One of the most complex questions for WordPress website owners has always been how many and which plugins to use for security, optimization, speed, and more conversions on websites. With over 55,000 plugins to choose from, it's not easy to decide between all the offerings that differ in price, functionality, and availability.
In this article, we present some popular WordPress plugin suggestions that are currently enjoying great popularity and good reviews among website developers, administrators, and users. These are also our suggestions for the best WordPress plugins and tools, categorized according to their purpose:
1. Best SEO Plugin: All-in-One SEO
If search engine optimization (SEO) is not one of your priorities, you are already losing many leads to your competitors. It's good to know that the right SEO strategy will help you stand out at the moments when users are most likely to perform a converting search - when they are actively defining products, services, or information online. There's no better time to appear among the first results on Google, is there?
In addition to a good knowledge of SEO for WordPress websites, you'll have the necessary and helpful tools at your disposal, which includes our suggestion for the best WordPress SEO plugin.
All-in-One SEO wins our hearts (ours and those of more than 3 million WordPress users) as the best option because it's so easy to use and has so many features at your disposal. Some of them are:
- Personalized improvement guidelines for each page of the website
- Link Assistant to help you manage external and internal links on the website
- Redirection Manager helps you guide search engines and users when you move or delete content on the website
- SEO audit and specific recommendations to improve various aspects of the website
As with most SEO plugins, you can see in real-time how changes to your website affect your SEO score.
2. Best Plugin to Improve Website Speed: LiteSpeed Cache
The developers present LiteSpeed Cache as one of the best WordPress plugins for caching content at the server level and as the best solution for reducing loading times and optimizing the speed and overall performance of websites.
Once you install the plugin, you should feel the difference in your website's performance compared to before. Search engines will also very soon favorably evaluate this change, as the speed of a website is also an SEO factor. These are the results you should be aiming for when looking at the average loading speed of websites on the internet.
At hosting Jump we use a LiteSpeed server with which we guarantee a high loading speed for your website.
3. Best Security Plugin: Sucuri Firewall
Without the so-called firewall, you leave your website unprotected from hacker attacks and other malicious actions. Plugins such as Secure Firewall block such processes and ensure the secure operation of websites and also protect their users. It is also our number 1 in this category because it makes this possible:
- Protection from hacking and malware
- Protection against malicious bots
- Blocking based on geolocation
- DDoS attacks protection
Sucuri Firewall intervenes before all the above types of attacks reach and affect your servers, and regular security checks are carried out every 3 hours.
4. Best eCommerce Plugin: WooCommerce
WooCommerce is worth dedicating a separate article to, as it is one of the most popular tools that help online shops and retailers. The plugin allows you to create a fully functional online shop with a theme of your choice and manage all your customers, products, and transactions in it.
The platform also offers a variety of extensions that you can use to optimize the sales process, payments, orders, and conversions in your shop. Here are some of the key benefits of WooCommerce:
- You create a unique shop without restrictions on product variants, subscriptions, discounts, etc.
- Extremely simple and quick installation in WordPress
- Flexibility and security when paying by bank, card, or cash on delivery
- Good support from developers and users of the tool
- Manage orders and transactions via a mobile application
WooCommerce is undoubtedly one of the best options for creating and managing an online shop in WordPress. It offers you enough options to customize your website and set up all processes according to your wishes.
5. Best Email Marketing Plugin: Constant Contact
Constant Contact is an excellent tool for email marketing and automation that even beginners in the field of online marketing and eCommerce can easily use. The plugin allows you to send targeted email messages to different user segments of your website. The benefits of Constant Contact include:
- A wide range of templates for your emails depending on purpose and target group
- Email automation for specific groups of users
- Detailed reports on the performance of your email campaigns, allowing you to make data-driven decisions
Constant Contact combines all the necessary digital marketing tools for any online business and offers developer support and updates. While Constant Contact is our favorite in this category, there are also competitive alternatives such as HubSpot, Sendinblue, and others.
6. Best Plugin for Image Compression: TinyPNG
Let's get back to the topic of website speed and SEO factors. The size of the images is also of decisive importance for the dynamics of the website and accordingly also for the evaluation by the search engines. That's why you should always have tools like TinyPNG at hand, which allow you to reduce images to an optimal format that doesn't compromise their quality and doesn't affect the usability of the website. Here you can see what characterizes our first choice in this category:
- Immediate optimization of all images already uploaded to the website
- Automatic optimization and conversion of all new images to the web format
- Compatible with WooCommerce
We recommend TinyPNG, because of its ease of use and virtually automatic image optimization, which you do not need to intervene with after installation. There are also several good alternatives for the plugin, such as EWW Image Optimizer, Smush, and others.
7. Best Lead Generation Plugin: OptinMonster
OptinMonster is one of the most popular solutions for lead generation, email list growth, and sales. It is characterized by:
- A variety of 6 campaign types to subscribe and grow contact lists, including pop-up and gamification models
- Precise targeting of campaigns to the audience and their interaction with the website
- Drag & drop functionality that allows you to create your campaign in minutes
- Easy integration with other online marketing and sales tools you use
The team behind OptinMonster has solid industry experience and offers other solutions to improve the conversion rate of websites and increase their user clientele.
- Best Analytics Plugin: MonsterInsights
To improve the metrics and performance of your website, you first need to be able to measure them. With MonsterInsights, you can collect and analyze a variety of data that will help you discover your most valuable traffic sources, the best content on your site, and your users' preferences when interacting with the site. Some of the useful features of MonsterInsights are:
- Easy installation without tracking codes and the need for assistance from a programmer. Those working with other web analytics tools will immediately understand why this is a significant convenience.
- Custom reports on site performance, different user segments, and more. directly in the WordPress admin panel
- Easy integration with other plugins and tools you already use in WordPress
Like the other plugins we have selected, MonsterInsights is quick and easy to install and can be activated with just a few clicks.
9. Best Plugin for Creating Landing Pages: SeedProd
SeedProd is a handy tool that allows you to easily and quickly create WordPress sites with just a few clicks. It's also our suggestion for the best landing page builder, because:
- Features a drag & drop page editor
- It offers block and page templates with a professional and attractive design
- Ready-made views for "Coming Soon" pages and those currently in update and maintenance mode
- Live preview to see how changes to each page will affect the user's view
SeedProd is also characterized by its ease of use and ability to integrate with other plugins and tools. Here you will also find other high-quality alternatives such as Elementor, Divi, and more.
10. Best Plugin for Creating Contact Forms: WPForms
There is almost no website that does not need to create contact forms and facilitate interaction with users. WPForms is the best solution for this because in addition to contact forms, it also allows you to create surveys, chat, and other forms without having to write any code. Here's what else you need to know about the plugin:
- You will receive an immediate notification as soon as a user fills out a form
- You rely on the responsive design of all forms so that they are displayed well on all devices
- You have additional tools to process payments via Paypal, Stripe, Square, and more.
- Thanks to WPForms, your contact, registration, and payment forms look great and are easy and convenient for users to fill out.
What Else to Optimize in a WordPress Website
You now know the most important types of plugins you should have on your website. They are necessary, but not sufficient, to ensure that your website is fully optimized, secure, and attractive to users.
Another requirement is a reliable WordPress hosting plan that provides enough resources for your online project, as well as maximum protection, continuous support, backups of files and systems, and additional tools for loading speed.
These and many other advantages can be found in our WordPress hosting plans, which are designed for all types of projects - from personal blogs to large professional websites and e-shops.
Just getting started? We have all the resources you need to get your new WordPress website up and running in a few simple steps.
If you need help managing your WordPress website or WooCommerce store, check out our service - WordPress Support: