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5 Types of WordPress Plugins You Need to Use Exclusively

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I’m pretty sure I know why you’re using WordPress to run your blog or website.

It’s because of plugins.

WordPress Plugins Repository

To date, there are 55,752 available WordPress plugins available for download. Most are free while some have trial versions.

However:

All of them can help boost your site’s performance and conversion.

You can download as many plugins as you please. But it doesn’t mean that you should do so.

In fact, downloading unnecessary plugins can slow down your site and threaten your security.

To help tighten the security of your WordPress site and clean up its clutter, you need to

simplify, simplify, simplify!

By using the bare minimum plugins for your WordPress site, you can boost your site’s performance while maintaining its quality.

To achieve this, here are the only five types of WordPress plugins you need to use.

1. WordPress Security Plugins

This type of plugin tops the list because your site’s safety is a priority.

You need to protect your site from malware and malicious attackers, which is precisely what a security plugin does.

It alerts you of any abnormal activities and gives you the opportunity to intervene before the problem escalates or even begins at all.

You need this type of plugin because you’re not safe from cyber attacks.

To get the best protection, you’d want to go with one of the best security plugins, and that is Wordfence.

Wordfence WordPress security plugin

Not only is it among the best in its department, but it’s also the most popular one. It features a malware scanner and an endpoint firewall that abides by the latest firewall rules and malware signatures.

2. List Building

According to Salesforce, email marketing has an average ROI rate of 3,800%.

To put things into perspective:

Every $1 you spend on this channel, you reap $38.

Crazy, isn’t it?

Of course, the rewards depend on the number of your subscribers, as well as the quality of your emails.

But this remains true: email marketing is a gold mine.

So from early on, start collecting email addresses with the help of a list building plugin.

Not only will it make the collection process easier for you, but it will also allow you to make eye-popping forms.

And you’d want that because the more attractive your forms are, the more signups you get.

Lucky for you, there are lots of list building plugins to choose from. Get one that matches your site well.

3. SEO WordPress Plugins

You’d want to implement SEO to further drive traffic to your website or blog. If done correctly, it can land you on the first page of Google.

If you play your cards right, it can even help you earn the all-elusive first spot!

So what’s the fuzz about ranking on top of Google search, you ask?

It’s because the first result generates 32.5% of overall clicks.

For every 1,000 searches your target keyword generates, you get at least 32 clicks to your site every month! That’s not bad!

When it comes to using SEO plugins, Yoast SEO happens to be one of the best.

Yoast SEO WordPress plugin

With it, you get a powerful kit that allows you to gauge keyword usage, edit meta descriptions, and more. Since 2008, it’s responsible for the success of millions of sites.

4. Contact Form

The plugins mentioned above help you protect your website and reach out to as many people as you can. While all these factors are important, nothing is as crucial as building relationships with your readers.

That’s what contact plugins are for!

Some of your readers want to talk to you and express their reactions to your posts or send in their questions your way.

Using a contact form plugin, you bridge the gap that exists between you and your readers.

Sure, you could leave your phone number in case your visitors would want to have a word. But a phone number is practically useless if you can’t talk on the phone at the exact moment your visitors need you.

And yes, you also have the option of leaving your email address. They can reach you any time via email.

But if you do that, you’re somehow inviting spammers to do what they do best: scrape it and send you inappropriate messages.

So nope. A contact form is better.

All they need to do is fill out the embedded form on your contact page and receive their messages straight to your inbox.

There’s no substitute for the reachability and availability it offers.

I recommend you to use Contact Form 7 to build contact forms for your site. It’s one of the longest contact form plugins available which makes it one of the best.

You can create as many forms with different entries as you want and embed them on any part of your site using their shortcodes.

5. Caching Plugin

When it comes to websites, no one likes slow-loading sites!

In fact, if a site takes more than 5 seconds to load, 22.2% of initial visitors leave.

To counter this problem, you need to use a caching plugin.

What it does is save the data from your site to the visitors’ browsers. So whenever visitors return to your site, their browsers will load content locally, instead of fetching content from the server each time.

A tool like WP Rocket is one of the best caching plugins.

wprocket WordPress caching plugin

Apart from page caching, it features database optimization, concatenation, and more! It’s one of the best, and it’s easy to set up.

Conclusion

The best WordPress sites are those that practice restraint and maximize its resources. As the saying goes, “less is more.”

I know the temptation of downloading lots of plugins. But given the risks each plugin poses, it’s best to limit your plugins to the fewest possible.

Therefore, you can’t go wrong with the five types of WordPress plugins mentioned above!

