Uploaded on May 12, 2024
Boost your website with these essential free WordPress plugins for 2024!
10 Best Free WordPress Plugins Every Website Needs in 2024
10 Best Free WordPress
Plugins Every Website Needs
in 2024
Are you ready to take your WordPress website to the next level without breaking
the bank? Look no further! In the world of website building and content
management, WordPress reigns supreme.
It is used by millions of users around the globe for its amazing features and
functionality. But what truly makes WordPress stand out is its vibrant ecosystem of
plugins that can enhance your website in various ways.
WordPress plugins are like the secret sauce that transforms a simple website into a
whole new level of functionality.
The great news is that many of these plugins are available for free, making them
accessible to all.
In this blog, we’ll walk through 10 indispensable free WordPress plugins that can
supercharge your website. Whether you’re a seasoned WordPress entrepreneur or
just getting started, these plugins are sure to make your online journey smoother
and more successful. So, let’s get started!
1. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an online platform where you can create your own store and sell
any product without any limit on the number of products.
WooCommerce enables you to set up your own shipping methods, such as free
shipping, priced shipping, or local pickup, depending on your preferences.
Moreover, WooCommerce seamlessly integrates with many popular payment
gateways, such as Stripe and PayPal. With WooCommerce, you can create an e-
shop easily by hiring a professional WooCommerce developer.
Some cool features of WooCommerce are:
Easy to manage product categories- You can create and organize your
products into categories and subcategories, making it easier for your
customers to find what they are looking for.
Coupon system- This plugin allows you to create coupons and
discounts for your customers, such as percentage discounts, fixed cart
discounts, free shipping, etc.
Inventory management- You can easily manage your stock levels,
hold
stock for a period if an order is canceled, receive notifications to a
custom email address.
Payment gateway- Flexible and secured payments with multiple
gateways.
Pricing- It’s a free plugin.
Looking to set up your WooCommerce
store?
Our Woo experts are ready to
help!
Check out our WooCommerce Services
2. Easy Digital Downloads
Easy Digital Downloads is quite useful when you are only selling digital products.
EDD provides a robust platform for vendors to showcase, sell, and manage their
digital products effortlessly.
Whether you’re selling software, e-books, music, or any other digital asset, EDD
empowers you with essential tools to navigate the complexities of online sales.
This plugin prioritizes user experience, ensuring that both sellers and customers
can navigate the platform effortlessly.
Key features of Easy Digital Download:
Built-in Payment Gateways- EDD supports multiple payment
gateways, including PayPal and Stripe, ensuring secure and seamless
transactions for both sellers and buyers.
Flexible Pricing Options- Sellers have the flexibility to set various
pricing options, including fixed prices, variable pricing, and discount
codes, allowing for dynamic pricing strategies.
User-Friendly Interface- EDD offers an intuitive and user-friendly
interface for both sellers and customers, making it easy to set up and
manage digital products.
Secure Digital Product Delivery- EDD ensures secure and automated
delivery of digital products to customers after successful purchase,
preventing unauthorized access.
Pricing- This plugin lets you use some of its functionality for free. The premium
version offers more features starting from $99.
3. Elementor
Elementor is a WordPress plugin that simplifies website creation and editing with
its drag-and-drop interface. With Elementor, you can visually design and
customize every aspect of their website, including the header and footer.
The plugin comes with a diverse range of widgets and templates, providing a
comprehensive set of tools to build anything from simple landing pages to
complex, feature-rich websites. What’s more, Elementor integrates seamlessly with
other popular services and plugins, such as WooCommerce, Yoast SEO,
Mailchimp, and more.
Key features of Elementor are:
Drag-and-Drop Editor- Elementor has a user-friendly drag-and-drop
interface for easy and intuitive page building.
Responsive Editing- This ensures that the designs are responsive and
look good on various devices.
Theme Builder- Enables you to create and customize every part of its
theme, including headers, footers, and archive pages.
Integration with Third-Party Plugins- This plugin integrates
seamlessly with other WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO, extending its
functionality and compatibility.
Pricing- Many features are available for free. The premium version has more
features and costs $59 onwards.
4. Contact Form 7
Contact Form 7 is a popular and versatile WordPress plugin that allows you to
create and manage multiple contact forms on your website. This plugin offers a
user-friendly interface within the WordPress dashboard, allowing users to easily
build and customize contact forms without the need for complex coding.
