The Divi Page Builder & Theme
WHAT IS A WORDPRESS PLUGIN?
A plugin is a piece of software that adds functionality to your WordPress website. There’s a plugin for almost everything you can think of in word press but not all of them are great. These are the plugins that I have found to be the most useful.
DON'T INSTALL TOO MANY PLUGINS
Make sure to not install too many plugins otherwise it will slow down your website. Some of them do similar things so you only need one of them. Make sure to only use what is needed.
CAN'T FIND A PLUGIN THAT FITS YOUR EXACT NEEDS?
Consider hiring us to develop a custom plugin tailored specifically for you. With our expertise in WordPress development, we can create a solution that aligns perfectly with your requirements, ensuring seamless integration and functionality. Whether it's adding unique features or enhancing your site's performance, our team is ready to bring your vision to life. Don't settle for a one-size-fits-all plugin; let us build the perfect tool for your business.
Adds Basic Functionality
I add these plugins to every wordpress website to improve the functionaly.
Child Theme Configurator
Makes it really easy to create a child theme. Creating a child theme is a WordPress best practice If you want to edit the code of your website template. This is important because it allows you to make modifications with out worrying about breaking the original theme. It also protects your work from being overwritten when you update the theme.
Duplicate Post
Makes it really easy to duplicate a page or blog post in WordPress.
Disable Admin Notices Individually
WordPress comes with a lot of really annoying notices that clutter your work space. I use this plugin to remove them all for good.
Classic Editor
Removes the new Gutenberg Editor. I prefer to use the Divi page builder anyway so it is not needed.
WP Add Custom CSS
Provides a place to test out CSS codes before I move them to child theme styles. You don't need to update the version number each and its faster to get to in the side bar. I find it's faster when building out the website. It also has a version with color coding just like a real code editor.
Increase Max Upload Size
The easiest way to increase wordpress's maximum upload size with out having to edit code files.
Creating Forms To Capture Leads
Contact Form 7
Makes it easy to create contact forms in WordPress. Don't need to understand complicated PHP code. Lots of plugins that add functionality to this plugin.
Contact Form 7 Redirection
Allows you to redirect the user to a new page after the form is complete. Works great for a thank you page or multi step funnels.
Contact Form 7 MailChimp Extension
Allows the form to send customer data over to MailChimp so you can stay in touch with your customers over time. MailChimp is great because its free up to 2000 subscribers.
Contact Form 7 Datepicker
Makes it easy to create contact forms in WordPress. Don't need to understand complicated PHP code. Lots of plugins that add functionality to this plugin.
Tidio Live Chat
The BEST FREE chat plugin for WordPress. There's an app so you can reply to messages right on your phone. It's easy to setup and you can upgrade to the pro version which allows you to use chat bots and auto messaging features.
Hello Bar
Freemium exit popup plugin to convert visitors into customers. Free version allows up to 10 different popups and 5,000 unique visitors per month. For more details on pricing click here.
SEO Plugins To Help You Rank In Search Engines
Google Analytics For WordPress By Monster Insights
Makes it really easy to add google analytics to your website. All you have to do is login and select the right website.
Yoast SEO
Helps you optimize you content for SEO. Google always changes the rules so its easier to say up to date with this plugin.
Redirection
Change the URL of a page without killing the SEO by creating a redirect to the new location. Don't loose all your hard work. Also important when redesigning a website from scratch so you don't loose your rankings.
Plugins To Improve The Speed Of Your WordPress Site.
Wp Super Cache - Faster Website
Creates a static version of your website so it loads super faster.
WP Super Minify
A very light weight plugin that combines, minifies and caches JavaScript and CSS files. This improve speed & page loading time.
Wp Optimize
Easy Junk Removal. Removes all the unwanted spam like comments from your WordPress website.
Smush Image Compression - Site Speed
Compresses and optimizes your image files on upload so they load faster when you use them inside your website. This can be especially important when the client is updating the website themselves and might not know how to optimize images with photo shop.
Wp Config File Editor
Makes it much easier to edit the Wp Config file if your not a technical person. You can increase the PHP memory limit so that wordpress preforms better. I find the default is too low.
Hummingbird – Speed Up WordPress
Hummingbird zips through your site and makes it faster – much faster. Get new ways to boost page speed with fine-tuned controls over file compression, minification and world-class caching.
Scan your site, use one-click fixes, and speed up WordPress in a flash.
You’ll get faster loading pages, higher search rankings and PageSpeed scores, and happier visitors with Hummingbird’s WordPress speed optimization.
Lazy Load by WP Rocket
Lazy Load your images to improve speed. Only loads after the user scrolls to the image.
AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages
Make sure your website loads fast on mobile by leveraging this plugin. AMP for WP automatically adds Accelerated Mobile Pages (Google AMP Project) functionality to your WordPress site.
WORDPRESS PLUGINS TO IMPROVE SECURITY
If your website gets hacked your rankings and traffic will tank. When it tanks and you fix it, it can be hard to recover. Make sure to take proper persuasions to protect your word press website.
UpdraftPlus - Automatic Backups
Backup and restoration made easy. Complete backups; manual or scheduled (backup to Dropbox, Google Drive, FTP, email + others).
Wordfence Security - Best security plugin
Helps you optimize you content for SEO. Google always changes the rules so its easier to say up to date with this plugin.
Loginizer
Loginizer helps you fight against bruteforce attacks by blocking login for the IP after it reaches maximum retries allowed. You can blacklist or whitelist IPs for login using Loginizer.
Really Simple SSL
90% of websites that rank at the top have SSL installed. It has become an important factor if you want to rank well. This plugin redirects your HTTP pages to the more secure HTTPS (SSL secure) version. With really simple SSL there is no setup required! All you need is an SSL certificate. Install and activate this plugin and it will do the rest.
.
Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening
The Sucuri WordPress Security plugin is a security toolset for security integrity monitoring, malware detection and security hardening.
Move A WordPress Site
All-in-One WP Migration
Move, transfer, copy, migrate, and backup a site with just 1-click. It's by far the quickest & easiest option to move a word press website. I always try this one first but the free version has a size limit and sometimes it fails.
Duplicator
A little more complicated but If All In One Wp Migration is not working or the site is too big I will use this plugin. Here's the instructions on how to use it step by step.
Velvet Blues Update URLs
Updates all urls and content links in your website. Sometimes the links will get broken. Instead of updating every url by hand, which can take hours on a large site, try a search and replace plugin first.
E Commerce & Membership Portals
Member Press $298/yr
The Most Powerful WordPress Membership Plugin. No hidden costs later on. Restrict access to pages & posts with powerful access rules. Create many different types of memberships each with different access. You can even drip content which means releasing it over time to your customers. Learn more about it here.
Ultimate Member
Freemium but paid extensions could cost you as much as $250/year for the bundle package. I find it kinda patchy because there's so many add-ons you have to install to get all the features you might want. The plus side is you can use it on as many websites as you want.
Easy Digital Downloads
WooCommerce
Event Tickets
Regenerate Thumbnails
