About This List
In a previous post, I discussed how to evaluate WordPress plugins and mentioned I would post a list of my favorite plugins. Here it is. This list changes as I find new/better/different plugins, so this is current as of February 2017.
Do you have a favorite WordPress plugin not on my list? Send me a tweet or email!
Disclaimer: I am unable to make guarantees about plugins on this list because I am not the plugin author. Always back up your website before making changes (you should be doing that anyway!).
Some plugins don’t play well with other plugins, so if you install one of these and your site goes wonky, uninstall it and look for a different plugin. When I compiled this, I included only plugins I have personally used, that I’ve had little to no trouble implementing and that are being updated regularly by the plugin authors.
Essentials Plugins (ones I use on nearly every website I build)
- Akismet
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: Akismet checks your comments and contact form submissions against our global database of spam to protect you and your site from malicious content.
- All in One SEO Pack
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: All in One SEO Pack Optimizes your WordPress blog for SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
- Gravity forms
- Cost: $39/year/site, also has developer license available
- Author’s description: Gravity Forms is the easiest tool to create advanced forms for your WordPress powered website.
- Google XML Sitemaps
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: This plugin will generate a special XML sitemap which will help search engines to better index your blog.
- Wordfence Security
- Cost: Free with premium option at $8.25/mo.
- Author’s description: Secure your website with the most comprehensive WordPress security plugin. Firewall, malware scan, blocking, live traffic, login security & more.
- Backup Buddy
- Cost: $80/year/site, also has developer and lifetime licenses available
- Author’s description: While other WordPress backup plugins only backup the WordPress database, BackupBuddy backs up your entire WordPress installation, making sure you have a copy of all your WordPress website files.
- Easy Updates Manager
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: Manage all your WordPress updates, including individual updates, automatic updates, logs, and loads more. Also works with WordPress Multisite.
- Broken Link Checker
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: This plugin will check your posts, comments and other content for broken links and missing images, and notify you if any are found.
Optional Plugins (ones I use as the need arises)
- Groups
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: Groups is an efficient and powerful solution, providing group-based user membership management, group-based capabilities and content access control.
- Members
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: The most powerful user, role, and capability management plugin for WordPress.
- Jetpack by WordPress.com
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: The one plugin you need for stats, related posts, search engine optimization, social sharing, protection, backups, speed, and email list management.
- Slider Revolution
- Cost: $25 for regular license with extended license (for developers) available
- Author’s description: Slider Revolution is an innovative, responsive WordPress Slider Plugin that displays your content the beautiful way. Whether it’s a Slider, Carousel, Hero Scene or even a whole Front Page, the visual, drag & drop editor will let you tell your own stories in no time!
- Huge IT Slider
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: Slider Huge-IT is an awesome WordPress Slider Plugin with many nice features. Just need to install and build slider in a few minutes.
- Squelch Tabs & Accordians Shortcodes
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: Shortcodes for creating accordions, horizontal accordions and tabs.
- Enhanced Media Library
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: A better management for WordPress Media Library. The plugin will be handy for those who need to manage a lot of media files.
- Polldaddy Polls & Ratings
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: Create and manage Polldaddy polls and ratings from within WordPress.
- SumoMe
- Cost: Free for basic plan, additional features available in several tiers, starting at $29/month
- Author’s description: We’re tired of tools. You probably are, too. You don’t need another tool. You need solutions. That’s why we arm you with a suite of proven site-growing solutions to help you get more traffic, build a following and track your success every step of the way.
- Custom Post Type UI
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: Admin UI for creating custom post types and custom taxonomies for WordPress
- WP Super Cache
- Cost: Free
- Author’s description: A very fast caching engine for WordPress that produces static html files.