The plugin supports various form fields, including text, email, dropdown menus,
checkboxes, and more, providing flexibility in creating forms tailored to specific
needs. Contact Form 7 also supports CAPTCHA, Akismet spam filtering, and
integration with other services such as Stripe.
Main features of Contact Form 7:
Simple Markup- This plugin makes use of shortcodes to create and
manage forms. It’s easy for both beginners and experienced users.
Customizable Forms- It supports plenty of field types such as input
fields, including text, email, dropdowns, checkboxes, and more.
Spam Prevention- It includes CAPTCHA and Akismet support to help
prevent spam submissions.
Multi-Language Support- It has built-in support for multiple
languages, making it accessible to a diverse user base.
Pricing- It’s a free plugin.
5. Disable All WordPress Updates and
Theme Editors
The Disable All WordPress Updates and Theme Editors plugin is a versatile tool
designed to enhance the control and security of your WordPress site. This plugin
allows you to disable all types of WordPress updates, including major and minor
updates, as well as theme and plugin updates.
When enabled, WordPress Debugging settings will display all errors and warnings
on your website, which is especially useful to WordPress developers for testing
websites, plugins, and themes. Additionally, this plugin includes the ability to
disable the Gutenberg editor along with other features.
This is especially useful to WordPress website developers for testing websites,
plugins, and themes. When it is turned off, all errors and warnings will be hidden.
In addition to disabling updates, the plugin also allows you to disable the
WordPress theme and plugin editors. This feature is particularly useful in
preventing accidental modifications that could potentially harm your site.
Key features of this plugin:
Disable All Major and Minor Updates of WordPress: You can choose
to disable all types of WordPress updates, both major and minor.
Disable All Theme & Plugin Updates (Automatic & Manual): This
feature gives you the ability to disable all updates for themes and
plugins, whether they are set to update automatically or manually.
Disable Theme Editor and Plugin Editor: This feature allows you to
disable the built-in WordPress theme and plugin editors. This can be
useful to prevent accidental modifications that could potentially break
your site.
Disable Gutenberg Block Editor: If you prefer not to use the
Gutenberg Block Editor, this feature allows you to disable it.
Manage Debugging Mode on Your WordPress Site: This
feature
allows you to manage the debugging mode on your WordPress
site.
Pricing- It’s a free plugin!
6. Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is a powerful WordPress plugin designed to optimize websites for
search engines. It is an indispensable tool for anyone seeking to enhance their
site’s visibility on the web. With Yoast, you can improve your site’s technical
SEO, content quality, and social media presence.
Yoast SEO not only provides a user-friendly and comprehensive set of tools to
help you improve your on-page SEO but also helps you create content that
resonates with top search engines. With features like a readability analysis and
content structure suggestions, it suggests improvements to the overall readability of
your content.
Features of Yoast SEO are:
On-Page SEO Analysis- Provides real-time content analysis to help
optimize individual pages for specific keywords.
Breadcrumbs- Enables the creation and customization of breadcrumbs,
improving site navigation for both users and search engines.
Focus Keyword Functionality- This lets you set a focus keyword for
each piece of content, guiding your optimization efforts and providing
feedback on keyword usage.
Mobile Optimization- Offers tools and recommendations for
optimizing your site for mobile devices, considering the increasing
importance of mobile search.
Pricing- It’s a free plugin. For additional features, it has a premium version
starting from $99.
Looking for a custom plugin for your site?
Our WordPress experts got you covered.
Explore our WordPress development services
7. WP Mail SMTP
WP Mail SMTP is one of the best SMTP plugin for WordPress that enables you to
send all your WordPress emails using an SMTP server.
It is designed to help you fix email deliverability issues by reconfiguring
WordPress to use a proper SMTP provider when sending emails. This plugin is
free and has everything you need to reliably send your WordPress emails.
It also includes many different SMTP setup options, such as SendLayer,
SMTP.com, Brevo, Mailgun, SendGrid, Postmark, SparkPost, Gmail, Microsoft
Outlook.com and Office 365, Amazon SES, Zoho Mail, and all other SMTP
WP Mail SMTP also lets you view and manage your email logs, so you can
keep
track of all the emails sent from your website.
Key features of WP Mail SMTP:
SMTP Integration- WP Mail SMTP seamlessly integrates with popular
SMTP providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, and other email
services.
Compatibility- This plugin is designed to seamlessly integrate with
popular WordPress plugins, ensuring compatibility and smooth
operation with your existing website functionalities.
