7+ Essential Plugins for WordPress Web Development
If website development were a galaxy, websites would have been the planets, and plugin development been their respective orbits. They play a crucial role in creating a functional and dynamic online presence. So it’s essential that we do not overlook the significance of plugins in our websites,
Do you know what a stat tells?! As of 2023, there are more than 60,000+ plugins in the market.
Plugins will work wonders for your small business if you use them for essential purposes. In this blog, we’ve unrolled a few WordPress plugins which we felt were inevitable out of our experiences.
Without any delay, let’s dive right in.
Necessary WordPress Plugins for Your Website
SEO – Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is a popular WordPress plugin exclusively for SEO-related activities. More than 11 million+ users have activated the plugin. Not only WordPress, the plugin syncs well with other platforms too. Both free and premium versions are available.
Features
- Automatically adds canonical URLs, generates meta tags based on templates, and other technical SEO elements
- XML sitemaps can be generated automatically
- Automatically includes the right Schema.org
- Site breadcrumbs are automatically generated
- Offers multi-lingual support
- Automatically creates redirects
- Suggests internal links, blocks
- Integrates with Zapier, Elementor, ACF, AMP, and more
- To explore all the features in free & paid versions, check out the link
Security – Jetpack
Jetpack, a WordPress plugin monitors your website for security violations and malware attacks. With specialized tools for security, the plugin helps you to counter-attack threats and security breaches. You can avail of the basic security features in the free version and later upgrade to the premium pack for advanced security.
Features
- Automatically takes backups
- Scans the website/app for malware
- Easy to migrate the site, themes, & plugins to new host & database
- Compatible with Akismet to filter spam comments
- Brute force attack protection can be activated
- Provides two-factor authentication
- Sync with WP Super Cache
- To read through all the features, visit the website
Cache – W3 Total Cache
W3 Total Cache is an ideal WordPress plugin solution for website performance optimization. Over 1 million+ web developers have trusted the plugin as an optimal web performance optimization framework. When fully configured, sites will experience a 10x improvement in overall performance.
Features
- Built with a straightforward content delivery network (CDN)
- Allows to clear cache for pages, posts, RSS feeds, SERPs, CSS, JavaScript, and more
- Allows to minify JavaScript, CSS, HTML, posts, pages, RSS feeds, etc.
- Can defer non-critical CSS, JavaScript, and offscreen images
- Offers solutions for browser-caching
- Compatible with WP-CLI for caching purge, updating query strings, and so on
- Generates caching reports with performance insights
- To explore the features in detail, check out the link
Backup – BackupBuddy
BackupBuddy WordPress plugin specifically built for site backup & restore purposes. Activation is so simple, you’ll just have to download the BackupBuddy zip file from the iThemes Member Panel and upload it on your WordPress website. This will prevent backup files during server crashes, hacks, malware, user errors, etc.
Features
- Possible to take backup of your WordPress website, database, files, and all
- Allows to setup schedules for automatic backups
- Can backup files remotely including BackupBuddy Stash, Amazon S3, Google Drive, & more
- Easy to restore the WordPress site to the previous backup version with ImportBuddy
- Easy to restore the WordPress site to the previous backup version with ImportBuddy
- Allows to download a zip file of the entire WordPress website
- Migration is possible
- To know all features, click here
Contact Form – Contact Form 7
Contact Form 7, a WordPress plugin created exclusively for small businesses to design contact forms. Customization of the forms and mail notification content can be carried out with a simple HTML shortcode. With the spam filtering feature, you can easily figure out spam emails.
Features
- Integrates with reCAPTCHA, Akismet, Constant Contact, Sendinblue, & Stripe for privacy reasons
- Sync with Flamingo & Bogo
- Doesn’t track users
- Doesn’t shares users’ personal data with external database/servers
- Doesn’t use cookies
- To read more about the plugin, check out the link
Page Builder – Elementor
Elementor, the WordPress WYSIWYG drag-and-drop page builder used for designing professionally appealing webpages creatively and quickly. Without coding expertise, you can keep the layout, header, footer, blocks, and every section of your website exactly as you want it to be.
