65 WordPress Plugins I’ve Used and Tested
Over 15 years working in WordPress
For over 15 years I’ve worked with WordPress and have had the opportunity to not only build at least 75 business websites, but to also learn which plugins work the best. New plugins are always developed and I’m sure that I’ve missed some important ones on this list.
However, the plugins I’ve listed I have experience with and they do not cause conflicts with my preferred web building tool, Divi.
There are a few popular plugins that I have not included on my list either because of conflicts, issues with site speed, poor support or security concerns.
Quick Note – Website Frameworks
Having worked with a variety of frameworks and custom frameworks, I’ve settled into Divi for all of our business websites. The comparisons on frameworks can be a blog post in itself. The Divi framework has evolved throughout the years and the features and ability for customization are unsurpassed… in my opinion.
Plugins – The Building Blocks of WordPress
Plugins bring important functions to your website. Many functions and features that you need for expanding the functionality of a website can be done with a plugin.
There are thousands of free and premium WordPress plugins to download. The choices can be confusing. The wrong choice can crash your website or make your site vulnerable to security issues. Good hosting is also key to a successful website. You can have the best of Plugins, however if you are running on an outdated server or a crowded shared server, no amount of plugins will help.
Siteground Hosting offers a solid solution for business websites. The main pillars of their services are web hosting services: website speed, security and support.
The following plugins I have used over the years on various sites. When building a business website I am cautious as to which plugins to use and research the pros and cons. Too many plugins can be problematic and for most sites I will only use the necessary plugins.
65 WordPress Plugins for Business Websites
1. Gravity Forms
More than just forms. Basic and advance functionality. Can create forms with simple logic and also ordering forms that integrate into payment solutions such as Stripe. Purchase Gravity Forms here
2. WP Forms Light
This drag & drop online form builder allows you to easily create contact forms, email subscription forms, online order forms, payment forms, surveys, polls, and basically all other types of online forms with just a few clicks. User interface is clean and easy. Download WP Forms
2B. WP Mail SMTP by WPForms
When having issues with legit emails going to spam, WP Mail SMTP fixes your email delivery by reconfiguring WordPress to use a proper SMTP provider when sending emails. WP Mail details
3. Contact Form 7
A few years back one of the most popular form builders. Still a good solution however for a free form version WP Forms is my preferred choice. Contact Form 7
4. All in One SEO
The original SEO Plugin developed in 2007. On page optimization, XML sitemaps, smart Meta Title and Descriptions and more. Free and paid versions. Well designed user interface.
5. Yoast
In depth SEO plugin that offers link suggestions and scores. Local SEO, Video SEO, News SEO, WooCommerce and now Shopify. The user interface tends to be busy. Free and paid versions.
6. XML Sitemaps
Provides a complete XML site map for search engines. Download XML Sitemaps
7. Akismet Anti-Spam
Solid plugin that has been around for years. Protects your blog from spam. Akismet Keys are free for personal blogs.
8. Disable Comments
With over one millions installations. Instantly allow or disallow comments from any post type in WordPress (Pages, Posts, or Media) to stop the spammers and gain complete control over your full website. Disable Comments Plugin
9. CleanTalk
CleanTalk provides spam protection that invisible to visitors without using captcha or other methods when visitors have to prove that they are real peoples. Clean Talk
10. YYARPP
Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP) is a professionally maintained, highly customizable, feature rich plugin that displays pages, posts, and custom post types related to the current entry. YAARP
11. The Classic Widgets Plugin
Disable Gutenberg WordPress block widgets. Get rid of the Widget blocks and revert back to the more customizable and easier to see widgets.
The Classic Widgets Plugin
12. Real Testimonials
Display testimonials, customer reviews, or quotes in multiple ways on any post, page, custom template, widget, etc. Integrates well with Divi.
Real Testimonials
13. Site Reviews
Site Reviews allows your visitors to submit reviews with a 1-5 star rating on your website, similar to the way you would on TripAdvisor or Yelp. Integrates with WooCommerce, however WooCommerce has basic product reviews built into the core. Site Reviews
14. SeedProd
Under construction notices for websites, landing pages and presentations. SeedProd
15. Under Construction
Create an Under Construction Page, Maintenance Mode Page, Coming Soon Page or a Landing Page that takes less than a minute to install & configure. Under Construction
16. WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam
This plugins block spam submissions using honeypot anti spam techniques. No Captcha or extra verification field hassle to the users. WP Armour
17. WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click
Protect your content and images from content thieves. No one can right-click on images. Protect your content from being selected and copied. WP Content Protection
18. Wordfence Security
Provides WordPress security that helps to protect websites against hacking, malware, brute force attacks and more. Free and paid versions.
19. iThemes Security Pro
Solid solution for website security. Beyond the hacking and malware protection they offer site scans for plugin and theme vulnerabilities, weekly WordPress vulnerability report, and version management. Yearly cost.
