In a short period of time, the business community has completely embraced open source solutions like WordPress. Even tech giants such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft are leading the revolution. One would think that a company like Microsoft would want to use Microsoft technology for their own websites, but choosing open source solutions saves time and money. Even small businesses can leverage this trend to grow and develop their brand. An important aspect of using WordPress is choosing the right plugins for a site.
As of this writing, there are more than 42,000 plugins in the official WordPress plugin directory, on top of a considerable list of premium plugins. If you are building a website for your business or if you are looking to optimize your existing one, determining which plugins you need depends on several factors. Choosing the right ones will ensure that you are able to run a successful and efficient website. If you are looking for the best plugins for your business website in 2018, we’ve got you covered.
WPForms
Every business website needs a contact form which customers and visitors can use to get in touch with the brand. WPForms is a beginner friendly WordPress plugin that comes with a useful drag and drop builder. This can be used to generate aesthetically pleasing and functional online forms in a matter of minutes, without having to touch a single line of code. You can also use this plugin to create any type of WordPress form imaginable, including e-mail subscription forms, order forms, donation forms, survey forms and more.
WPForms also provides a significant number of pre-built form templates which you can adapt to your workflow and save you some time. Other advanced features include: payment integrations, multi-part forms, e-mail marketing integration, and others. WPForms has a free version available (WPForms Lite) that you can check out to get a feel for how well it will work with your site.
Jetpack
Jetpack is a free, multi-purpose plugin that offers a wide range of functions addressing business needs such as SEO, site backups, social media engagement, traffic generation, and many others. This plugin allows you to track your site statistics, automatically share posts to social media, and even provide security measures against brute force attackers.
Since Jetpack has so many useful functions on its own, it is a great plugin for WordPress beginners who may be overwhelmed by the sheer number of plugin options out there and may struggle to find a dedicated plugin for every specific function they require.
UpdraftPlus
UpdraftPlus is a plugin that is currently installed on nearly a million WordPress websites. It is a multi-functional backup solution which enables site owners to backup their website manually or automatically through a schedule. Backups can be made to several options including Amazon S3, Google Drive, FTP, Google Cloud Storage, or Open Stack. Some of the other features include e-mail backups, quick website restores, and website duplication.