I’ve suggested some of the best types of WordPress plugins for round out your site. However, the beauty with plugins is there are alternatives for you to choose from.

So don’t worry if you’re not comfortable with the recommended ones above. By doing your own research, you’ll find the best ones that jive well with your site!

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Christopher Jan Benitez

Christopher Jan Benitez is a professional content marketer and writer who assists small businesses in achieving their goals by implementing a strong content strategy. He emphasizes their unique selling points and promotes their created content using effective online channels and methods including social media marketing and search engine optimization techniques.
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Comments

  3. Luckily im using all of these plugins but email marketing is kind of a old school way now.
    Brand sms and RSS notifications makes difference these days too.

    Reply

  8. Hello, Christopher Jan Benitez

    This is a great article about WordPress plugins. I think these plugins play an important role for any WordPress blog or website. This article is very useful and admissible for liking and sharing.

    Thanks for this amazing and useful information.

    Reply

  11. Yoast SEO is undoubtedly the best in the industry. With some configurations, It makes your website SEO friendly. I use Yoast on all WordPress website I have.
    Wordfence, I don’t know much about it. I think I have to try it on my website. Thanks for the tip. Cheers

    Reply

  12. Every single one of those plugins mentioned above either crashes my site or slow it down tremendously.

    Wordfence crashed my site about six or seven times, Yoast SEO leaves a never-ending string of orphaned tables and remnant files in my CPanel WordPress folder.

    Plus I hate the annoying suggestions Yoast SEO keep prompting whenever I post an article especially with this transition word and passive voice scoring.

    I wrote somewhere that you cannot automate intent nor can you automate emotional expressions… and guess what? It’s true…

    Reply

  17. Great article… For making good and attractive website plugins are very helpful by using different plugins we make our website very attractive.
    Thanks for sharing this nice article.

    Reply

  18. Hello Christopher,

    Your article is amazing. You have targeted the most important plug-in which are the soul of the WordPress. Without plug-ins , it would not be possible to work on the WordPress. These plug-in helps in efficiently running of the website. There are unlimited plug-ins are available on the WordPress. You have listed one of the best plug-ins which are recommended by most of the people. Right now, I am using all the plug-ins that you have listed above.

    You can add the social sharing button as they are most important plug-in and makes the sharing the article with just one click. It is the crucial plug-in which are required to be in the website.

    Thanks for sharing such prestigious information and make the path of the beginners easy.

    Reply

  19. This is true Gail. Always that trade off we make as bloggers, moving away from static sites to something more dynamic. My developer likes to add some from time to time but I delete a handful that are not necessary; I love simple and functional, without all bells and whistles.
    Ryan K Biddulph would love you to read ..By: Ryan BiddulphMy Profile

    Reply

  20. I think most of these plugins should always be integratad as basic stuff on your wordpress website! Good article.

    I noticed that most plugins and different themes always have some conflict by using them. For example im using the7 theme on some websites but there Contactform7 is not working correctly for javascript output. So i always have to modify the themes. Thats some kind of bad but what could be the solution for this?

    Reply

  21. These are good source to buildup a new website. Could please tell me which plugging is most suitable for competition (sport) including receiving online payments with different account.
    And thanks for your nice blog.

    Reply

  22. Hello,

    Like before, your article is always fabulous. I am using many of the plug-in that you have mentioned. And they all are amazing. Instead of Yoast plug-in, I use Ultimate SEO plug-in but I am thinking to switch to Yoast plug-in. As it gives the more information about the SEO and tell us through the color indicator.

    Thanks for sharing the wonderful article with us and have been privileged us to read this article.

    Reply

  24. A veary usefull post with some needfull Informations.
    Tanks a lot for your great Work. Currently i am Building a new Website with WordPress and there can bei this article veary helpfull to improve my Site.

    DA from Germany.

    Reply

  29. Thanks for sharing this information. I always used three plugins what you said. but I did not understand clearly for caching plugin uses. please tell me the importance of that plugin.

    Reply

  33. Thanks, Ryan! some people run the risk of keeping their site from being secure and slowing down its loading time due to the quality and volume of plugins they have. And it’s easy to go crazy with the plugins to download because they’re so easy to use. But as a site owner, you need to strike the balance of speed and functionality. And having lots of WordPress plugins can’t help you achieve that. That’s why moderation is key – find the least WordPress plugins for your site that will have the most impact.
    Christopher Jan Benitez would love you to read ..11 Killer Ways to Build a Good Rapport With Your Audience Using Your WebsiteMy Profile

    Reply

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