20. WPS Hide Login
With over 1 million users, WPS Hide Login is a very light plugin that lets you easily and safely change the url of the WordPress login page to anything you want. Note that the wp-admin directory and wp-login.php page become inaccessible, so you should bookmark or remember the url! WPS Hide Login
21. Login/ Signup Popup
Pop up login feature. Good for eCommerce and membership websites. Makes it easy for members to login with this simple plugin which makes registration, login & reset password process super smooth. Login Popup
22. WP User Profile Restriction
There are times when you don’t want users/members to have access to updated their profile or passwords. Helpful plugin to restrict user profile so that a user can’t update his profile if he is not Admin, Editor, Author. WP User Profile
23. Bloom.
A Divi product that lets you create automatic opt-in pop-ups. Timed delay, after scrolling, after commenting, purchasing and after inactivity. The plugin has many options built into it and also several designs to pick from. Bloom plugin from Divi
24. Content Control
Restrict access to certain parts of a page/post using shortcodes. Good solution for membership and paid content sites. Display a custom message to users who do not have permission to view the content. Content Control
25. Live Chat
There are dozens of options for website chat software. Depending on your needs and website traffic, LiveChat is worth looking into. Starter plans start at $16 a month. Live Chat
26. Hello Bar
The free version has many features for messaging with a pop up, sticky bar, slider, alert and more. The application also gives access to analytics and A/B tests. Hello Bar
27. TablePress
Great solution for tables that are needed in posts and pages. Many features and ways to customize multiple rows of information in an easy to read format. TablePress
28. GDPR Cookie Consent
WIth over 1 million + active installations in the WordPress plugin directory, the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin is packed with features. Included are adding a banner to your website that can be customized to look as part of your website, block cookies according to the consent given by the users, manage cookies, enable the users to accept or reject cookies, etc.
29. MailPoet
Newsletter signups within WordPress. Automated newsletters from your posts on your WordPress website. Set it up to send out a notification each time a new blog post is published.
MailPoet
30. Simple 301 Redirects
Simple 301 Redirects provides an easy method of redirecting requests to another page on your site or elsewhere on the web. It’s especially handy when you migrate a site to WordPress and can’t preserve your URL structure. Simple 301 Redirects
31. All-in-One WP Migration
Migrate your WordPress website to a different server or domain. Especially helpful if you are building websites on a test url and then moving to the permanent location. All-in-one Migration
32. Better Search Replace
When moving your WordPress site to a new domain or server, you will likely run into a need to run a search/replace on the database for everything to work correctly. Works well, especially helpful in switching from http: to https:. Better Search and Replace
33. Redirection:
Solid plugin for over 10 years. Easily manage 301 redirections, keep track of 404 errors, and generally tidy up any loose ends your site may have.
Get Redirection here
34. Really Simple SSL
Really Simple SSL automatically detects your settings and configures your website to run over HTTPS. Really Simple SSL
35. Smush
Optimize your website more by reducing image file sizes. Improve performance and boost your SEO. Smush
36. EWWW Image Optimizer
Optimize new images as you upload and images already in your library. Fast and reliable. EWWW Image Optimizer
37. WP Rocket
One of the best caching plugins with several options for optimization, caching and eCommerce optimization. Great support. Paid plugin.
38. WP Super Cache
Improves pages speed, lowers page loading time through cached files. (WP Super Cache is developed by Automattic, the creators of WordPress.Com. With over 2 million installations and a rating of 4.26, this plugin is one of the most popular plugins.) WP Super Cache
39. WP-Optimize Cache
Performance plugin that caches your site, cleans your database, compresses your images. WP Optimize Cache
40. Advanced Custom Fields
Custom fields – Add extra content fields to WordPress websites. Any type of field can be added as a sub field which allows you to create and manage very customized data with more control. Advanced Custom Fields PRO
41. ACF Plugin for Divi
Good for complicated Divi sites with dynamic content. Directories, real estate, activities, anything at all where you may want to add custom fields to your content. Details here
42. Custom Post Type UI
Good for creating and customizing custom post types and taxonomies in content heavy websites with multiple categories and sub categories. Custom Post Type UI
43. Five Star Restaurant Menu – WordPress Food Ordering Plugin
Set up for a stylish, responsive restaurant menu. Add the menu to pages/posts with short code. Has limitations. Good for a basic food and drink menu.
44. Restaurant Ordering plugin – WooCommerce
Perfect to get a restaurant online with food and drink menus. Fully functional system for restaurant online ordering with multiple options and variations. Great on mobile with a lightbox ordering form. Excellent support. More details on this plugin will be reviewed in my WooCommerce plugins post.
Paid plugin
45. PopUp Builder
With a wide range of WordPress popup types, conditions, and events (From Image Popup to Countdown popup, Exit Intent to GeoTargeting). PopUp Builder
46. Tracking – ExactMetrics is not the only way to integrate with Analytics.
ExactMetrics Integrates with Google Analytics accounts and gives a snapshot of traffic within your WordPress dashboard. It’s helpful, however annoying with the constant upset and alert messages within the dashboard.
