The Best WordPress Plugins

Updated By - April 18, 2021

My Top Picks for Essential WordPress Plugins. Choosing the right plugins for your WordPress site can be overwhelming with so many options available. Since I started using WordPress as my blogging platform, I’ve experimented with various plugins to enhance functionality and aesthetics. Over time, I’ve curated a list of the best plugins that are current, reliable, and highly recommended.

My Pick of the Best WordPress Plugins

These plugins are my highly recommended choices for enhancing functionality, improving SEO, and optimizing user experience on your WordPress site.

WPForms - Contact Form

WPForms is a powerful yet user-friendly contact form plugin. It allows you to create beautiful contact forms, subscription forms, and other types of forms with a drag-and-drop builder. Its simplicity and advanced features make it a popular choice.

  • WPForms
  • Author: WPForms
  • First Released: 2016

Yoast SEO - Optimization

Yoast SEO is a leading plugin for search engine optimization. It helps optimize your site for search engines by offering features like meta descriptions, breadcrumbs, and XML sitemaps. It’s essential for improving your site's visibility in search results.

  • Yoast SEO
  • Author: Yoast
  • First Released: 2010

Rank Math - Search Engine Optimization

Rank Math is another excellent SEO plugin that provides comprehensive tools to optimize your site. It integrates with Google Search Console, offers advanced on-page SEO features, and provides actionable insights to improve your rankings.

  • Rank Math
  • Author: Rank Math
  • First Released: 2018

Google XML Sitemaps - Sitemap Generator

This plugin automatically generates XML sitemaps for your site, which helps search engines index your content more effectively. It’s an easy way to ensure that your site is properly crawled and indexed by search engines.

Social Warfare - Social Sharing Buttons

Social Warfare adds attractive social sharing buttons to your posts and pages. It offers customization options and analytics to track social shares, making it a great choice for increasing your content’s visibility on social media.

WP Super Cache - Static Caching Tool

WP Super Cache is a popular caching plugin that improves site performance by serving static HTML files instead of processing PHP scripts. It helps reduce server load and speeds up page load times.

Ninja Forms - Form Builder

Ninja Forms provides an easy-to-use form builder with a range of customization options. It allows you to create contact forms, registration forms, and more, without the need for coding.

UpdraftPlus - Free WordPress Backups

UpdraftPlus is a robust backup plugin that simplifies the process of backing up and restoring your WordPress site. It supports automated backups to various cloud storage services, ensuring your data is safe and easily recoverable.

  • UpdraftPlus
  • Author: UpdraftPlus.Com
  • First Released: 2012

WP Mail SMTP - eMail Routing

WP Mail SMTP improves the reliability of email delivery from your WordPress site. It reconfigures the PHP mail function to use a proper SMTP server, reducing the chances of your emails being marked as spam.

Ad Inserter - Ad Placements Made Easy

Ad Inserter offers advanced ad management capabilities, allowing you to control the placement and display of ads on your site. It supports various ad networks, including AdSense, and provides extensive customization options.

GTranslate - WordPress Language Translation

GTranslate allows visitors to translate your site into different languages, enhancing accessibility for a global audience. It integrates with Google Translate to offer automatic translations.

  • GTranslate
  • Author: GTranslate
  • First Released: 2011