Must have WordPress plugins for 2020
With 2020 just starting to heat up, everyone is looking for ways to improve their businesses. And, if we know that a website is crucial for any business, the only logical conclusion should be to improve it in the best possible way. Since a large number of websites are built on WordPress, the most successful strategy is to acquire some new plugins. With that in mind, I present to you an array of must have WP plugins for 2020!
Must have WP plugins for 2020
When we talk about must-have features on a website, there are a lot of good plugins you can install. Some of them are free, some require a purchase. Nevertheless, if your website becomes more productive and brings you new customers and conversions, it is worth looking into them.
1. Contact Form 7 / WPForms
Contact forms are crucial for every website. It is how your customers contact you. When looking for a good contact form, there are a couple of features you want:
● easy drag & drop system
● beautiful design
● user-friendly environment
Both Contact Form 7 and WPForms work on the same principle. You can use their free version, and it will serve you just fine. However, if you are looking to make your website look more professional, buying a premium version of the plugin is the best choice. You will unlock other powerful features, designs, and other important functionalities.
2. Constant Contact
While we are on the subject of communicating with your customers, Constant Contact is simply one of the best must have WP plugins for 2020. This powerful e-mail marketing service allows you to build customer lists, create fantastic newsletters and launch e-mail campaigns that will leave a good impression on your customers.
Best of all, the setup is really easy, so even if you are not tech-savvy, you will be able to install it and use it with ease.
3. Yoast SEO
One of the most common types of websites is a blogging website. Even if the main section of your site does not include articles, it is always smart to include a blog and provide additional information to your customers. With that in mind, it is of utmost importance that your articles are written in a Google-friendly way. That’s where Yoast SEO comes into play.
This amazing WP plugin has a lot of useful features. It has interactive tabs that show you if the article you are writing is passing all the standards. For example, if it has enough keywords per number of words, enough outbound and inbound links, images, etc. It also pays attention to grammar and sentence structure. It will give you a warning if your sentences are too long, or if you are overusing the passive voice.
It can be a bit challenging in the beginning, but eventually, you will get the hang of it, and start writing quality articles.
Yoast SEO has two layouts. You can use the Classic layout and the new Gutenberg Press. The free version is more than enough, but if you are a more serious writer, I suggest you give a try to the premium and see if it works for you or not.
4. MonsterInsights / Google Analytics Dashboard for WP
Another feature you absolutely need on your website is analytics. They are the core of every website. If you are looking for ways to improve your website productivity, analytics will provide you with all the necessary information.
MonsterInsights is a fantastic plugin that will connect you with Google Analytics. From there, you can pull the full analysis of how customers use your website, and optimize it to increase revenue, subscribers, and traffic.
Another plugin that provides this useful data that is worth looking at is the Google Analytics Dashboard for WP. Developed by Exact Metrics, it is full of useful features, like tracking user engagement, analyzing website performance, and much more.
5. OptinMonster
Another “Monster” is on our list of must have WP plugins for 2020. If you wish to keep your website in peak condition, you must take care of conversion rate optimization. That is why you must install OptinMonster, powerful software that will give you all the answers you need.
Its primary feature is helping you get more customers by converting abandoning website visitors into subscribers via e-mail.
The plugin is very easy to use, and it works on a drag & drop principle. You can build new forms and customize built-in ones with just a few clicks. Best of all, you can personalize any campaign to align with your user’s needs and demands. Website traffic is how you get money, so make sure you are doing everything you can to increase it.
6. Akismet Anti-Spam
While you are working on making your website better and more productive, you must not neglect the security aspect. Taking care of spammers is crucial if you wish to have a clear flow of customers. Akismet Anti-Spam does just that! The integrity of your website is your number one priority!
The best feature of this amazing plugin is that you can filter and review any comment on your website. Not only that, but you can also see status history. Then, Akismet will give you advice on what comments may be spam. Furthermore, you can easily look at any URL that might be written in any comment, and remove it if you find it not useful for your website.
The plugin is free for use, but it also has a very cheap premium profile.
7. WooCommerce
No matter how many years have passed since its first appearance, but WooCommerce is not losing its usability, productivity, and popularity. It is still the most downloaded plugin for any shopping-based website. It has a variety of themes, and you can easily set up your base and selling locations, currency, products, taxes, shipping, accounts, checkout cart, and much more.
Long gone are the days when you had to pay good money to get yourself a quality shopping cart with all the necessary features. WooCommerce makes the shopping experience easy, both for you and for your loyal customers.
8. Sucuri
Let us talk a little about website security. You know that the internet can be a dangerous thing. There are many hackers out there, trying to con honest people. If you have invested a fair amount of money into building a website, it would be good that you protect it from any potential attacks.
