Most WordPress users, if not all, have installed plugins to add extra features because plugins are easy to install. Having been using WordPress for more than 7 years, I picked the 7 best WordPress plugins that every WordPress beginner should have. Whether you run a blog or e-commerce website, you will need some of them.
Site Kit by Google
As a website owner, you probably want to use Google Analytics to track and analyze viewers on your website. If you want to do SEO, you should also use Google Search Console to understand your content’s search performance.
As a beginner, you may not know how to integrate these services with your WordPress site. Google has provided a plugin called Site Kit by Google to help you connect Google Analytics, Search Console, Adsense, Optimize, and other Google tools. Site Kit can assist you in adding the tracking code for Google Analytics to your site if you haven’t previously done so manually.
Once installed, Site Kit can be accessed from Your WordPress Dashboard. In the Site Kit Settings, you can click to connect your preferred Google Services including Search Console, AdSense, Analytics, PageSpeed Insights, Tag Manager, and Optimize.
In the Site Kit Dashboard, you’ll also be able to check statistics from all these Google tools which you connected. For example, you may see your total traffic, impressions, clicks, and objectives using Google Analytics.
You can also manually insert these tracking codes into your WordPress site, but Site Kit makes the process a lot simpler. All you have to do in most circumstances is click a few buttons to grant a few authorizations. Therefore, I highly recommend this plugin for beginners.
Wordfence Security
The security of certain WordPress sites has been compromised in the past. If you are aiming to monetize your WordPress site, you should take website security seriously.
With Wordfence Security, you may have all you need to safeguard your website. The only thing you need to do after installing Wordfence is to click the “Start a Wordfence Scan” button in the WordPress dashboard. In a matter of seconds, the plugin will provide you with a list of suggested fixes. It’s okay if the scan summary simply shows green “Secure,” “Succes” and “Done” reports.
Generally, the free version is enough for normal security check. But for business website such as eCommerce shops and corporate websites, you might consider obtaining the commercial version for enhanced security.
UpdraftPlus Backup Plugin
Speaking of security, it is also crucial to backup your website. There are numerous plugins that can backup your WordPress site. According to over 900,000 downloaders, UpdraftPlus is the finest backup plugin accessible.
UpdraftPlus keeps it simple regarding backup and restore.
Making backups does not have to be a time-consuming or difficult process. There are just three options on UpdraftPlus’ interface: “Backup Now,” ‘Restore,’ and ‘Clone/Migrate.'”
Whenever you make a modification to your site’s plugins, theme, or code, you should make a backup beforehand. UpdraftPlus Settings allow you to choose a backup schedule and activate automatic backups.
The “Clone/Migration” option is for migrating your WordPress site to a new location, which is paid feature. For most people, free backup and restore features are enough.
Yoast SEO Plugin
If you don’t have a large budget, search engine optimization (SEO) is the best approach for the success of your website. If you do well, visitors will continuously come to your website through search. That way, you can make money online when you sleep.
New bloggers and website owners may find SEO to be too complicated, but it is not if you get the Yoast SEO plugin, which offers users insights and suggestions for on-page optimization. Let me break it down to how it can help your WordPress SEO work.
While writing a new page or page, Yoast SEO allows you to check your content’s searchability and readability. Yoast will check your subheadings, paragraph length, keyword density, and meta description. If a particular piece has a red circle around it, you should re-edit your content to make it more SEO-friendly.
In the Advanced tab, you can also edit other elements such as your content’s Twitter description and canonical URL. In addition, Yoast SEO will create an XML sitemap and gather analytics data from Google Search Console in addition to evaluating your content.
The above features are all for free. You can also get Yoast SEO Premium for features like Redirect manager, Social previews, and Synonyms & related keyphrases.
WP Smush
It is widely believed that visual content can give a boost to your SEO. Sadly, a lot of WordPress beginners use huge photos resulting in slow loading speed. According to Google, 54% of mobile visitors will leave if a webpage does not load within 3 seconds. What’s more, page loading speed alone is a proven ranking fator.
That’s why you need an image compression plugin like WP Smush to reduce and optimize your photos for performance automatically. Just install the plugin, go to Media > WP Smush, and click “Bulk Smush Now.”
You can also configure WP Smush to automatically optimize new uploaded photos. Just click the “Automatically smush my photographs on upload” option in the options area. The plugin makes sure that photos don’t lose quality when compression, so you can simply concentrate on creating amazing content.
Elementor Website Builder
Speaking of visual content, you may also use the Elementor Website Builder plugin to create beautiful pages by dragging and dropping. It gives you access to so many additional customization choices for your website.
Whether you are designing pages from scratch or utilizing one of its 30+ templates, you have a ton of customization at your hands. If you don’t want to install Elementor Website Builder Plugin, you can also get it from the Elementor website.
Social Snap Plugin
Besides SEO, social media is another good source to drive traffic to your website, so I suggest you install a social sharing plugin, Social Snap, on your WordPress website. It can display social media sharing buttons of your choice on your website. You may also include Click-to-Tweet buttons to encourage readers to share your content on Twitter.
Final Thoughts
I use a few more plugins than these 7, but too many WordPress plugins may slow down your website, that’s why I keep the list minimum. The above mentioned WordPress plugins for beginners are used by many famous bloggers and marketers. They should meet all your essential criteria quite well.
If you have any questions regarding WordPress plugins or you have a better suggestion, please let me know in the comments. I read all comments.