So you’ve set up your WordPress site, congratulations and welcomed to the family. Now, the real work of making your site gain visibility has begun – and in this journey, there’re some vital tools you will need to take your business to the next level.
I’m talking about WordPress plugins. What are they by the way?
WP plugins are standalone software you install on your WordPress site to provide additional functionalities not available in the core WP engine. Though WordPress is seen as a versatile content management system; this is in part to its compatibility with several plugins that add unique and extensive capabilities to the CMS.
However, you’re going to come up against a make or break challenge – that is choosing the appropriate plugins for your site. The thing is there are over thirty thousand plugins available for installing hence discerning the ones suitable for your needs can be quite tasking.
Things to consider before installing a plugin on your site
Before you ever download and run any plugin on your site, here’re some things you must do:
Check whether the plugin is regularly maintained: There are several reasons why you should do this. First, to prevent compatibility issues; the reality is WordPress is continually being updated hence leading to the outdating of most plugins. So if the plugin is maintained, the developers will keep abreast of WP changes while also upgrading their solution as appropriate.
Another reason is due to vulnerability challenges – most WP hacks are due security breaches from redundant plugins. Hence to cut the odds of getting hack, it is doubly essential you install only plugins that are up to date and also read through these hosting reviews.
Read users’ reviews: It’s a smart move that ensures you come to grips with what to expect once the plugin is installed on your site.
Check the number of active installs: The numbers tell you whether the plugin is doing what it promised to do. If the number of active installs is quite significant, it then means the plugin is useful.
So, here are our 5 must-have plugins
Wordfence
Online security has become a big issue today, with all the hacks and security breaches one cannot just neglect the threats any longer. So here’s where Wordfence comes it, this all-in-one security plugin enables you to run manual security scans of your site, block IPs and even protect you from known hackers and spam accounts.
Yoast SEO
The dream of every site owner is to ranking top in the SERPs and to do that your website has to be optimized for search engines. The Yoast SEO is designed to make this process easy – packed with rich features such as readability score – that enables you to simplify your writing; you can quickly create a sitemap for your site, input metadata for your posts, and track your keyword usage.
The Yoast SEO plugin is a must if you intend ranking site.
BackUpBuddy
Backing up your site is non-negotiable. Doing manual backup can be tedious and time-consuming. Here’s where BackUpBuddy comes in – with just one click you’re able to save your website content.
The plugin makes daily backup a breeze.
W3 Total Cache
Page speed is a crucial ranking factor used by search engines, hence speeding up your site should be top of mind. Use this plugin to cache and speed up your site speed.
Monster optin
Rated as one of the top conversion optin plugin available this plugin will help you build up your subscriber list real quick. Remember, the saying ‘the money is in the list’ to make money off your site, you need to build an email list use this plugin to make it happen.
In conclusion
I believe that the five plugins listed here are the minimum you’d require to turbocharge your online business. From Security plugin to SEO optimization; from backup, plugins to list building tool these are the basics of what you need when just starting out.