Sucuri is a plugin that provides a strong firewall to guard your website against malware, DDoS, XSS attacks, and any other threat you can think of.
9. WordFence Security
Another security plugin worth looking into is WordFence Security. With the increasing number of cyberattacks, it is best to have multiple options in front of you. With both free and premium plans, you can easily protect your website from viruses, or any brute force hacking. Furthermore, the plugin offers a full scan and repair of WordPress files and protection against all kinds of bots.
Check it out, and you will discover that it has an array of fantastic features.
10. UpdraftPlus
Another way to protect your website is to make sure it is properly updated and backed up. There is nothing worse than losing your data because you did not create a backup.
UpdraftPlus gives you an option to create automatic backups. That way you can easily store any files you have on Google Drive, S3, Dropbox, Rackspace, etc.
Furthermore, if you need to restore your website at any time, with UpdraftPlus it can be done quite easily. If you decide to go for a premium plan, besides other awesome features you will also have access to priority support.
11. WP Super Cache
With the increasing number of websites on the internet, peoples’ demands and expectations rapidly change. If the quality of your website does not meet their expectation, you will not have a lot of visitors.
One of the most crucial aspects of a successful website is the load speed. With that in mind, one of the best plugins that can make your website faster is WP Super Cache. It increases the baseline speed of your website. Instead of processing slower PHP scripts, it generates HTML static files and runs them.
If you look at it from a general perspective, it is really an essential plugin that any website owner should install.
12. WP Rocket
Another fantastic plugin that lets you increase your website’s speed and performance is WP Rocket. It does not require any technical skills or knowledge. You install it and run it, and the plugin initiates all automated processes like page cache, cache pre-loading, gzip compression, and much more.
Furthermore, you get an option to optimize your images for faster loading time.
It is a really easy and beginner-friendly plugin. However, there is no free version. Nevertheless, it is an excellent choice, so check it out!
13. Google XML Sitemaps
Making sure that your SEO is on a high level is another crucial aspect of a well-made website. That is why you must have Google XML Sitemaps. This amazing SEO plugin for WP will create XML sitemaps that will help search engines like Google, Bing, etc., rank your website higher.
The process is automated, you only have to install it and enjoy the benefits it offers.
14. TinyMCE Advanced
Remember when I talked about plugins that let you connect to Google Analytics and track the progress and usage of your website? Well, here is an opportunity to do all of that without ever connecting to Google Analytics. A plugin called TinyMCE Advanced has its own dashboard that lets you track anything you need.
Furthermore, it substantially streamlines and simplifies your backend processes, so you can turn your focus towards more important things.
15. CSS Hero
Let’s talk a little about making your website more aesthetically appealing. CSS Hero brings amazing options that will beautify your website’s pages.
When you purchase or install a free Word Press theme, you have to work with what you get. Making any visual changes requires you to learn CSS, which can be tedious if that is not your cup of tea. Well, CSS Hero makes all of that possible without any CSS knowledge.
All is done through pre-made setups, without a single line of code.
16. BeaverBuilder
Another powerful plugin that reached our list of must have WP plugins for 2020 is BeaverBuilder. This drag & drop plugin lets you build your website’s pages from various building blocks. You can customize any WordPress design, create different layouts or landing pages. And, all that without any code or hiring a developer.
17. Nimble Page Builder
An alternative to BeaverBuilder is Nimble Page Builder. Now here is a plugin that puts the E in easy. It lets you customize every page on your website, create custom layouts, add galleries, video and audio files, create contact forms, add various widgets, and much more.
Furthermore, you can change all colors and fonts, build navigation bars, and arrange all elements of the website to your liking. Check it out, you will not regret it!
18. MemberPress
Owning a membership site and building an online community is an extremely important task. MemberPress plugin helps you do it with ease. You can easily create subscription types and restrict content based on the type of subscription your members have. It integrates with all the popular payment plugins and apps, like WooCommerce.
19. RafflePress
Since we are on the subject of building an online community, let’s talk about the importance of social media. RafflePress helps you increase traffic flow and social media popularity. It provides an option to create contests and viral giveaways that will attract more people to your website.
It works on a drag & drop system, and it is easy to use. The main idea is to reward customers for following your social media profile.
20. SEMRush
The last one on the list of must have WP plugins for 2020 is a powerful marketing plugin called SEMRush. Whether you need to work on your PR strategies, traffic flow, social media, SEO, and much more, SEMRush makes it easy. Furthermore, you can track your competition, look for best-performing posts on social media, do different types of strategy analysis, etc. This plugin will help you outrank your competitors, and dominate the market!