Features
- Offers 40+ widgets for hover effects, gradient backgrounds, CSS transform, coming soon mode, and more
- Create responsive webpages
- Provides global fonts & color palettes to maintain consistency
- Allows to optimize image size, opacity, and others
- Can control button designs
- Offers 600+ icons
- Display images as aligned grids, rotating carousels, and sliders
- Easy to build accordion-type menus
- For more features, click here
E-commerce – WooCommerce
WooCommerce, an open-source WordPress plugin for building e-commerce websites. With this plugin, you can build a complete professional online storefront with all the checkout processes, shopping carts, product catalogs, and everything that an e-commerce site will require. Both free and paid versions are available.
Features
- Easy to manage payment using WooCommerce Payments
- Supports REST API
- Allows to customize content using React
- Compatible with Mailchimp, Stripe, PayPal, and more
- To know more, click here
WordPress Plugins for Your Niche
Fitness & Gym – Gym Studio Membership Management
Gym Studio Membership Management WordPress plugin can be an ideal choice for gym owners. Within this plugin, you can embed class calendar/schedule, membership details, payment information, and more. In the intuitive dashboard, you can have a holistic view of the classes, trainers, subscribers, and all chats.
Features
- Sync dashboard with admin iOS & Android app
- Multiple accounts can be used
- Allows to manage membership payments & refunds
- Built with a live chat feature
- Automatically incur charges from recurring payment user accounts
- Easy to send newsletters to invite new members and engage current members
- To explore all features in detail, check out the website
Spas & Salons – Salon Booking System
Since its launch in 2015, more than 10,000+ websites are using the Salon Booking System plugin to handle appointments. Hairdressers, barbers, and beauticians are using the plugins globally. With this plugin solution, you can handle appointments seamlessly without any hassle.
Features
- Email notifications will be sent to the admin on new bookings
- Reminder emails will be sent to customers
- Booking workflow can be customized
- Allows users to repeat & re-schedule the bookings
- Accept payments from Stripe, PayPal, Square, and more
- Users can login from Facebook account
- Guest checkout is available
- Fields of checkout forms can be customized
- Sync booking with the admin’s Google account
- To explore the features in detail, click here
Bakery Cafe – Five Star Restaurant Menu
With the Five Star Restaurant Menu’s Food Ordering WordPress plugin, you can design attention-grabbing menu cards. Using this plugin, you can allow users to straight away order food on your website from the menu page embedded. It can be added on any page or theme or platform through the Gutenberg editor.
Features
- Can list multiple menu items
- Responsive menu layout
- Allows to add photos & prices for each item
- Sidebars can be created
- Automatically syncs the full menu with Schema
- Possible to design QR codes embedding the online menu
- For more features, check out the link
Looking for a Custom Plugin Solution from Small Business Web?
Plugins world is an ocean and the ones we’ve on the list are just the droplets. There are plugins for form customization, image optimization, multi-lingual support, and a few more ‘sought out’ features.
But then, if you want to deliver a personal touch to your audience, customization is the key. Depending on your unique requirements, users’ actions, and budget, you can outsource your plugin needs to a custom plugin development agency.
With that, your work gets over. A skilled, professional, & passionate team like Small Business Web can create a bespoke plugin without sending you back disappointed. Would like to discuss your project with our team? Drop us a word and let us know your requirements.
About the Author - Pavithra Samuel
I'm a passionate copywriter at Small Business Web sharing a special bond with digital marketing. I aim at delivering masterpiece content for which my research helps a lot. I always search for unique inspirations and write them all down to use in my blogs & content. I make the best use of the upgraded tools & technologies that greatly assist in content writing. Other than reading & writing, my other two friends are food & music. On and often, I do write blog posts, to get regular updates, stay tuned with us.
