Our 10 Favorite WordPress Plugins

What's a Plugin?

WordPress is one of our favorite website publishing platforms. A lot of people still think of it as a blogging tool, but it’s really more of a content management system, or CMS, for your website. WordPress is intuitive, easy to use, and open source – which means that anyone can build a Plugin or widget to work with it.

There are currently more than 48,000 WordPress plugins from which to choose. Technically-speaking, a plugin is a piece of software that allows you to add some sort of functionality to your website. A plugin could enable you to do anything from format a table to delete comments that are spam. What’s best about plugins is that you can add features to your site without having to complete a tutorial in programming. And, it’s important to note that most of them are available – at least in a basic version - to download free of charge.

Our Top 10 Favorite WordPress Plugins

1. Wordfence Security – If your website is unsecured, then why even bother working on it? Wordfence Security gives you firewall protection against hackers and even shows you real-time traffic to your site. It also helps to block robots and threats like crawlers and site scrapers.
2. BackupBuddy – Backing up your WordPress site is essential. BackupBuddy not only backs up your plugins, but it also stores things like your themes, content, and media library so that you can fully restore your site if the unthinkable happens.
3. Yoast – The world would be a dark and lonely place without Yoast. Yoast goes above and beyond to help you optimize your website for search engines. It does everything from helping you choose keywords to checking your images for alt tags.
4. SumoMe – It’s always a good idea to build up a loyal website following. SumoMe lets you invite readers to follow your site and supports the integration of contact information with services like Constant Contact or MailChimp – enabling you to make the most out of your connections.
5. WP-CRM – If you want users to sign up or contact your site, then you’ll want this plugin. WP-CRM is a Customer Relations Management tool for WordPress. It allows you to organize users, manage notifications, and track user activity well beyond the basic functions WordPress already provides.
6. WooCommerce – People like to buy online. WooCommerce allows you to sell online regardless of whether you’re offering digital content or physical goods. It has payment options and shipping calculators to provide a comprehensive e-commerce experience for your customers.
7. Really Simple CAPTCHA – When you want to make sure machines aren't spamming your site, you may want to incorporate some type of captcha into it. Really Simple CAPTCHA works in conjunction with other plugins, like Contact Form 7, to embed a captcha element that is stored as temporary files. While it's not the most secure option, it never conflicts with other elements on your site.
8. Slider Revolution – Graphics can immediately pull users into your website. Slider Revolution gives you an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor for setting up an image slider, carousel, or hero scene on your site. It's a simple yet effective way to make your site more engaging and modern.
9. Akismet – There’s nothing worse than posting a carefully-crafted blog and then seeing your comments fill up with obnoxious spam. Akismet protects your site from spam so that you can spend your time doing more productive things – like writing quality content.
10. Easy Table – Sometimes you just need a table to illustrate your point. Easy Table turns data that you type directly into your post into a professional-looking table. It requires no coding, making it easy and frustration-free.

If you haven’t found the right plugin, don’t worry. There’s about 48,588 more to try out if you have the time. If you don’t, then maybe it’s time to give Conveyance a call. We have a highly-skilled team of experts who can help you build a beautiful and functional website for your business. Your perfect site may be just one plugin away from reality.