I am literally using every single one of these plugins on all TriOrbit network websites.; with the exception of the category at the bottom: Useful WordPress Plugins. This list is not some quickly hashed up nonsense. I’ve searched far and wide to find the very best plugins.
Searching for WordPress plugins can be pretty time consuming. Testing them can be even more time consuming. As a person who runs many blogs and builds countless websites, it can also be tricky to even remember the names of good plugins. So this is a great page to bookmark and come back to each time you start a new blog.
Where possible, I always try to use the free plugins. Most of the plugins listed here are free. However, in some cases, there’s no way out but to purchase a plugin. So believe me, if there’s a plugin below that’s not free, it’s because there’s no such thing as a free version that will do the job.
I will keep it updated and even refer to it personally as I find more great plugins.
- Productivity
- Profit
- Security, Privacy and Backups
- Legal Pages and and Requirements (by law).
- Analytics
- Other Useful Plugins
Productivity
PHP Everywhere, by Alexander Fuchs
It is very convenient to be able to add PHP to pages and widgets. This fantastic little plugin allows you to add PHP without a fuss.
WP Add Custom CSS, by Daniele De Santis
Most themes come with the ability to add custom CSS. That’s all well and good, but if you decide to change the theme you can lose all sorts of design elements that you made for the content. The best thing to do is install a custom CSS plugin so that no matter what theme you decide to use in future, your CSS will be retained.
Classic Editor, by WordPress Contributors
Because the Gutenberg editor is an abomination and needs to be killed with fire.
Hide Featured Image, by shahpranaf
Hide Featured Image allows you to show/hide featured images on individual posts. This is especially useful if you post a YouTube video and do not want a image to be displayed above the video.
Yoast SEO, by Team Yoast
WordPress does a pretty good job of SEO anyway, but adding Yoast gives you extra functionality, like adding opengraph images for social networks and other options within the actual posts. Yoast is definitely a must have. Very useful.
WP Fastest Cache, By Emre Vona
I’ve tried many of the cache plugins to try to speed up WordPress and Can definitively say that WP Fastest Cache definitely takes the cake. It’s the simplest to use and does the best job.
404 to 301, By Joel James
This is a very easy to use and simple plugin that redirects all 404 pages back to your WordPress Homepage.
Header Footer Code Manager, By 99robots
Header Footer Code Manager is great for adding particilar content within the pages of post categories.
Profit
Thirsty Affiliates, by Rymera Web Co
Thirsty Affiliates is a link manager that allows you to cloak affiliate links.
Security, Privacy & Backups
UpdraftPlus, by UpdraftPlus.Com, David Anderson
UpDraft Plus is the most popular and useful backup plugin you can get for WordPress. It comes with pretty much every feature you could ask for.
Wordfence, by Wordfence
Wordfence installs a malware scanner and firewall into your WordPress blog. It blocks malicious IP’s to keep your website safe. Wordfence is the most comprehensive security plugin your can get for WordPress.
Disable Comments, by Samir Shah
I’ve put disable comments under the security heading, because allowing comments on WordPress can cause huge security problems. Nine times out of ten, you don’t want comments on pages or media. A lot of the time you don’t even want comments on posts. This plugin allows you to turn off comments on your WordPress blog, globally. You can turn off comments for posts, pages or media types, separately.
WP Mailto Links, by Ironikus
In my opinion, email forms are unnecessary 90% of the time. A lot of users would prefer a simple email link. WP Mailto links allows you to add an email link to your WordPress blog in a way that hides it from bots.
Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA (Google), by Robert Peake
This is a very simple, yet valuable reCAPTCHA plugin. A must have to protect against multiple login attempts.
Legal Pages
WP AutoTerms, by WP AutoTerms
WP Auto Terms takes you through a simple wizard to create all your legal pages such as Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Very useful.
Analytics
Google Analytics Dashboard for WP (GADWP), by ExactMetrics
This plugin gives you access to data and statistics from your Google Analytics account, directly from your WordPress dashboard. It’s pretty convenient.
Other Useful WordPress Plugins
These plugins are not necessarily must haves. However, depending on the type of blog you’re creating, they may be incredibly useful.