In this post, I have composed a list of most essential WordPress plugins that will be really informative for new users. Here is the full list;

1. Akismet Anti-Spam

Akismet is a spam protection plugin developed and maintained by creators of WordPress. If you are having troubles with spam comments on your WordPress installation, I highly recommend using this plugin. It will save you a huge time.

2. All In One Seo Pack

Unfortunately most theme developers doesn’t really care about SEO while creating themes. Using this plugin you can easily raise your site’s search engine rankings to better positions. If you use this plugin, I recommend turning sitemap feature on also. When you have a sitemap, search engine robots will surf your site easier, resulting in faster post/page addition.

3. Contact Form 7

If you are selling products or providing services, having a contact form will have positive effect on your customers or clients. Contact Form 7 just works out of the box and it supports multiple contact forms.

4. Countdown Widget

Do you want to display a count down/ count up timer on your sidebar? Maybe you have an upcoming event, or maybe you just want to fill your sidebar with fun stuff? Countdown Widget is a really simple count down widget that supports shortcodes also. And it is fully customizable using CSS.

5. Disqus Comment System

WordPress default comment system is really handy, but when it comes to social logins and engagement, I recommend an external commenting system like Disqus. It is free for personal sites and allows export/import of wordpress comments to their system using plugin settings.

6. Google Analytics Dashboard for WP (GADWP)

If you like viewing visitor reports on your site, you will love Google Analytics Dashboard. Unlike other analytics plugins, this plugin adds a widget to your WordPress admin dashboard, which is really useful for viewing quick reports like Sessions and PageViews.

7. Page Builder by SiteOrigin

Page Builder is a free WordPress plugin to create rows/columns based page layouts. It supports layout templates allowing you to quickly build great landing pages. It can be used together with WordPress Customize functionality if you want to see your site while editing it. It’s plugin count can be extended using other Page Builder plugins.

8. Page Links To

PageLinksTo allows you to redirect posts or pages to other urls. You can use this plugin to easily create redirections when you move a post or a page. This way users coming from old search engine links won’t lose their way in 404 pages.

9. Redirection

Actually, this plugin is really similar to Page Links To pluin. But Redirection allows RegEx redirections on your site. It also comes with 404 reporting capability which can be used for creating redirections on your site.

10. Search Meter

Just like its name says, this plugin counts search terms on your site search. This way you can understand your users better. You can analyse most searched terms to build a better navigation for your users.

11. SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle

This plugin is an extension for Page Builder by Site Origin. This plugin add very useful widgets to your page builder like Call-to-action, Google Maps etc. If you like using page builder, you will definitely like this too.

12. SubPages Extended

SubPages Extended creates automatic sub page indexes. You can use it on your sidebar, or you can use it’s shortcode to embed a list of sub pages on your pages. It also has option of automatic indexes on empty pages.

13. SyntaxHighlighter Evolved

If you are sharing code snippets on your site, your code will seem better with a syntax highlighter. Syntax Highlighter Evolved is very easy to use, and just does what it says.

14. W3 Total Cache

W3 Total Cache converts your dynamic pages into html versions, reducing loads on your server. It may not seem very user friendly, but It has many great options like using CDN, gzipping outputs, bundling and minifying scripts etc.

15. WP-PageNavi

Pagenavi converts default Older-Newer WordPress pagination to numbered pagination. You may need a small edit on your theme code to use this plugin, but most themes support it nowadays because it is really common.

16. WP-PostViews

PostViews counts views for your posts and pages. It comes with a PHP tag, if you want to display number of views to your visitors. Using it’s widget, you can also list your most viewed posts on your sidebar.

Conclusion

Using WordPress plugins, you can easily extend your web site. In this post, I shared the most essential plugins for your site. If you like this list, please share it with your friends.

Do you have other additions or favorites, add them in the comments!