With over 59,000 plugins available on the WordPress plugin directory today, you’re probably wondering, what are the best free WordPress plugins for my WordPress site??
The best free WordPress plugins for beginner bloggers in 2023 include:
- Yoast SEO
- Sucuri
- EWWW Image Optimizer
- WP Total Cache
- Elementor
- Site Kit by Google
- wpDiscuz
- Redirection
- ConvertKit
- WooCommerce
10 Best Free WordPress Plugins
What Is a WordPress Plugin?
A WordPress plugin is a mini-application that you install on your website to add additional functionality with just a few clicks without having to do any coding.
Sounds pretty awesome, right?
Right, but proceed with caution.
#1 WordPress Plugin Mistake
While plugins can significantly improve your website, they can cause various performance issues.
In short, too many plugins slow down your site.
Additionally, not all WordPress plugins that exist are compatible with one another.
Therefore, you might encounter a bug on your website that you won’t be able to pinpoint until you individually test each plugin’s compatibility with one another.
While this certainly isn’t meant to scare you, it is intended to raise awareness about plugins’ unintended impact on your site.
That’s why a good rule of thumb is only to install necessary plugins.
If the desired functionality can be achieved relatively quickly without a plugin, that is the recommended approach.
How Many WordPress Plugins Are Too Many?
The answer to how many plugins is too many depends on your website.
For example, small personal blogs may only truly need 5-10 plugins, while large e-commerce sites likely need dozens.
Instead of focusing on the number of plugins you have, focus on the quality.
If the plugins you are using serve a purpose and can’t be easily implemented using custom code, then it’s most likely ok to continue to use them.
How To Install A WordPress Plugin?
There are two different ways to install a plugin in WordPress:
- Use the WordPress Plugin Search
- Upload the Plugin
We’ll cover each.
Installing Plugins Via the WordPress Plugin Search
The steps to install a plugin using the WordPress plugin search capability:
- From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New
- Find the plugin you want to install using the search field in the upper right
- Click Install
- Click Activate
Installing Plugins Via the WordPress Plugin Upload
The steps to install a plugin using the WordPress plugin upload:
- From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New
- Near the top of the page, select Upload Plugin
- Drag and drop the zip file for your plugin to the upload area
- Click Install
- Click Activate
What Are The Best Free WordPress Plugins in 2023?
The best WordPress plugins for beginner bloggers in 2023 include:
- Yoast SEO
- Sucuri
- EWWW Image Optimizer
- WP Total Cache
- Elementor
- Site Kit by Google
- wpDiscuz
- Redirection
- ConvertKit
- WooCommerce
Related: 10 Best Blogging Tools for Beginners (to Skyrocket Your Growth in 2023).
Best Free WordPress Plugins #1: Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is one of the most well-known WordPress plugins today.
SEO stands for search engine optimization and involves optimizing a website so that search engines can easily understand it and rank it in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Related: SEO for Beginners: What Is SEO and How It Works in 2023.
We recommend Yoast SEO because it’s user-friendly and intuitive for beginners while still allowing for complete control over critical aspects of your site’s SEO.
Additionally, the plugin comes with helpful SEO features, like title customizations, meta descriptions features, and XML sitemaps.
This means that even if you have no prior knowledge of SEO, simply enabling it will boost your site.
Yoast SEO Features
Yoast SEO is a popular WordPress plugin that helps website owners improve their search engine rankings. The primary features of Yoast SEO include the following:
- Keyword optimization: helps you to choose the right focus keyword for your pages and posts and provides suggestions for improving the content’s keyword density.
- Readability analysis: checks the readability of your content and suggests improvements, such as using subheadings and transition words.
- XML sitemaps: generates an XML sitemap of your website, which can be submitted to search engines to help them crawl and index your pages.
Yoast SEO FAQs
Frequently asked questions and answers about the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress:
Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin that helps your posts and web pages achieve better rankings in search engines.
