Launched in 2003, WordPress quickly rose to the likes of being the most popular content management system in the world. There are around 74.6 million websites that are powered by WordPress, this means that around 26% of the web runs on this CMS. The CMS powers websites of individuals, small business owners, bloggers, startups, and some of the Fortune 500 companies.
One of the greatest convenience of using a CMS such as WordPress is the extendibility it offers. And this is best done using a plugin. Plugin is a small group of code that adds features to the CMS. Having said this, any popular web design company in Dubai, such as Minds Metricks, does customization of CMS websites using plugin development.
However, there is no need to develop all plugins from scratch. You may use one of these 10 popular plugins for your website.
1. Page Builder by SiteOrigin
When it comes to page creation, one of the trending plugins that captures the attention of many WordPress website owners is the SiteOrigin Page Builder. With this plugin, you can easily create responsive column or row-based content. These content sections easily adapt to any mobile device screen layout and add extended functionality to the website.
2. WP Smush
Optimize all the images by compressing or resizing them using the revolutionary WP Smush plugin. From scaling down heavy images to optimizing performance of websites, this plugin support JPG, PNG, GIF, and other media plugins.
3. Contact Form 7
Create multiple customized contact forms for your website using this easy-to-use plugin. Powered by AJAX, it supports Akismet and CAPTCHA for anti-spam purposes.
4. Yoast SEO
Improve the overall SEO with XML sitemap, in-depth page analysis, RSS optimization, and multi-site functionality using this out-of-the-box plugin. Yoast enables you to write better content and optimize website structure for better web outreach.
5. Google XML Sitemap
Create XML sitemaps to help the search engines index your website better with the simple, yet efficient Google XML sitemap plugin. This plugin also supports all WordPress pages and custom URLs.
6. Google Analytics Dashboard
Track the number of visitors to your website and retrieve in-depth reports on Pages and Posts with this fully customizable plugin. This Dashboard plugin allows full customization with respect to dimensions and events, thereby helping to retrieve real-time stats, analytic reports, tracking, and much more.
7. W3 Total Cache
This plugin improves the SEO and user experience of your website by bringing down load time with CDN integration. Compatible with all kinds of hosting, this plugin provides AMP support and caching of CSS and JavaScript.
8. WordFence
To keep the site secured from unwanted malware and attacks, the WordFence plugin is the apt choice. Whenever an attack is tried, you will receive email notifications. The plugin keeps the installation updated and other plugins secured.
9. Updraft
Taking regular backups of your WordPress site is a must, and this is best done with Updraft. The plugin simplifies backup process and stores the data on Google Drive, Amazon S3, Dropbox, and other services. Automatic backups, Debug mode, and Data migration are some of the features available.
10. Akismet
Check your website for spam comments and contact form submissions with the revolutionary Akismet plugin. One of the oldest plugins; it auto-checks spam comments, and filters them.