{"id":12915,"date":"2018-10-29T06:00:32","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T06:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gravityforms.com\/?p=12915"},"modified":"2020-04-07T14:27:24","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T18:27:24","slug":"best-wordpress-plugins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gravityforms.com\/best-wordpress-plugins\/","title":{"rendered":"The 13 Best WordPress Plugins Every Website Should Install"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Best<\/p>\n

WordPress is a powerful, versatile website tool, which is one of the reasons it\u2019s so popular<\/a>. That versatility comes from the countless plugins that expand its functionality. By adding some of the best WordPress plugins to your site, you can take your business to the next level.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our list of the top WordPress plugins every site owner or administrator should install and activate. These will give you the tools you need to create a positive experience for your users and, ultimately, achieve your business goals.<\/p>\n

[content_upgrade cu_id=\"12914\"]Free download: Do's and Don'ts for Adding New Plugins to Your Website[content_upgrade_button]Click Here[\/content_upgrade_button][\/content_upgrade]<\/p>\n

1. Yoast SEO<\/h2>\n

Search engines are the main source of traffic for most websites. If you want people to find you in a Google search, it\u2019s important to take search engine optimization<\/a> (SEO) seriously.<\/p>\n

SEO is the practice of optimizing your website pages so they appear when users search for its topic. For instance, you could optimize a page for the keyword \u201c1960s classic cars\u201d so it would appear high in the search results when someone searched for that term.<\/p>\n

The Yoast SEO plugin ensures that you optimize each page and post as best you can for a particular keyword. Once you tell Yoast which keyword you want the page to rank for, it tells you how to make improvements to the copy, images, and code to get maximum SEO value.<\/p>\n

\"Best<\/p>\n

Grab Yoast SEO here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. W3 Total Cache<\/h2>\n

Caching is the practice of storing website data temporarily in the user\u2019s cache so it loads faster the next time (and subsequent times) the user opens the same page. It\u2019s one of the best ways to improve the performance of your WordPress site.<\/p>\n

The W3 Total Cache plugin caches your pages and posts as static HTML files. These static pages are served to users, rather than WordPress\u2019 typical dynamically created pages. This drastically reduces your pages\u2019 and posts\u2019 loading times.<\/p>\n

Grab W3 Total Cache here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When your pages load quickly, your users have a positive experience on your website. Page load speed is also an SEO factor, so loading quicker means higher Google rankings.<\/p>\n

3. Broken Link Checker<\/h2>\n

If you have a lot of pages and posts, it\u2019s easy to forget which ones link to which. Removing a page or post could break a lot of links. If one of your users tries to use one of those broken links, there\u2019s a chance they\u2019ll become frustrated and switch to another website. It could even cost you customers, which is unacceptable.<\/p>\n

Broken Link Checker monitors your website for broken links. It checks all pages, posts, comments, widgets, and all other content. If it finds a bad link, it tells you where to find it so you can fix it right away.<\/p>\n

\"Best<\/p>\n

Grab Broken Link Checker here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. Redirection<\/h2>\n

Redirecting URLs manually requires some coding in a specialized file on your web server, which can get a little complicated, so you\u2019ll definitely want a plugin like Redirection to manage all that for you.<\/p>\n

Redirection automatically creates 302 redirects when you change a page or post\u2019s URL. You can also set up your own redirects (301s, 302s, and 307s) with their easy-to-understand interface.<\/p>\n

This plugin is especially useful if you\u2019re migrating an old website to a new one or changing your WordPress installation directory.<\/p>\n

Grab Redirection here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. Akismet<\/h2>\n

Comment spam is a reality for many WordPress sites. You may want to encourage discussion, but bots and trolls will post their spam comments and links in droves. Akismet is a popular and powerful plugin to block those unwanted comments.<\/p>\n

Grab Akismet here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

6. Google Analytics<\/h2>\n

Google Analytics is a great plugin for importing your Google Analytics data right into your WordPress dashboard. This way you have all the important analytical information you need about how people use your website right at your fingertips.<\/p>\n

\"Best<\/p>\n

Using this plugin also means you don\u2019t have to log into Google Analytics every day, which can be an intimidating application for many website owners.<\/p>\n

Grab Google Analytics here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7. Jetpack<\/h2>\n

Jetpack is a powerful plugin that includes a number of free features that every type of WordPress user would enjoy. Just look at this massive list!<\/p>\n