The Best WordPress Plugins in 2023
WordPress is the most popular blogging platform in the world, with more than 400 million websites using it to publish their content. This statistic alone can make WordPress seem like an intimidating option for bloggers who are just getting started—especially because there are as many as thousands of free plugins available for use on WordPress sites. But if you know how to find and install the right plugins, WordPress can be an incredibly powerful platform for your blog.
If you’re running a WordPress site, then you know that plugins are essential. They add features and functionality that would otherwise be unavailable. But with so many plugins to choose from, it can be hard to know which ones are worth installing. Here are 10 must-have WordPress plugins that’ll make your life a lot easier.
10 Must-Have WordPress Plugins
WPForms
WPForms is an online form builder for WordPress that lets you create contacts forms, online surveys, donation forms, order forms, and other WordPress forms in minutes without writing code. They integrate with email marketing services and support payment integration to make managing your forms even easier. WPForms is the most popular WordPress form plugin on the web.
It comes with pre-built templates to get started fast. The plugin provides you with over 300+ pre-built form templates to save you time creating forms.
Together with its comprehensive list of features, it makes designing an eye-catching, intuitive web form as easy as pie. It’s easy to use and includes a drag and drop form builder, form templates, responsive design, instant notifications, entry management, payments made easy, marketing & subscriptions integrations, and more!
The SEO Framework
The SEO Framework plugin is exactly what you need. It’s easy to set up and use, and it follows all the white-hat guidelines and rules imposed by WordPress and search engines. Plus, it’s one of the fastest full-featured SEO plugins out there – so you can get started right away!
This plugin is designed to intelligently generate critical SEO meta tags in any language, by reading your WordPress environment. This means that you can save yourself a lot of time and effort that would otherwise be spent on writing more content or focusing on other tasks. SEO Framework also removes the need for advanced SEO knowledge, making it the perfect solution for anyone who wants to boost their website’s visibility and performance.
With its easy-to-use interface, you can optimize your pages without worrying about making critical mistakes. This plugin follows Google’s webmaster guidelines to the letter, so you can be confident that your site will rank high on search engine results pages.
OptinMonster
OptinMonster is the must-have plugin for WordPress websites looking to get more email subscribers and sales. Using their high-converting templates, you can create beautiful popups, slide-ins, announcement bars, and more that capture user attention and help convert them into paying customers.
Its beautiful lead capture forms are proven to convert, and you can choose from 97+ pre-made templates to get started. Plus, with powerful A/B testing tools, you can easily test different headlines, content, and layouts to see what works best.
And thanks to the Exit Intent® Technology, you can personalize your campaigns based on your visitor’s behavior in order to maximize conversions and sales.
Their powerful display targeting features allow you to personalize campaigns for each user, so you can show the right message at the right time. If you’re looking for a powerful WordPress plugin to help increase your email subscribers and sales, then look no further than OptinMonster.
WP Rocket
WP Rocket is the one plugin you need to make your website blazing fast.
This powerful caching plugin automatically turns on recommended WordPress caching settings like gzip compression, page cache, and cache pre-loading. You can also turn on optional features like lazy loading images, CDN support, DNS pre-fetching, minification, and more to further improve page load times.
It includes all of the best optimization options, such as page caching, browser caching, and GZIP compression. It also offers advanced options like delayed JavaScript execution and removal of unused CSS. With WP Rocket, you’ll get all of the performance benefits of 3-5 plugins in one easy-to-use plugin.
Sucuri
The Sucuri Security WordPress plugin is a comprehensive security suite that helps you secure your website. It offers a range of features, each designed to improve your security posture and keep your site safe from malware, hacks, and other threats. The plugin is free to use for all WordPress users and is easy to install. It can be configured to meet the specific needs of your website.
Some of the key features of the Sucuri Security WordPress plugin include:
- Security Activity Auditing: It monitors all activity on your website and records any security-related events. It helps you quickly identify and resolve any issues before they become a problem.