Yes, the basic Yoast SEO plugin is free. There is a premium version that costs $99 annually.
To install Yoast SEO, go to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, search for “Yoast SEO” and click “Install Now.” After the plugin has been installed, click “Activate.
When you edit a page or post in WordPress, you will see a Yoast SEO box on the right-hand side of the screen. In this box, you can enter your focus keyword, and the plugin will provide suggestions for improving the SEO of your content. These suggestions may include adding the keyword to your page title and meta description, improving your content’s keyword density, and ensuring that you have internal and external links in your content.
No, Yoast SEO is a tool that can help you improve the SEO of your website, but it cannot guarantee that your website will rank higher in the search results. Your website’s ranking in the search results depends on various factors. For example, the quality and relevance of your content, the strength of your website’s backlink profile, and the overall authority of your domain.
SEO is a long-term process, so it may take three to six months to see results.
Best Free WordPress Plugins #2: Sucuri
The next best free plugin on our list is Sucuri.
It’s easy to push security to the back burner as a beginner blogger.
After all, learning how to blog can feel like drinking from a water hose.
But that doesn’t mean security should be an afterthought or something you’ll just ‘set up another time.’
With over 30,000 websites hacked daily (source: Tech Jury), security needs to be taken seriously from Day 1.
That’s why we recommend a security plugin that will help you monitor and manage your website’s security without a degree in cybersecurity.
Sucuri Inc is a website security firm that also provides a powerful WordPress plugin that protects your website from malware and intrusions.
It includes tools for continuously monitoring and scanning your site and plugging any security flaws.
Important note: the plugin is a fantastic security monitoring and management tool, but it alone is enough to protect your site.
Sucuri Features
The Sucuri plugin is a security plugin for WordPress that provides a range of features for protecting your website from malware and other security threats. The primary components of the Sucuri plugin include the following:
- Malware scanning: malware is software designed to damage or hack your computer or website.
- Blocklist monitoring: to determine if your site was flagged by Google, Norton, and other search authorities.
- Core integrity check: learn if your website files have been modified or removed without manually reviewing the files.
- One-click hardening: you can enable various security features with one click.
- Notifications: configure email alerts for various actions such as logins, plugin changes, new user registration, and more.
- File integrity monitoring: checks your website’s files for unauthorized changes and alerts you if any are detected.
- Security activity auditing: logs all security-related activity on your website, such as failed login attempts and file changes, so that you can track potential security issues.
Sucuri Paid Options
As mentioned above, the free Sucuri plugin offers excellent features, but more is needed as your business and website grow.
In addition to the free plugin, Sucuri offers a Sucuri website security platform and a Sucuri website firewall.
The website security platform starts at $199 per year.
The website firewall starts at $9.99 per month.
Sucuri FAQs
Frequently asked questions and answers about the Sucuri plugin for WordPress:
Yes, the Sucuri plugin is free to download and use.
The Sucuri plugin is free, but Sucuri offers multiple paid tools and services.
Sucuri is a security plugin that helps monitor your WordPress website for cyber attacks.
To install the Sucuri plugin, go to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, search for “Sucuri Security” and click “Install Now.” After the plugin has been installed, click “Activate.”
No, the Sucuri plugin is a tool for helping you to secure your website and protect it from malware and other security threats. However, no security measures can completely guarantee that your website won’t be hacked. It’s essential to keep your website’s software up to date, use strong passwords, and follow other best practices for website security.
Best Free WordPress Plugins #3: EWWW Image Optimizer
It’s probably not surprising that larger images take longer to load on your website.
And if your page does not load quickly enough, people will leave your site.
As a result, your bounce rate and SEO rankings will suffer.
Therefore, image optimization is essential.
Using an image optimization plugin allows you to upload images to WordPress in their original size.
The plugin will reduce the size significantly without much impact on image quality.
Alternatives to an image optimization plugin include websites like JPEG Optimizer and Kraken.
These sites require you to upload the image to their website in the original size.
