WordPress is one of the most popular website development platforms around. Professionals and beginners love the easy-to-use interface and extensibility.
Here are the best WordPress plugins to make your website function better and look like a million bucks!
1. MonsterInsights
Most people use Google Analytics (GA) to gauge website visitor metrics, and MonsterInsights is a lightweight plugin that provides a quick and easy way to integrate GA into your website. The backend view gives you an instant snapshot of recent activity and where you stand SEO-wise.
For some users, this will be enough information and you won’t even need to consult Google Analytics to see the whole picture. Even the free version is very powerful and connects quickly and easily to your GA account. However, they also offer a three-tiered pricing plan ($99-$239) for additional powerful features.
✅ PROS:
- Quick and easy access to Google Analytics right from your WP dashboard.
- Easy-to-use even for novices.
⛔️ CONS:
- Some users have trouble getting connected.
- Free version is minimal, and you must pay for additional features.
- Pro version is pricey ($99-$239).
2. Yoast SEO
Yoast is one of the most widely used plugins for SEO. It’s free to use, and with each iteration, the features get better and better. As you create a post or page, Yoast provides real-time feedback on things like readability, keyword usage, sentence length, passive and active voice, links, and metadata.
With a bit of tweaking, you can turn any piece of content into a fully SEO-optimized gem. Yoast comes in two versions: a free version with many great features and a Pro version that is even better. Users complain that tips are not available in other languages, only English, and the readability metrics are somewhat inaccurate. Other than that, Yoast is a well-liked plugin by most users.
Review the list of the best free and paid SEO tools for auditing your website.
✅ PROS:
- User-friendly interface.
- Easy to use set-up wizard.
- Create XML sitemaps.
⛔️ CONS:
- Free version is limited.
- Too many upsells.
- Readability metrics are sometimes “off.”
3. WPForms
Just about every website needs a form or two or three. WPForms makes it quick and easy to create useful forms to collect visitor or customer data. Unfortunately, hand-coding forms can be tedious.
WPForms takes the headaches out of struggling with user input constraints and formatting styles. The app uses a drag-n-drop form builder to make creating multiple forms a snap. WPForms takes things a step further with form landing pages, geolocation information, form abandonment options, conversation forms, user journey tracking, and more.
WPForms has a vast customer base, and users love the ease-of-use and extensive templates. They offer a free Lite version or a paid Pro version that includes all the best features. Users love WPForms but would like to see additional style options and more customization features.
✅ PROS:
- User-friendly.
- More than 300 form templates.
- Plenty of integrations with payment platforms and marketing tools.
⛔️ CONS:
- Lite version doesn’t include all features.
- Pricing is expensive.
- Does not include analytics.
4. TablePress
Anyone who codes websites for a living will tell you that coding tables is tedious work, and if you want them to look good, it takes even longer. This is where comes in. TablePress is a lifesaver allowing you to quickly create colorful, engaging tables without any coding knowledge (however, if coding is your thing, we've picked the best coding apps for you).
The best part is this handy tool is 100% free! You can even enhance your data tables with formulas and tap into an extensive JavaScript library to add more features such as pagination, sorting, and filtering to make your tables more attractive and easy to use for visitors.
Another great feature is the ability to import data directly into your tables from Excel, Google Sheets, JSON, CSV, and HTML. Then, you can insert them into posts, pages, and even widgets. If tables are your game, TablePress is the name. No one has any real complaints about TablePress. It’s just that good.
✅ PROS:
- Import from popular data formats.
- Enhance functionality with a built-in JS library.
- Great support.
- Highly rated by users.
5. WooCommerce
Most people who use WordPress will recognize the name WooCommerce. That’s because it is the most popular e-commerce plugin for WP and is used by more than 5 million websites. Although out of the box, WooCommerce makes it easy for you to set up your online store you are in for a treat.
The robust community has contributed thousands of add-ons that greatly extend the functionality of the program. WooCommerce integrates with dozens of payment processors and other programs to make data sharing among your company apps a breeze. It’s highly customizable using plugins and themes, and it is well supported if you run into trouble.
