In this post I’m going to tell you about 10 plugins I use on every WordPress website and why I use each one.
Let’s get right into it.
1. Classic Editor
I don’t like the Gutenberg editor that comes with the current versions of WordPress, therefore I always install the Classic Editor plugin so that don’t have to deal with it.
I personally really like the Classic Editor for posting blogs, it just makes life a whole lot easier. Plus, there’s a reason why its the number one installed plugin for WordPress.
2. Elementor
Before Elementor I hated page builders. I thought they were rubbish, and I liked doing everything in code.
However, Elementor does a really good job. It’s a super easy to use page builder that actually does what you want.
I’ve been using it ever since I first tried it. It makes your life a whole lot easier.
If you need a page builder for your WordPress website – Get Elementor.
3. Elementor Headers & Footers
If you’re working on a budget and don’t want to pay for Elementor Pro, you’ll soon find you can’t edit the headers and footers.
However, you can get Elementor Headers & Footers and that will allow you to adjust the headers and footers using Elementor but without having to pay for the Pro version.
It’s basically exactly the same thing except it gives you the option to make and set headers and footers, which you can set for specific pages, posts, whatever you need – It’s all there.
Overall a really good plugin.
4. Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO makes it easy to do most of your onsite SEO such as meta titles and descriptions.
I personally like Yoast SEO, I’ve been using it for a long time and it just does the job really well. It’s also really easy to use so you probably won’t even need to read a tutorial.
5. Contact Form 7
I’ve been using Contact Form 7 for quite some time and I like the fact that it’s mostly code so you can just edit what you need.
However if you’re not that savvy with code, you can go with “WP Forms”. WP Forms is another really good option that is very user friendly and you don’t need as much knowledge of the code itself like you do with Contact Form 7.
I like the customizability of Contact Form 7, which is why I use it.
6. Redirection For Contact Form 7
Basically what this plugin allows you to do is you can redirect the form after someone has filled it out to a page or URL. For example, you can redirect it to a thank you page, which then allows you to track this page so you’d know how many people have submitted the form (in Google Analytics, for example).
It’s a really good plugin, very easy to use, and it integrates right into Contact Form 7 so you can do everything within the Contact Form 7 interface.
7. Duplicate Page
WordPress doesn’t have the option of duplicate pages in their system. For example, you have one page you want to duplicate and use as template and just change the content? You can’t do it without using a plugin.
This plugin allows you to quickly and easily duplicate pages, posts, practically everything within WordPress. It’s simple and it works well.
8. Redirection
This plugin allows you to take care of redirects on your website very easily. For example, if you’ve changed the URL of the page, you can easily set the old URL to redirect to the new one.
It even has the option to track and do them automatically, so if you’ve changed URL’s in WordPress, it will automatically redirect them to the new one.
9. WP Analytics Events
This one allows you to easily track almost anything on your website, such as button clicks, by setting CSS classes or IDs.
You don’t have to do a lot of coding, all you have to do is set the parameters for what you want to track in that plugin and then you just put the class or ID in the button, or thing you want to track. It will then trigger the event in Analytics every time someone clicks it.
This will then allow you to track that Event as a Goal, and that’s how you can track conversions through Analytics for things like button presses – If somebody presses a phone number or an email, things like that.
10. WP Headers & Footers
This plugin allows you to put code in the header or the footer of your whole website very easily. For example if you need to add tracking code such as for Google analytics or Google Tag Manager, this will allow you to do it quickly and easily. It gives you a box, you paste your code in, and its done.
These 10 plugins are the plugins that I use most often on every website I build. They will let you do most of the basics that you’ll need in order to build a fully functioning website.