Last Updated on October 4, 2020 by Shevy
So you recently launched your blog now you’re stuck wondering which plugins you should install to your blog first. Well, I’m breaking down the best WordPress plugins for blogs and why they are important.
While there are many other plugins that may function similarly to the ones listed in this post. However, these are the ones that I have personally used in the past and had good experiences using them.
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*I earn a small commission if you purchase through any of my links at no extra cost to you*. Full disclosure here.
So before I list the best WordPress plugins for blogs, I’ll go over what is a plugin and how it works.
What Is A Plugin?
If you’re new to WordPress you might have heard about plugins before but probably don’t quite understand what they are and what purpose they serve. A WordPress plugin is a software that can be uploaded to your website to extend its functionality.
They can be downloaded from the WordPress plugin directory or directly from the respective developers’ website. Some plugins are entirely free to download and use while others offer limited free features with the option to upgrade to premium.
Most premium plugins have a monthly subscription fee while very few may charge a one-time fee where you can own it after paying. Now let’s take a deep dive into the best WordPress plugins for blogs to function properly.
How To Upload A Plugin
First go to your WordPress side bar and hover over “Plugins” then click “Add New” as shown below.
You will be taken to a new page where you can search for a plugin from the WordPress directory or upload your own custom plugin. In the example below I have typed in “Elementor” in the search bar and a list of results populated. To begin installation click on “Install Now” after which you will see the “Activate” button.
To upload a custom plugin, after clicking on “Add New”, scroll to the top of the page where you will see the “Upload Plugin” button as follows:
Click “Upload Plugin” then scroll back down a little bit. Next, choose your file from its saved location and click “Install Now”. The plugin will begin to install after which you’ll have to activate it.
Best WordPress Plugins For Blogs
Google Analytics for WP by MonserInsights
After you have created a Google Analytics account for your blog, you can install the Google Analytics for WP by MonsterInsights plugin. After installing the plugin, connect your Google Analytics account using the same tracking ID that Google would have issued to you. Your Google Analytics ID should look like UA-XXXXXXXX-X.
Analyzing website data is an important and ongoing task that you will have to get used to doing as a blogger or entrepreneur. Some of the best ways to know what’s resonating best with your audience are to test, analyze, and tweak accordingly.
Akismet
Akismet is an anti-spam plugin that will filter and block spam comments automatically. It checks your comments and contact form submissions against spam and filters spam comments before it lands in your moderation queue as pending. So you can focus your energy on moderating comments from real users.
Rank Math SEO
Rank Math SEO is a search engine optimization plugin that will help you to optimize your WordPress website for search engines. It does not make your blog posts or website rank, however it provides guidelines, so that your website is more likely to rank higher on search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo.
This is by far the best SEO plugin I have used and definitely recommend. It also comes with a free redirection feature so that when you change the URL of a post or page, it automatically points to your new post or page.
The plugin uses a rating system out of 100, that lets you know how your blog post scores. It then provides recommendations on how to improve that score, so that you can try to get as close to 100 points as possible.
If you are new to Google SEO it may take you some time to configure the plugin settings but its worth installing. Rank Math definitely tops my list as one of the most important and best WordPress plugins for blogs.
All In One WP Migration
This plugin allows you to backup your entire website and then export it to an external drive or cloud storage of your choice. For example Google Drive or Amazon S3 just to name a few.
You can also import a previous backup from another source or saved in another location. It is one of the best WordPress plugins for blogs and websites in general.
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Wordfence Security Firewall & Malware Scan
Wordfence has an integrated malware scanner identifies and blocks malicious traffic from your website, including malicious code or content. It also defends against brute force attacks by limiting login attempts, enforcing strong passwords and other login security measures.
The plugin checks core files, themes and plugins for malware, bad URLs, backdoors, SEO spam, malicious redirects and code injections. It also compares your files with what is in the WordPress.org repository, checking their integrity and reporting any changes to you.
It also checks your site for known security vulnerabilities, abandoned and closed plugins. The plugin ensure that your files, posts and comments don’t contain dangerous URLs or suspicious content.
