Let me explain!
A WordPress plugin is basically software containing diverse functions and features that can be easily installed on WordPress, without any need for alterations to your host site. Such add-on plugins help improve and expand your website’s functionality, making it more user-friendly for users.
Currently, there are hundreds and thousands of WordPress Plugins with over 55,000 plugins available only on the WordPress Plugin directory, and with tons of plugins in the market, users can find it daunting to choose.
It’s crucial that you choose the right plugins for your website (as different sites have different needs), so they don’t hurt and affect your website’s functionality, speed, security, and growth.
Luckily for the year 2022, we have compiled 6 must-have plugins for your WordPress Site, which will help you grow your online business. Let’s explore each plugin in detail, discussing the key features and pros and cons of each.
1. Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO Is the number 1 WordPress plugin that users widely use. Yoast plugin assists the users in optimizing their site for SEO.
This plugin offers different features and tools that will help your site rank on the 1st page of Search engines like Google and It makes the whole world of SEO easy for you.
Yoast SEO improves your website’s online presence and checks the quality of your site. Furthermore, it provides incredible suggestions for keyword improvements.
PROS:
- gives detailed suggestions to improve sites content for SEO.
- helps in proofreading the content for SEO.
- assists you in improving the readability of your site by pointing out the problems and solutions to address those issues.
- helps in resolving the issue of Duplicate content.
CONS:
- Yoast searches for exact keywords a user may put in disregarding the user’s intention from such keywords, which can affect real-life results.
Pricing of Yoast SEO
The basic version of Yoast SEO is free and can be easily downloaded from WordPress Plugin Directory. However, the advanced or premium version costs $89/annually excluding VAT., which will give you access to all the awesome and advanced features with a 24/7 support system.
2. Jet pack
The Jet pack is the ultimate, complete, must-have plugin for your website. It combines your site’s security, performance, and marketing in one place. Thanks to the developers of this plugin (Automatic), one does not need to install multiple small plugins on a website to perform the required functions.
The launch of Jet Pack plugins has revolutionized the whole world of WordPress by contributing to major advancements in websites and blogs powered by WordPress.
PROS:
- The Jetpack Custom CSS feature allows faster editing and modifying of content.
- It provides a great depth of functionality, with an option of enabling and disabling the features depending on your need.
- provides comprehensive 24/7 security with real-time backup and Spam protection.
- Frequent updates are available with many newly added features.
CONS:
It’s a quite heavy plugin, with some users complaining that it causes the site to slow down.
Pricing of Jet Pack
The Jet pack core is free of use, whereas the premium plan costs $99 a year, and if you buy the upgraded premium plan, you can improve your website security further.
3. Elementor Page builder
Elementor Page Builder is an instant drag and drop page builder with unlimited designs. The unmatched speed of Elementor has outclassed all other page-building plugins.
With this page builder, you can edit and design your site page while simultaneously keeping in view the live version of your site. It gives a complete designer touch to your website with 100+ templates that you can choose and customize according to your liking.
PROS:
- It’s beginner-friendly and for users who are not tech-savvy.
- You can completely customize every inch of your website according to your liking.
- Live editing feature makes designing and editing faster.
- A huge variety of pre-designed templates and blocks.
CONS:
Some updates caused glitches, which created problems for users.
Pricing of Elementor Page builder
Like other plugins, it also has a free version that gives you access to 40 basic widgets. In order to utilize all the features to their full benefit, you need to update it to the Pro version, which costs $49 per year for single use. In the paid version, you can get 50+widget and 300+pre designed templates.
4. Smush Image
With more than 1 million installations, it has become a popular WordPress plugin. Smush image helps you compress and optimize all the images you use on WordPress without compromising the quality. This simple and effective plugin allows your website to load quickly. The faster your site loads, the higher the chances of ranking.
So, sit back and enjoy the high speed while Smush automatically compresses all your images.
PROS:
- It is very easy for beginners to use.
- You can optimize up to 50 images at one time.
- detects incorrect image sizes, also highlighting tips for scaling your images
- compatible with most of the page builders and Media Library plugins.
CONS:
In terms of performance, it may not be an ideal plugin.
Pricing of Smush Image
Smush Image has two versions free and paid.
Free version is best for optimizing images below or up to 1MB but however, to compress larger images, you should choose the Premium version.
Premium version is 200% faster than the free one; moreover, you can compress big images up to 32MB. So, what are you waiting for? Get it Unlimited Smush now for only $99 per month with an additional discount on the first payment.
5. Akismet
Akismet is a cloud-based anti-spam plugin for WordPress. This essential plugin for WordPress deals with all the spam comments from your website. Using a complex algorithm, it identifies all the spam comments across your website and automatically removes them.
When the users filter out the comment manually, Akismet records it and then uses it to filter out other comments.
PROS:
- It’s the most reliable plugin for filtering out spam messages.
- The status history features allow users to see which comments were spammed.
- Statistic monitor shows monthly and annually spam activities of your site.
- Enhances the site’s user experience.
CONS:
The robust mechanism can sometimes block valuable comments
Pricing of Akismet
For personal use, you can rely on the free version. But for large businesses, you need to opt for paid subscriptions. You can get Akismet plus for only $8.33 per month.
6. WP Super Cache
WP Super Cache is a very famous and another must-have plugin for your WordPress. This plugin has reached over 2 million active installations.
It generates static HTML files for your website and in simple terms, means that it makes a quick copy of each image so that whenever any user clicks on your site, he is presented with that copy rather than uploading the whole website.
Using WP Super Cache can drastically improve your website performance and speed.
PROS:
- increases engagement on your site.
helps boost the ranking of a website on search engine bars. - includes all catching features.
- gives a jet-speed performance.
CONS:
The installation procedure is complicated.
Pricing of WP Super Cache
WP Super Cache is entirely free of use for all WordPress users.
Final Verdict:
When building your website on WordPress, the possibilities are limitless, and with plugins, you can achieve infinite features.
From Yoast SEO to WP Super Caches, all plugins are vital for optimizing your site’s Search engine ranking.
Don’t go for too many plugins on your website, as this will affect your site’s loading speed.
Try to limit the number of essential plugins on your site so your site can load faster and get a higher ranking.
All of the plugins discussed above have great features and are tried and tested on thousands of sites.
Therefore, you can trust these plugins’ functionalities.
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