCE Advanced will create additional options and tools for your WordPress post dashboard. You just need to install, and activate this plugin, then select what options you need to add.
6. W3 Total Cache
This is the most popular plugin to speed up your blog and help for better ranking, nobody will wait for a blog that loads in 30 seconds. This plugin will create a cache for your posts, so browsers can save that cache and minimize loading time.
Also, this WordPress plugin will optimize all your HTML, JavaScript, and CSS files. Thus, you get the maximum performance to speed up your blog with just an installation and some basic settings.
7. WP-Optimize
As its name suggests, this plugin optimizes your database and helps you delete junk files like spam comments, saved drafts, and other unnecessary folders that you don’t need. All you have to do is to check those files and click ”optimize”, you can also use the auto-optimize option.
8. WP Smush
This is the only trusted plugin that compresses all your images and optimizes them for a faster loading time. It turns a photo of 100 KB space into the same quality image, but, with 20 KB (example). So, this plugin will help your blog to be loaded faster than before. Best of all, WP Smush.it is a free plugin.
9. WordPress SEO
This is the most used plugin for search engine optimization. It helps you to create the snippet for your posts, and use your personal description for the Google search page. You also have some other tips to optimize your articles. It helps to create content that ranks for search engines.
10. Flare
You need to create good content that people want to share easily, this is what Flare does. You get a beautiful sharing bar and also, a follow widget icon to let people share your content with a click of a button. This plugin works great in general, but it has some issues with slow web hosting and free web hosting in general. It needs some resources to work 100%.
11. Ninja Popups
This is a powerful and amazing popup plugin to build email lists and promote Facebook, Twitter, and other social network profiles. You can select from many pre-made themes. It comes with all the power of pop-up plugins. But really, it’s much better. This plugin costs $18 one time and works well with both, desktop, and mobile devices, it’s responsive and better than other plugins that look less professional.
