There are thousands of free and premium versions of plugins in WordPress. The plugins help to extend the features and functionalities. There are various kinds of plugins and based on the requirement of the site, you can get the ones accordingly. 

Therefore, since there is an abundance of plugins, it is easy to get lost. Every year numerous plugins are released with new features. But there are a few must-have plugins that are best for almost every kind of website. In this article, we are discussing these 10 must-have WordPress plugins. 

10. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a great e-commerce plugin with a wide range of customization features and extensions. The best thing about this plugin is that it is open-source and free. The developers behind the plugin are the same developers behind WordPress.com and Automattic. Therefore, be assured that the plugin is made to be compatible with the platform. 

With the help of WooCommerce, WordPress sites can be turned into full e-commerce stores. You can easily manage products as well as sell them. It does not matter if your product is physical, digital, or downloadable. Similarly, you can easily take and track orders, provide multiple safe payment getaways, flexible shipping orders, etc. 

In addition to the e-commerce features, there are different extension features provided by WooCommerce. These add-ons include enhanced functions, management, booking systems, security, and so on. It also provides detailed reports and analytics to help you track your inventory, sales, and even customer behavior.

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9. MonsterInsights

Our next pick for the 10 must-have WordPress plugins is the MonsterInsights. It is one of the popular plugins that are used by bloggers, businesses, as well as professionals. The reason for its popularity is that it provides access to advanced Google Analytics to WordPress sites. 

With just a few clicks you can connect your site with Google Analytics, tracking the website traffic, consumer behavior, and many more. The statistics are all real-time and can be viewed directly from the WordPress dashboard. It is compatible with popular form plugins available on WordPress. 

MonsterInsights provides its users with enhanced e-commerce tracking. Likewise, there is a universal tracking that allows you to track the stats from different devices and platforms. The plugin provides customizable reports to its users and GDPR compliance. 

8. WP Rocket

WP Rocket is one of the most popular and powerful, premium cache plugins. It helps to improve the website’s performance, loading speed, and SEO ranking. Similarly, it has a user-friendly interface and also enables browser caching features.

The fast and seamless loading speed of the site helps to enhance the user experience and attract potential customers. Other notable features of the plugin include GZIP compression, lazy loading, database optimization, image optimization, and more. It also helps with the minification and concatenation of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. 

Likewise, WP Rocket integrates with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) that helps to optimize the loading speeds of website across the globe. It seamlessly supports and integrates with other third-party plugins and themes. For bloggers, businesses to agencies, WP Rocket is one of the must-have WordPress plugins. 

7. Elementor

Whether you are a beginner or an expert, Elementor is one of the must-have WordPress plugins. It is flexible and at the same time a powerful plugin for building and customizing a website. It has an intuitive, easy-to-use, and drag-and-drop interface that anyone can use.

Elementor allows its users to access their template library and theme builder feature. It provides customization options along with control over designs and layout. Similarly, there is a wide range of widgets and elements offered by the plugin which are all customizable. 

Another unique feature of the plugin is it allows edit and preview of your website in real-time. If you want to further extend the features of the plugin, you can get the premium version, Elementor Pro. You can easily integrate with third-party tools and services. Likewise, it is compatible with most of the popular themes and plugins of  WordPress. 

6. UpdraftPlus

The most popular and trusted backup WordPress plugin is the UpdraftPlus. Not to mention, it is the world’s leading WordPress backup plugin. It is simple to install and configure the plugin. You can back up and restore your website with just a click with the help of UpdraftPlus. 

Aside from backup and restoration, the plugin also provides other features such as security, data encryption, cloning, and migration of the sites. You can also back up non-WordPress files and databases. Similarly, you can schedule automatic backups or choose to do it manually. 

UpdraftPlus provides detailed reports of the backup activities so that users can easily monitor the status. For further additional features, you can opt for the premium add-ons. These add-ons include features such as incremental backups, multiple storage destinations, migrating backups to different cloud storage providers, etc.  

5. OptinMonster

OptinMonster is WordPress’s most popular and powerful lead generation conversion optimization plugin. It helps to generate subscribers, leads, and sales from the traffic of your website. It has an intuitive, drag-and-drop builder which you can use to create customized opt-in forms. 

Similarly, you can create visually appealing forms, floating bars, pop-ups, etc, to capture your site visitor’s attention. You can customize any of these elements to tailor to your needs. It has notable features such as A/B testing, exit intent technology, page-level targeting, advanced traffic redirection, onsite retargeting, and personalization.

OptinMonster is compatible and integrates with email marketing services, and platforms like Shopify, Magento, Zapier, etc. The plugin is compliant with GDPR. For anyone looking to boost customer engagement and boost their sales, this plugin is undoubtedly a must-have. 

4. Akismet 

The next must-have WordPress plugin is an anti-spam protection plugin, Akismet. Also developed by Automattic, it is one of the most widely used and trusted anti-spam plugins in WordPress. 

The plugin can be easily activated and configured from the WordPress dashboard. It uses advanced algorithms and machine learning to detect spam on your website. It automatically checks and flags potential spam in the comments after its installation. Missed or false spam can be marked by the users which contributes to improving the plugin. 

The plugin is a freemium model that comes with multilingual support. It is free for personal blogs and websites. However, for business and commercial sites, you will need to pay the subscription fees. To make it worth the money you pay, the premium version comes with advanced features and support. 

3. Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is WordPress’s most widely used SEO plugin that aids in optimizing websites. Every website needs to build SEO-friendly content that can help generate organic traffic and boost its ranking in search engines.

The plugin provides insights related to keywords and even suggestions to improve them. Likewise, you can edit the titles and meta descriptions for your posts and pages. You can preview how they appear in the search engine results and optimize them with the help of Yoast SEO. 

It not only helps to boost the visibility and readability but the overall SEO performance of the website. Yoast SEO allows for integration with social media. It also provides internal linking suggestions and regular updates to keep up with the evolving algorithms of search engines. 

2. WPForms

WPForms is an easy drag-and-drop WordPress form builder. Any kind of form such as contact forms, feedback forms, survey forms, etc can be built with the help of this plugin. The plugin comes with pre-built templates that you can customize to tailor your needs. 

Likewise, it has smart conditional logic, instant notifications, and easy to embed features. It has an intuitive interface and you can create forms easily by adding and arranging fields. There is also a wide range of selections of form fields and other elements. 

WPForms has in-built spam protection features such as smart CAPTCHA and honeypot. It allows for integration with third-party services and add-ons for extended functionality. This plugin helps you to create any kind of professional-looking forms for the WordPress site. 

1. Jetpack

And the must-have WordPress plugin is the Jetpack. Also developed by Automattic, it helps to enhance the site’s security as well as performance. Similarly, it also offers automatic backups and allows users to restore their websites easily.

Jetpack plugin has a diverse range of features that make it the must-have and most popular plugin in WordPress. It secures your site from malware, brute force attacks, unauthorized access, and other threats. Likewise, it includes performance optimization tools and a spam filtering system. 

The plugin offers tools for unlimited customization options, traffic, and SEO. Jetpack allows social media integration, thus, you can share your site’s content on social media. Likewise, the plugin comes with a variety of content-creation tools. For additional security and features, you can get the premium version, Jetpack Scan. 

Conclusion

So these were the 10 must-have WordPress plugins. The digital landscape is always changing as technology and trends keep changing. Whatever kind of website you are running, these must-have plugins are worth installing. Likewise, these plugins are also great help for those looking to build websites.