Diagnostic Tools- You can troubleshoot email delivery issues
efficiently
with built-in diagnostic tools. Identify problems, debug configurations,
and optimize your email setup for optimal performance.
Log and Notification System- WP Mail SMTP keeps track of your
email activity with a comprehensive logging system. Receive
notifications for failed delivery attempts, and stay informed about the
status of your outgoing emails.
Pricing- This plugin offers you some free features. The Premium version gives
you access to more features starting from $49.
8. Simple Newsletter Plugin – Noptin
Noptin allows you to create subscription forms on your website through which
users can subscribe to your newsletter after which Noptin sends them an email
about confirming their subscription to the newsletter.
A cool feature of Noptin is that it not only shows you the list of subscribed users
but also shows you in the Noptin dashboard if they have opened the mail or not
along with the timings of receiving mail.
You also get an option for automation mail where you can set a trigger to any
action related to Noptin. For example, if you want a confirmation mail to go to the
user when they subscribe to the newsletter, Noptin does it for you just by setting a
trigger.
Main features of Noptin:
Unlimited forms- Noptin allows you to create unlimited newsletter
subscription forms.
Unlimited forms collection- There’s no limit on newsletter
subscribers.
Vast usage- You can add your Noptin forms anywhere on your website
using a shortcode.
Popups- This lets you display your Noptin forms in a popup or
lightbox.
Push notification- Automatically notifies your subscribers
every time
you publish a new blog post so that they can keep coming back to your
website.
Pricing- Noptin is a free plugin.
9. MonsterInsights
MonsterInsights is an analytics plugin that connects your WordPress site with
Google Analytics. Once connected, you can start making data-driven decisions to
grow your business.
Unlike other Google Analytics plugins, MonsterInsights allows you to enable all
advanced Google Analytics tracking features with just a few clicks. The best part is
that it comes with an analytics dashboard for WordPress that shows you actionable
analytics reports right inside your WordPress dashboard.
It transforms Google Analytics data into user-friendly reports and displays them
directly within the WordPress dashboard. MonsterInsights provides valuable
insights into key metrics such as website traffic, demographics, popular content,
and conversion tracking.
Some of its main features are:
Form Conversions Tracking- MonsterInsights tracks form
submissions, helping you to understand the effectiveness of contact
forms.
Dashboard Reports- It allows you to display comprehensive analytics
reports directly in the WordPress dashboard, providing quick access to
key metrics.
Performance Analytics- This plugin offers insights into site
performance, including page load times, helping to optimize for a better
user experience.
Role-Based Access Control- It provides you with different levels of
access to analytics reports based on user roles.
Pricing- You can access many features at no cost. If you want more, you can
upgrade to the premium version from $99.
10. Akismet Anti-spam
Akismet Anti-Spam is a plugin that helps you keep your WordPress site free from
spam comments and contact form submissions. It works by checking your
comments and contact form submissions against a global database of spam and
filtering out the ones that look like spam.
You can review the spam comments on your site’s admin screen, and see the status
history of each comment. Also, Akismet Anti-Spam has a discard feature that
blocks the worst spam, saving you disk space and speeding up your site.
Some of the main features of Akismet Anti-spam are-
Automatic Filtering- Akismet automatically filters out spam, saving
you time and ensuring that your content remains focused on genuine
engagement.
Comment History- Keep track of every comment’s status with
Akismet’s comprehensive comment history. Easily review which
comments were caught by the spam filter and which ones were
approved, providing transparency and control.
Integration with Contact Forms- Akismet seamlessly integrates with
popular contact form plugins, safeguarding your inbox from spammy
submissions and ensuring that legitimate inquiries are not overlooked.
Privacy-Focused- This plugin is privacy-conscious and respects the
confidentiality of your users. It filters out spam without compromising
user data, providing a secure and trustworthy anti-spam solution.
Pricing- You can use some of the features for free. The premium version has more
features starting from $579.
Wrapping Up!
From optimizing SEO to boosting security and streamlining performance, these 10
WordPress plugins cater to a variety of needs for both novice and experienced
WordPress users.
We have covered all the necessary plugins for a newly created website. Be it an
LMS site or an e-commerce site, these 10 WordPress plugins will ensure your site
remains spam-free, has easy contact forms for better interaction, and a seamless
mailing system, and most importantly disables all auto updates ensuring your
website remains unaffected by sudden changes.
Remember to choose plugins that align with your specific needs, and always keep
them up to date for optimal performance and security. With the right combination
of plugins, you can take your WordPress website to new heights, all while staying
within your budget.
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