Best 25 Free WordPress Plugins
On a daily basis the WP Learning Center works with companies like NASA, CNN, Dell, and UCLA as well as small and medium businesses and individuals. Everyone’s looking for functionality that will support the requirements of their website and their industry and as a result we are constantly researching, installing, and configuring WordPress plugins.
There are many different plugin options out there and sometimes it can be confusing and overwhelming trying to figure out which ones are the best. From time to time a plugin really stands out as a very useful tool and we decide that we’re going to use it. So, our staff at the WP Learning center has compiled a list of the best 25 free WordPress plugins and we are passing it on so that you can tap into the free functionality that’s available through these plugins.
Here, we’ve compiled a list of the best 25 free WordPress plugins that we think you just can’t live without.
Post Duplicator
Overview:
The Post Duplicator plugin is used to make a copy of a chosen post. In order to copy a specific post, simply hover over the post and select ‘Duplicate {post_type}’ to copy the post. Please note that any comments from the post are not copied over.
Disable Comments
Overview:
The Disable Comments plugin is used to disable comments throughout your entire site and can also be used to disable comments over your whole network. This includes disabling comments on posts, pages, attachments and any other post type. This plugin should not be used to disable comments on individual posts or on just certain post types.
No Page Comment
Overview:
The No Page Comment plugin gives you the option to allow comments and trackbacks/pingbacks on each individual page or post type. When you create a new page, this plugin will uncheck all the discussion settings and then let you choose to check them if needed on a specific post/page. Because this plugin interacts directly with the database, please make sure to backup your database first just in case any issues arise.
Page Builder by SiteOrigin
Overview:
The Page Builder plugin by SiteOrigin helps you create pages using drag and drop tools that works with your widgets and your theme. Pages created with Page Builder also adjust easily and efficiently to mobile devices.
Meta Slider
Overview:
The Meta Slider plugin is a slideshow creator that allows for easy editing from one single page. Meta Slider provides 4 slideshow types (Flex Slider, Nivo Slider, Responsive Slides & Coin Slider) and these slideshows can be embedded on your site or blog effortlessly.
WooCommerce
Overview:
The WooCommerce plugin is an eCommerce plugin designed to give you control over your store. It is completely customizable to your wants and needs as a store owner or developer. “WooCommerce now powers 30% of all online stores” according to WordPress.org.
Wordfence Security
Overview:
WordFence is a security plugin that helps prevent hacking and malware on your site. After doing an initial scan of your site, WordFence will make your site safe and make it run faster. While WordFence is 100% free, you can purchase the premium version that comes with support and other security options, as well.
UpdraftPlus
Overview:
The UpdraftPlus plugin allows for both manual and scheduled backups and restorations of your site. With UpdraftPlus, you can backup your site into many different places including, but not limited to, DropBox, Google Drive, FTP, or your email.
Simple Login Log
Overview:
The Simple Login Log plugin is used to track user logins. It tracks the user name, time of login, IP address, and the browser user agent for each user login attempt.
WordPress Monitoring by Sitestillup
Overview:
The WordPress Monitoring plugin by Sitestillup helps monitor your website for faults and outages and notifies you of these via email. This plugin performs checks every 60 minutes on your site and even comes with a SiteWarranty trust seal for your use.
Yoast SEO
Overview:
The Yoast SEO plugin is used to optimize your WordPress website for various search engines, like Google and Bing. This plugin is easy to use and also helps you write better content by having you choose a keyword to focus on. The Yoast SEO plugin comes with page analysis tools, as well, along with many other streamlined features.
All in One SEO
Overview:
Like Yoast, the All in One SEO Pack plugin helps with optimizing your site. The difference here is that the All in One SEO Pack does many things automatically like making meta tags and optimizing your titles. It is also the only SEO plugin that integrates with eCommerce websites. Even though All in One does some optimization automatically, you can still change them to whatever you want.
Google XML Sitemaps
Overview:
The Google XML Sitemaps plugin makes a XML sitemap that makes it easier for search engines to index your website and content more efficiently.
Redirection by Urban Giraffe
Overview:
The Redirection plugin helps you manage your redirections. This includes 301, 404, 302, and 307 redirections and errors. This is a useful plugin since it does not require Apache coding experience in order to manage these.
s2Member Framework
Overview:
The s2Member Framework plugin helps you manage your memberships and protect your content. This plugin allows you to set different roles and capabilities for individual users.
Buddypress
Overview:
The BuddyPress plugin integrates social networking onto your WordPress site. This includes member profiles, activity streams, user groups, and messaging.
Contact Form 7
Overview:
The Contact Form 7 plugin helps you manage multiple contact forms. You can customize the contact forms and the mail contents easily and efficiently.
Jetpack
Overview:
The Jetpack plugin adds impressive features to your WordPress site including customization, traffic, mobile, content, visitor engagement, security, and performance tools.
NextGEN Gallery
Overview:
The NextGEN Gallery plugin allows you to upload and manage galleries of images, with the ability to batch upload and editing capabilities and much more. NextGEN Gallery has many different styling options and gives you many different customization choices.
WPtouch Mobile
Overview:
The WPtouch Mobile plugin is used to make your WordPress site compatible with mobile devices by adding a mobile theme to your website. Making your site mobile-friendly is a must in order to keep your SEO rankings high.
Editorial Calendar
Overview:
The Editorial Calendar plugin presents you with an outline of your blog posts and when your posts are scheduled to publish. You can drag and drop to move individual posts to different dates and edit posts all while you are in the calendar.
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget
Overview:
The Black Studio TinyMCE Widget plugin lets you add rich text to your sidebars without the hassle of having to know HTML. This plugin still gives you the option to go between visual mode and HTML mode if you’re knowledgeable about HTML coding.
My Content Management
Overview:
The My Content Management plugin is for advanced content management. Use this plugin if you want to make commonly used custom post types.
Advanced Custom Fields
Overview:
The Advanced Custom Fields plugin allows you to oversee and control all of your edit screens & custom field data. This plugin allows for greater flexibility and customization.
ShortCodes UI by Bainternet
Overview:
The ShortCodes UI plugin by Bainternet is an easy to use plugin for managing and creating shortcodes without needing to know code or how to edit code.
If you need help installing any of the best 25 free WordPress plugins or other support for WordPress, we have instructors that are ready to help you. Call 512-593-1621 or email rick@wordpresslearningcenter.com to schedule a consultation today.