WooCommerce is completely free forever, but there is a bit of a learning curve, especially with complex pricing. Some users have experienced issues with updates not playing nice with WordPress. Overall, it’s the best online shopping cart for WordPress.
✅ PROS:
- Wide variety of themes and WooCommerce plugins to extend functionality.
- Highly customizable.
- Integrates with popular apps and payment processors.
- Well-supported.
- Completely free.
⛔️ CONS:
- Updates don’t always play nicely with WordPress.
- Not super intuitive for beginners.
6. WP Rocket
Want to speed up your WordPress Website? WP Rocket is the top caching plugin for WordPress used by more than 600,000 users. Although there are plenty of free caching plugins available, we think WP Rocket is worth the price.
With this one, you get extra features like database optimization, lazy load images, multi-site compatibility, minification, concatenation, defer JS loading, and even multiple languages. They say you get what you pay for, and with WP Rocket, you get a lot of great features and excellent support from the development team. However, the program is not cheap.
You can pick up a single license for $49, and the Plus plan costs $99, but you can use the plugin on three websites. Then they have the Infinite plan, which gives you a year of support on unlimited websites, but it costs a whopping $249. However, the company does offer a 14-day money-back guarantee if you are dissatisfied. We think you won’t be.
✅ PROS:
- Cloudflare compatibility.
- Multi-site compatible.
- Google fonts optimization.
- Sitemap preloading and more!
- Excellent support.
- Developer friendly - includes hooks for customization.
- Gzip compression.
⛔️ CONS:
- Pricey - Plans range from $49-$249.
7. Sucuri Security
With cybersecurity on everyone’s mind these days, no website should be without a security plugin. One of the best is Sucuri Security. The free version is plenty for most users, but they do offer a Premium version with enhanced features. More than 800,000 websites trust their security to Sucuri.
Installation is as easy as it gets. From there, the wizard will help you secure sections of your website and find any vulnerabilities that might exist. After you run the wizard and configure your Sucuri installation, you let it do its job. You will see alerts on your dashboard if anything is found that requires your attention.
We strongly recommend opting for the Premium version for anyone serious about website security, which includes things like a firewall, malware scanning and removal, and CDN integration.
✅ PROS:
- Login tracking.
- Website hardening.
- Malware scan and cleanup (Premium version).
- Web Application Firewall (Premium version).
- CDN integration - (Premium version).
⛔️ CONS:
- Free version is limited.
8. SearchWP
Many times, the built-in search feature of WordPress just doesn’t cut it by limiting you to posts and pages. SearchWP fixes the problem by extending visitor searches to custom fields, text files, PDF attachments, tables, custom taxonomies, custom posts, WooCommerce content, and ACF fields.
As a result, SearchWP drastically enhances the visitor experience helping users find exactly what they are looking for quickly and easily. The plugin is also customizable to make it even more usable. A standard license costs $99 (single website), and a Pro license is $149 allowing you to use SearchWP on five websites.
✅ PROS:
- Live AJAX search functionality.
- Integrates with all other WP plugins.
- Customizable.
- Works with multiple search engines.
- Keyword stemming.
- Statistics and insights.
- Highly configurable.
⛔️ CONS:
- Pricey - $99 for a single license.
9. OptInMonster
OptInMonster is a widely used lead generation tool. It aims to turn visitors into customers through conversions. Using this tool, you can easily create pop-ups, slide-ins, and announcement bars to grab your audience’s attention and capture their data for later email campaigns or other marketing efforts.
The powerful features allow you to target a specific audience and personalize campaigns for each demographic. The plugin is great for marketing agencies, bloggers, e-commerce companies, and even small business websites. The company offers a free version for those who don’t need the extra features and a Pro version for power users.
✅ PROS:
- Recover abandoned cart sales.
- Convert visitors to customers.
- Lead generation - grow your email list.
- Excellent support, documentation, and knowledge base.
⛔️ CONS:
- Free version is limited.
- Not easy to learn.
Final Thoughts
These plugins will extend the functionality and appeal of your company website. However, don’t forget about backups. If your hosting company doesn’t include free automatic backups (you may check our top of the best web hosting services), use a plugin like Updraft Plus to ensure all your valuable content is safely secured in case a disaster strikes.