There are over 47,000 plugins available on WordPress. These plugins can assist with various website functions namely online shopping, booking, and opt-ins. It also allows you to improve your website’s design by making use of a landing page builder, carousel sliders, and video backgrounds.

Here are examples of some of the essential WordPress Plugins to install right away:

1. Wordfence Security

Wordfence Security is a free plugin you use to protect your website. After installation, all you need to do is to go to WordPress > Scan from the dashboard and click “Start a Wordfence Scan”. The plugin does its job automatically and will provide you with the recommended fixes in a few seconds.

2. UpdraftPlus Backup Plugin

This backup system is used by over 900 000 individuals as a software that can save you from unexpected disasters.

3. Akismet

Install Akismet to get minimise spam comments that are left on our posts. After installation, the plugin will automatically filter out spam based comments and prevent them from showing on your site.

4. Yoast SEO

This is a comprehensive plugin tool that provides users with insights and recommendations for on-page optimisation

5. Live Composer

Use this drag-and-drop editor to design each page how you want it to appear without writing a single line of code.

6. Contact Form 7

By using contact forms you can achieve much more than just encourage your audience to reach out to your brand. It also helps you collect valuable feedback and insights that help you improve your website over time.

7. WP Smush

Don’t make the mistake of using images that are too big as this results to your audience leaving out of frustration. That’s why you need an image compression plugin like WP Smush to resize and optimise your images for speed automatically.

8. Shortcodes Ultimate

This allows you to use a wide range of shortcodes that can spice up your WordPress website. All you need to do is to copy-paste shortcodes to implement elements such as galleries, multiple content tabs, quotes, and frames.

9. WooSidebars

WooSidebars is a simple plugin that allows you to create an infinite number of sidebars for different pages. In Appearance > Widget Areas, you can give a name to your new widget area as well as a brief description. You can also specify conditions for the new widget area such as the pages they will appear, taxonomy terms, and template hierarchy.