- File Integrity Monitoring: This feature monitors all the files on your website for changes. If any changes are detected, you will be notified so you can take action. This helps you detect and prevent malware and other threats from infecting your website.
- Remote Malware Scanning: The plugin scans your website for malware and other threats using the Sucuri Malware Labs. It helps you find and remove any infections before they can cause damage.
- Blocklist Monitoring: It can monitor several blocklists for any malicious activity. If any threats are detected, you will be notified so you can take action.
- Effective Security Hardening: This feature helps secure your website by tightening the security settings and closing any loopholes that hackers could exploit.
- Post-Hack Security Actions: These help you clean up after a hack or malware infection. They help you restore your website to its previous state and prevent future attacks.
- Security Notifications: This feature provides real-time email notifications whenever any security event occurs on your website. It helps you stay informed of all the latest threats and take action quickly.
Uncanny Automator
If you’re like most WordPress site owners, you have a ton of plugins and apps that can’t seem to communicate with each other. This can lead to a lot of wasted time and energy trying to manage all the little tasks that pile up. With Uncanny Automator, you can connect your existing plugins to work together automatically. This powerful plugin allows you to automate routine tasks like form submissions, user registrations, and product purchases with ease.
With its powerful automation recipes, you can easily connect your WordPress site with over three thousand external services using a single Zapier integration. Whether you want to sell products on one site while creating users and setting up access on another or add custom user attributes to profiles based on user actions, the Uncanny Automator makes it easy!
WP Mail SMTP
If you’re having problems with your WordPress site not being able to send emails, WP Mail SMTP is the plugin for you. It fixes your email deliverability by reconfiguring WordPress to use a proper SMTP provider when sending emails. Plus, our easy-to-use Setup Wizard and detailed documentation guide you through the process. With WP Mail SMTP, your emails will reach the inbox every time.
The plugin supports different SMTP options:
- SMTP.com
- Sendinblue SMTP
- Mailgun SMTP
- SendGrid SMTP
- Postmark SMTP
- SparkPost SMTP
- Gmail SMTP (Gmail, Google Workspace, G Suite)
- Microsoft SMTP (Outlook.com and Office 365)
- Amazon SES SMTP
- Zoho Mail SMTP
- All Other SMTP
Some of the options above are only limited to PRO version.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the world’s most popular open-source eCommerce solution. It is free to download and use, and there are many themes and extensions available to make it customizable for your business. WooCommerce also has built-in SEO features that will help your store rank higher in search results.
You can use WooCommerce to sell anything, from physical products to services to digital downloads. You can also use WooCommerce to power bookings, memberships, subscriptions, and dynamic pricing. With WooCommerce, you have everything you need to start and grow your online business.
Elementor
Elementor helps people quickly hop into the world of web design with a huge menu of templates and widgets, including many built-in features. Elementor is the perfect choice for getting started building your website without any programming required. Designers who are new to WordPress can use our Drag & Drop Editor, which allows you to build sites without writing code at all.
With its robust design features, you can easily customize every element on your site exactly to your liking. From spacing and positioning to padding and margins, you have complete control over how your site looks. Plus, with over 40 amazing widgets and features, you can really make your site stand out from the rest.
YOu can add cool box shadows, background overlays, hover effects, headline effects, animations, gradient backgrounds, CSS transforms, mask options, shape dividers, coming soon mode, and so much more. With Elementor, the sky’s the limit!
Akismet Anti-Spam
The Akismet plugin screens your comments before they are published to avoid malicious content on your site. This plugin automatically checks all comments and filters out the ones that look like spam, leaving you with a more streamlined website experience.
It also has features such as URLs in the comment body, making it easy for users to tell if there are any hidden or misleading links in the comment. Moderators can also see how many approved comments a user has. Lastly, the discard feature blocks the worst spam while saving you disk space and speeding up your site.
Best WordPress Plugins by Topic
