One of the decisions you will face when starting a blog is whether to use plugins for your WordPress site. WordPress plugins are essentially like apps for your smartphone but designed specifically for your WordPress website. They add new features and functionality, allowing you to customize your site beyond what WordPress offers by default.
As an advocate for simpler processes and workflows, I love using plugins. In this article, I wanted to share a simple list of plugins I’ve used for recent blog sites I curated during my experience. Not only have these plugins changed my approach to blogging, but they’ve also made quite the impact. Hopefully, one, two (or all) will benefit your site.
Irony is not even the word to use for this first plugin. I wish I found it sooner.
1. Was This Helpful?
The “Was it helpful?” plugin is a WordPress plugin specifically designed to gather feedback from your website visitors on your blog posts, articles, or any other content you publish. It typically adds a small section at the end of your content where visitors can quickly indicate whether they found the information helpful. This might involve simple buttons like “Yes” or “No,” thumbs up/down icons, or even a text box for more detailed feedback.
Download this plugin and use it for yourself. The best bloggers are students of the game, finding ways to connect with their audience and expanding on ways to provide the very best content. What better way to do it than this?
Link to WordPress plugin: Was this helpful plugin
2. WP All Import
WP All Import is a WordPress plugin designed to simplify the process of importing data into your website. Essentially, it bridges your existing data (spreadsheets, XML files, etc.) and your WordPress site. Since manually adding data to a WordPress site can be tedious and time-consuming, this plugin makes it easy to populate your WordPress site with content, products, users, or any other data type you need.
This plugin is a must-have to kick off any blog super fast and my go-to plugin. Before using this plugin, I create a CSV file, with blog post titles, categories and tags. It’s very important to consider your content strategy carefully as it will definitely save you a ton of time.
Link to WordPress plugin:
3. BetterLinks
BetterLinks is a WordPress plugin specifically designed to manage and optimize links on your website. It lets you create shortened, branded links that are easier to share and track. You can also use it to manage affiliate links, track clicks and campaign performance, and even organize your links into categories for better control. Overall, BetterLinks helps you improve the look, functionality, and performance of the links you share on your WordPress site.
If you want more advanced link management features beyond shortening and tracking, consider the BetterLinks Pro paid version. It unlocks powerful tools like A/B testing for optimized click-through rates, detailed click analytics for campaign insights, and advanced automation for managing affiliate links and internal linking strategies, helping you maximize the return on your investment in your website’s links.
Link to WordPress plugin: BetterLinks
Link to paid version: BetterLinks Pro
4. SEOPress
SEOPress is an all-in-one SEO plugin for WordPress that simplifies search engine optimization for your website. It equips you with tools to optimize your content for target keywords, manage titles and meta descriptions, submit your sitemap to search engines, and track your SEO performance. Essentially, SEOPress helps you improve your website’s ranking in search results and drive more organic traffic.
Now, I’ve tried Yoast SEO and AIO SEO plugins, to name a few, but I have found this to fit my needs a little better. Yoast SEO and AIO SEO also have advantages, which I will discuss in another blog post. For the sake of this article, I’d recommend SEO Press. The paid version is pretty good, as it opens up many options. I highly recommend it.
Link to WordPress plugin: SEO Press
5. Instant Images
The Instant Images plugin for WordPress is a time-saver for adding high-quality images to your blog posts. It lets you directly search and import free photos from popular stock photo websites like Unsplash, Pixabay, and Pexels within your WordPress dashboard. You can click on an image you like, and it gets uploaded to your media library and ready to be used in your content without ever leaving WordPress.
What I really like about Instant Images is that it’s built into the WordPress editor. It’s very easy to find images and insert them into any blog post. The only drawback is its limited image library. It works very well for me, as I’ve been able to find images I need (and can use without being sued).
Link to WordPress plugin: Instant Images
6. JetPack VaultPress
Jetpack VaultPress Backup is a WordPress plugin that offers cloud-based backups and one-click restores for your website. It doesn’t require the full Jetpack plugin but requires a paid Jetpack plan with Backup included. This plugin automatically creates backups of your site’s content, including posts, pages, media, and even WooCommerce products and orders. If your site experiences any issues, you can easily restore it to a previous version with just a single click, minimizing downtime and data loss.
This plugin pleasantly surprised me. At one point in my blogging career, I worried about losing a ton of data so I would make copies of my post offline, keeping them on a drive. After searching the web, I settled on Jetpack, which single-handedly put my mind at ease. No more double work. Jetpack VaultPress is a winner in my book.
Link to WordPress plugin: Jetpack VaultPress Backup
7. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free, open-source plugin specifically designed for WordPress that transforms your website into a fully functional online store. It allows you to add products, manage inventory, handle secure payments, and facilitate the entire shopping experience for your customers. With WooCommerce, you can create a professional online store without needing coding expertise, making it a popular choice for entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes.
Link to WordPress plugin: WooCommerce
8. Elementor Website Builder
Elementor is a popular WordPress plugin that functions as a visual website builder. Instead of writing code to design your website, Elementor offers a drag-and-drop interface where you can easily add elements like text, images, and buttons to create custom layouts for your pages. This makes it user-friendly for beginners and allows for more control over your website’s design without needing any coding expertise.
When I first tried Elementor, I admit that I was intimidated. It can be a lot to take in if you’re a newbie. The learning curve was not bad at all because I had some experience using other website builders. I understand why this is one of the best website builders available today. Give it a try, and be patient if it comes off overwhelming.
Link to WordPress plugin: Elementor Website Builder
9. Essential Addons for Elementor
There isn’t actually a single plugin called “Elementor Addons for Elementor.” Elementor itself is a popular WordPress page builder plugin. However, Elementor doesn’t offer all the features some users might need.
That’s where third-party Elementor add-ons come in. In this case, it’s Essential Addons for Elementor. These add-ons are like mini-plugins that extend Elementor’s functionality by adding new design elements, widgets, templates, and features. They allow you to create more complex and visually appealing layouts on your WordPress website using Elementor’s drag-and-drop interface.
Link to WordPress plugin: Essential Addons for Elementor
Bonus Plugins — Breadcrumb NavXT and AMP
Breadcrumb NavXT
Breadcrumb NavXT focuses on improving your website’s navigation for both users and search engines. It creates “breadcrumb trails” that appear near the top of your pages. These trails act like a roadmap, showing users their current location within your website’s hierarchy (e.g., Home > Blog > Blogging Tips).
This makes it easier for users to navigate your site and understand how different pages are connected. Additionally, Breadcrumb NavXT offers customization options to match your website’s design and ensures compatibility with SEO best practices.
AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)
AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) is a different kind of plugin. It doesn’t directly add features to your site, but rather optimizes your existing content for mobile devices. AMP creates stripped-down versions of your web pages that load faster and use less data on mobile phones.
This can significantly improve your visitors’ mobile experience and potentially boost your mobile traffic. However, it’s important to note that AMP can sometimes limit the functionalities and design elements of your mobile pages.
Conclusion
So there you have it—quick and easy. These are my go-to plugins for my more recent sites, and I have been stable in launching just about any creative WordPress blog I’ve started. With respect to a few, I recommend purchasing the paid version, as you get way more functionality than its free counterpart.
So give them a try today and drop me a line with your thoughts on them. If a WordPress plugin is a must-have for you, let me know what it is. I’m all for trying new plugins to see if they work!
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