Broken Link Checker
The Broken Link Checker plugin will let you know every time a link on your website is broken. If it has detected a broken link, you can unlink the URL, update the link, or ignore it entirely.
This plugin is especially useful if you plan on having affiliate links on your website but it also detects internal linking errors as well. It is indeed a must-have and one of the best WordPress Plugins for blogs.
Grow By Mediavine
If you want to make your blog posts shareable, Grow By Mediavine plugin will make that possible. It allows you to link your social media accounts and then places share buttons within your posts.
You can also select where you want the buttons to appear, either above or below the content or in both areas. As well as show or hide the total share count and you can customize the shape of the buttons.
LuckyWP Table Of Contents
This plugin will automatically insert a table of contents in every blog post or selected ones. You can customize the look, link colors and where you want it to appear. Either at the beginning of the post, before or after the first paragraph. You can also set it to show on full view or as a drop-down menu.
Having a table of contents is great especially if your post is very long. It creates a very good user experience so your readers can skip to the section that they want to read first.
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Elementor
To create beautiful landing and sales pages, you can install Elementor FREE Page and Theme Builder. Their premium plan gives you more customization options but the free plan is very efficient as well.
Although it is a drag and drop page builder, some basic website design skills are required. Elementor can also be used to create sales funnels and popup forms.
Duplicate Page & Post
At some point, you may want to duplicate an existing page or post. This plugin comes in handy when you need to duplicate a post or page instead of having to recreate one from scratch.
After duplication, be sure to change the permalink before publishing.
Your URL slug looks like “/best-WordPress-plugins” at the end of your root domain name. This can be edited using Rank Math SEO plugin or Yoast SEO plugin.
WP AutoTerms
The WP AutoTerms plugin is a great and FREE alternative to having to pay for legal pages for your blog. Every website should have a Terms and Conditions page and a Privacy Policy page. However, not everyone is able to pay for a lawyer to create them, as they can be quite costly.
All you need to do is answer some basic questions and it will create different types of legal pages. But, if you can hire a lawyer to create your legal pages then by all means do that.
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Smush
Smush is an all-in-one plugin that optimizes, compresses, and lazy load images so that your website loads faster. You may want to consider upgrading to their premium plan if you want to utilize their Content Delivery Network (CDN).
A CDN allows for the quick transfer of assets needed for loading Internet content including HTML pages, javascript files, stylesheets, images, and videos. – source
This means having a faster loading website and you can utilize your own space wisely.
Simple Author Box
Simple Author Box creates a nice author box at the end of every post so that the author of the post can be seen. This is cool especially when you have guest writers or contributors that you want to credit.
Here is an example of my author box and what it should look like on your website:
In order for the information to appear in the author box section, the relevant information must be first filled in from the backend of your WordPress settings.
W3 Total Cache
W3 Total Cache improves the SEO and user experience of your site by increasing website performance and reducing load times by leveraging features like content delivery network (CDN) integration and the latest best practices. – source
If you are using W3 Total Cache together with Smush, some features may overlap, leading to compatibility issues. If that happens you can either disable one of the plugins or disable the caching feature inside of Smush settings.
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Tasty Pins
Tasty Pins is a lightweight and easy-to-use WordPress plugin that allows you to optimize your blog’s images for Pinterest, SEO, and accessibility. – source
This is not a free plugin, as it has a one-time fee of $29. Some of the features include but are not limited to the following:
- Add hidden Pinterest-specific images on your website front-end.
- You have the option of adding the default Pinterest hover button or a custom Pinterest hover button to all your images.
- Disable pinning on certain images.
- Force pinning of hidden images plus so much more!
Tasty Pins is one of the best WordPress plugins for blogs that will make your blog posts shareable without creating any bad user experiences.
Conclusion
There you have it! 15+ Best WordPress Plugins for blogs and websites to operate effectively. Must-have Plugins for analytics, SEO, page building, SPAM protection, image optimization, social shares, site speed and so much more!
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