The vast array of compatible plugins is one of the most powerful selling points of WordPress. However, an incompatible plugin can cause an endless amount of website errors. Updates can cause plugins to fail and sometimes plugins become obsolete because they cannot accommodate the latest version of WordPress. It is important to pay attention to updates and to know when to search for alternative solutions. Also, figure out which plugins will work well with your theme and with each other.
Here are some WordPress plugins that you may like:
Security
All In One WordPress Security – This plugin will help reduce the vulnerability of your website by wrapping all your security needs into one application. This plugin is free and provides multiple security features to protect your files, database, user accounts and user logins. This plugin has flexible firewall rules and blocks SPAM. This plugin does not make your site impenetrable though. It helps to create secure passwords and change the standard login URL.
WP Security Audit Log – This is a free plugin that logs all backend activity on your website from both users and hackers.
Lockdown WP Admin – To prevent many automated brute force hacker attacks, simply change your login URL, so that it is not www.websitename.com/wp-admin or www.websitename.com/wp-login.php. This plugin helps secure the site.
Backup
WP Clone by WP Academy – Clone your WordPress site and save to another server or to another domain name. Store to and backup from local server hosting and backup sites.
BackupBuddy – Customize backups of your entire website. Restore from and migrate to BackupBuddy with ease. The Stash Live feature creates real-time live backups.
Social Media
Ultimate Social Media by Ultimately Social is easy to set up and free. The icons are customizable to be sticky and float, so they can be easily visible at all times.
SEO
Google Page Speed – Your WordPress site needs to load quickly to retain viewers for more than a few seconds. This tool measures your site speed. Slower websites can also rank lower in search engines.
WP Super Cache – All websites should utilize a caching plugin, which will help improve page load times.
All in one Schema.org Rich Snippets on Github – This plugin gives search engines information to display in search results. It also helps display your information properly in Facebook newsfeeds, including images, ratings and author information. All of this will help your website rank higher in search engines. This plugin supports many types of schemas including review, event, people, product, recipe, software application, video and articles.
Yoast SEO– One of the most downloaded WordPress plugins in existence, Yoast helps you optimize your posts and pages for search engines. It indicates when SEO changes need to be made in your URL, title, meta description and meta keywords.
Analytics
Google XML Sitemaps – This plugin creates an XML sitemap that aids Google (and other search engines) in indexing your blog.
Google Analytics Counter Tracker – Understand your statistics easily as this plugin simply calculates and tracks audience overview and visitors statistics. Group statistics by time periods and get support for many languages.
Communication
Gravity Forms – This is a very powerful application that lets you create responsive web forms. It is built as a WordPress-specific plugin that allows integration that cannot be accomplished with a hosted form service.
MailChimp List Subscribe Form – This plugin allows you to easily add a signup form to join your mailing list. You can customize the form in your MailChimp account and designate different subscription forms for specific entries or groups, such as contests and giveaways.
Shopping and Payment
WooCommerce – This powerful tool is a highly useful eCommerce plugin used to create products, manage sales, generate coupons and print reports. WooCommerce extensions allow for added flexibility. Guests can subscribe, manage accounts and view order history. WooCommerce has over one million active installs and powers many online stores. Payment gateways include PayPal, Authorize.net, Amazon Pay, Strip and many others.
In order to maintain a clean, quick-loading website, do not use too many WordPress plugins. Which plugin should you use for your video gallery, online store or site monitoring? We can help you find the right plugin for your needs. Contact Graphic Palette today for a free consultation