In the search for a list of the most popular WordPress plugins that will make your site’s experience better?
One of the best things about WordPress is its ease of use. There are plugins for almost everything. I built my site through WordPress with zero help.
Just the good-old method of watching various YouTube tutorials and reading WordPress’ own tutorials about plugins and I was all set.
If you’re an individual or a business creating your website on WordPress, you will need to install WordPress plugins to introduce different functionalities to your site.
In this blog post, we will go through the top 10 most popular WordPress plugins which I feel are necessary to make your WordPress site look professional and well put together.
Table Of Contents
What are WordPress plugins?
*A brief introduction to understanding their use
A WordPress plugin is basically a set of code that introduces a new functionality or improves the existing ones on your WordPress site.
For instance, if you want to compress all of the images you upload on the site you might install a plugin like Smush or Optimus.
Think of WordPress plugins like the apps on your phone. What each app does on your phone, each plugin does on your site.
You have more than 50,000 WordPress plugins available just a click away.
This eliminates the need for hiring an expert to write down a code for you every time you want to add features to your WordPress site. You wouldn’t need to know anything about coding a website to be able to successfully run a site.
There are both free and paid WordPress plugins available. Most of the necessary plugins are available for free so you might not even have to spend a lot to add a feature.
Just head to the WordPress plugin directly, explore and find the right fit.
Want to read more about plugins? Check this out – WordPress Plugins Explained In Layman Terms
WordPress plugins that you should consider installing right away
WPForms
*For collecting information, adding subscribers, hosting polls, etc.
I personally use WPForms to make it simpler for my readers to reach me.
Forms can also be used for subscriptions, placing orders, receiving payments, etc.
WPForms comes integrated with payment gateways which makes the whole process a lot easier.
You’ll also get access to various pre-built form templates so that you don’t have to break a leg designing forms for different purposes.
Rank Math SEO
*For writing SEO-optimized content even when you’re not an SEO expert
Rank Math is an SEO optimization WordPress plugin. I moved from Yoast SEO to Rank Math almost a year ago and I saw a big difference in my search rankings.
A significant portion of my traffic is from organic searches.
Rank Math plugin helps you optimize your content with to-the-point suggestions that are easy to implement.
These suggestions are made by the plugin right when you’re writing your blog post, in real-time.
The UI is pretty friendly and the user guide will help you throughout, right from installing the plugin to making use of its various tools.
One of my favorite things about the Rank Math SEO plugin is the Content AI.
Content AI is a personal AI assistant that helps you optimize your blog post for your target keywords in every possible way.
You can completely focus on writing the content without worrying about how you’ll make it rank on Google searches.
Simply enter your target keyword and the Content AI will list out the things you need to include.
Such as what terms should be used in the content, headings, meta description, how much media should you be embedding, etc.
Also Read: Make Text Responsive in Your WordPress Site Using Custom CSS
PushEngage
*Send web push notifications to the visitors to boost traffic and engagement
PushEngage lets you show web push notifications for a WordPress site.
You can send notifications about new posts or announcements to the visitors who opt in. This can increase your traffic and make the visitors keep coming back.
The PushEngage plugin has features like A/B testing, opt-in reminders, goal tracking, etc.
Some of the features are:
- Cart abandonment reminder – Automatic triggers when a visitor is about to leave a cart
- Branding – Customize the notifications according to your brand and boost engagement
- A/B Testing – Run experiments with different elements to find the perfect fit which unlocks the full potential of the push notifications
- GDPR compliant – Several tools that make it easy to comply with GDPR and other privacy regulations
SEMrush
*SEO writing assistant that also lets you keep a check on your competitors
SEMrush is an SEO writing assistant which analyzes your content while you’re writing and offers tips to improve SEO optimization.
This WordPress plugin is easy-to-install and also provides readability scores for your content using the Flesch-Kincaid score.
It ensures that the content is easy to read and understand by your readers and search engine crawlers alike.
What is the Flesch-Kincaid score?
The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level is equivalent to the US grade level of education. It shows the required education to be able to understand a text. Text intended for readership by the general public should aim for a grade level of around 8, schooling age 13 to 14.
SEMrush’s SEO writing assistant will give your keyword suggestions to improve the ranking of your content without it feeling like it’s too pushy and wordy.
It also keeps a check on the tone of voice, plagiarism, etc.
Using the SEMrush dashboard, you can analyze the traffic, promotion strategies, top keywords & more of your competitors.
Woocommerce
*For setting up an online store to sell physical or digital goods
If you want to sell goods (physical or digital) on your WordPress site, the WooCommerce WordPress plugin is the obvious first choice.
It is the world’s most popular WordPress plugin (used by over 5 million websites worldwide) that’s an open-source eCommerce solution.
It is free to use and the fact that it is open-source means that you own your store’s data forever.
You can customize product pages and storefronts, enable automatic downloads, dynamic pricing, etc.
Enhance store functionality with hundreds of free and paid extensions from the official WooCommerce Marketplace.
You can easily manage your WooCommerce store using the mobile app that’s available on both Android and iOS.
Also Read: How To Find The Perfect Niche For Your Blog
Easy Table of Contents
*Insert a table of content to posts automatically
Easy Table of Contents WordPress plugin automatically inserts a table of contents into your blog posts.
You’ll notice this blog post has a table of contents too, thanks to this WordPress plugin.
It does so by curating a list from the headings used in the content.
This helps the readers quickly understand what the post is about and navigate to the part they’re interested in reading about.
You can change the settings of the table of contents, customize it according to your preference, and then it’ll be added to posts/pages automatically.
While drafting a blog post/page you can enable or disable the table of contents for that particular post/page too.
This WordPress plugin works seamlessly with the classic editor, Gutenberg, Divi, Elementor, Rank Math plugin, WPBakery Page Builder, and Visual Composer page editors.
Also Read: Copy These 10 Trendy Instagram Reels Via Use Template Feature
Trinity Audio
The Trinity Audio WordPress plugin makes your content accessible to more people.
It converts your post’s content into audio automatically once it’s installed and set up.
Your readers can become your listeners by simply clicking on a ‘listen to this post’ button displayed at the beginning of a post.
You will find this option at the beginning of this post too. There is a free and paid version of this plugin.
It supports 125 languages with more than 600 accents, both female and male so that it resonates with a broader audience. Even the playback speed can be set by the listener as per their liking.