Another option: Go directly to your Analytics account and copy the tracking code. Use the Insert Headers and Footers plugin or your theme CSS to insert your Google Analytics code.
47. Site Kit
Created by Google, Site Kit shows metrics and insights from different Google products. Helpful feature that integrates with AdSense you you can track how much your site is earning you.
48. MonsterInsights
Connect your WordPress site with Google Analytics. MonsterInsights comes with an analytics dashboard for WordPress that shows you actionable analytics reports right inside your WordPress dashboard.
49. Rafflepress
Create Giveaways and raffles on your website with RafflePress. Integrates with the main email marketing platforms. Many built in features for social media sharing and tracking.
50. Modern Events Calendar LiteOn
Event Calendar with dozens of options. Calendar filtering, basic event lists, current events/past events. Put events anywhere. Modern Events Calendar
51. All-in-One Events Calendar
Easily create, manage and share your events from your website. Sell tickets, build brand awareness, acquire event registrations from your website. All-in-one Events Calendar
52. MemberPress
The only member plugin that has included all the features I’ve needed for robust membership websites. Allows you to build online courses, communities, and membership sites using WordPress. Easy integration with payment gateways. MemberPress
53. Gift Up!
Gift Up! is an app that works with your existing WooCommerce WordPress website and social media platforms and allows you to create and sell gift cards for your business. Gift Up
54. WP Recipe Maker
An easy workflow allows you to add recipes to any post or page with automatic JSON-LD metadata for your recipes. Compatible with Pinterest Rich Pins, Add photos or videos to any step of the recipe, Print recipe and jump to recipe shortcodes. WP Recipe Maker
55. CM Glossary Tooltip
Enables you to check posts or pages for defined glossary terms, by adding links to a glossary term page that contains the definition of the term used. Good for technical websites, medical and dental that references terms. CM Glossary Tooltip
56. Social Warfare
Gives you control over what people are sharing from your site and tracks with counts. Can customize for all social outlets. Customization on every page and post if desired with snippets. Simply the best and the only social plugin that I have used. Quick and easy to customize. Social Warfare
57. WonderPlugin
It supports images, YouTube, Vimeo, HTML5 videos, Text, PDF and HTML code. You can use it to create image carousel, image scroller, image carousel slider, logo carousel, logo auto scroller, WordPress posts carousel, WordPress recent posts carousel, WordPress custom post type carousel and WooCommerce product carousel. Wonder Plugin Paid version
58. NextGEN Gallery
Solid gallery plugin since 2007. NextGEN offers a complete WordPress gallery management system with the ability to batch upload photos, import meta data, add/delete/rearrange/sort photos, edit thumbnails, group galleries into albums, and more.
59. Foo Gallery
Galleries with light boxes, managing albums, and watermarking images with several flexible options. Great for artists and photographers. Foo Gallery
60. Essential Grid
Option to choose from even, masonry and cobble layouts to display your creative work.
Automatic updates of sourced content (from websites like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) Built-in features such as watermark protection & right click protection. Custom post types, Woo Commerce flexibility. Essential Grid is perfect for visual websites.
61. Slider Revolution
Create Sliders & Carousels, Hero Headers, Content Modules and more. Slider Revolution
62. Image Intense
Plugin that is used with the Divi image modules and has dozens of interesting effects; animations, hover styles, opacity blends and more. Love it for adding an extra pop and visual interest. Image Intense by BeSuperfly
63. Smart Slider 3 Pro
One of my favorites for creative sliders and overlays. The Smart Slider 3 free version has tons of options to explore.
64. UpdraftPlus
UpdraftPlus simplifies backups and restoration. It is the world’s highest ranking and most popular scheduled backup plugin, with over three million currently-active installs. Free and paid versions.
65. Backup Buddy
WordPress back ups, scheduled, restoration. A few years back, had some issues with the plugin timing out with certain GoDaddy hosting accounts. How to fix the time out issue here. (https://rosepapacreative.com/troubleshooting-back-up-problems-in-wordpress/)
Stay tuned for my top Plugins for eCommerce Websites
I hope you enjoyed and found value in my list of the 65 WordPress Plugins to power up your website. I’m working on my list of eCommerce Plugins that I’ve used. Selecting the right plugins for your website projects can be challenging and some of the process is trial and error. And this is true especially for eCommerce websites.
When selecting Plugins for extending functionality, I always start with a clear plan as to what the website needs to accomplish. Less Plugins are always better. When testing new Plugins it’s always important to have direct access to your server in case you run into Plugin conflicts. Also research on the Plugin developer is helpful and of course the ratings. However, there are some good plugins that aren’t on the popularity circuit that are very effective.
I’m always on the lookout for new website tools and as I mentioned at the start of this article I most likely missed some good ones.