The site will optimize and download a compressed image that you can upload into WordPress.
Of all the image optimization plugins, we highly recommend EWWW Image Optimizer.
With EWWW Image Optimizer, you can optimize all existing images on your site, and it will automatically optimize new images uploaded to your site.
It makes compressing and optimizing photos for faster loading simple for any website owner.
EWWW Image Optimizer Features
The EWWW Image Optimizer plugin for WordPress enables you to optimize images for faster loading times and better performance. The primary features of the EWWW Image Optimizer plugin include the following:
- Automatic image optimization: optimizes images as they are uploaded to the media library, reducing their file size without losing quality.
- Bulk optimization: optimizes all of the images on your website in one go, using the “Bulk Optimize” feature.
- WebP conversion: automatically converts images to the WebP format, a smaller and more efficient image format supported by most modern browsers.
- Lazy loading: the plugin can lazy load images, which means they will only be loaded as needed rather than all at once. This can improve the performance of websites with a lot of images.
- Compatible with other plugins: this plugin is compatible with other popular WordPress plugins, such as WooCommerce and NextGEN Gallery.
- Cloud optimization: offers the option to use a cloud-based optimization service, which can reduce the load on the server and improve performance.
- Customization options: customize the plugin’s settings to control which image types are optimized and how the optimization is performed.
EWWW Image Optimizer FAQs
Frequently asked questions about the EWWW Image Optimizer plugin include:
The EWWW Image Optimizer plugin is free to download and use, with the option to upgrade to a paid plan for additional features and support.
To install the EWWW Image Optimizer plugin, go to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, search for “EWWW Image Optimizer” and click “Install Now.” After the plugin has been installed, click “Activate.”
The EWWW Image Optimizer plugin uses various optimization techniques to reduce the file size of images without losing quality. These techniques may include compression, resizing, and using image formats that are more efficient, such as WebP.
Yes, the EWWW Image Optimizer plugin includes a “Bulk Optimize” feature that enables you to optimize all existing images in one click.
The EWWW Image Optimizer plugin should not slow down your website. The plugin is designed to optimize images in the background so that it does not interfere with the normal functioning of your website. However, if you have a large number of images on your website, it is possible that the optimization process could take some time and temporarily slow down the website.
Best Free WordPress Plugins #4: W3 Total Cache
It’s not just images that can slow down your website.
There are plenty of other factors that can affect loading speed.
That’s where W3 Total Cache comes in.
This plugin is designed to boost loading time and optimizes overall performance.
W3 Total Cache Features
W3 Total Cache is a caching plugin for WordPress that is designed to improve the performance of websites by caching static content, such as images and HTML, and serving it from the cache rather than dynamically generating it on every page load. The primary features of W3 Total Cache include the following:
- Page caching: stores a copy of each page in the cache, reducing the server’s load and speeding up page loading times.
- Object caching: stores data from the database in the cache, reducing the number of database queries needed to load a page and speeding up page loading times.
- Browser caching: adds headers to the website’s pages that tell the visitor’s browser to cache certain types of content, such as images and CSS files, which can speed up subsequent page loads.
- CDN integration: integrates with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), which are networks of servers that can serve content to visitors from locations closer to them, improving the website’s performance.
- Mobile support: includes support for serving cached content to mobile devices, which can improve the website’s performance on mobile devices.
W3 Total Cache Pro
W3 Total Cache Pro is the paid option of this caching plugin.
The pro version costs $99 per site and can be purchased only via the plugin interface in WordPress.
W3 Total Cache FAQs
Frequently asked questions and answers relating to the Total Cache plugin for WordPress include:
The W3 Total Cache plugin is free to download and use, with the option to upgrade to a paid plan for additional features and support.
To install the W3 Total Cache plugin, go to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, search for “WP Total Cache” and click “Install Now.” After the plugin has been installed, click “Activate.”
The W3 Total Cache plugin improves website performance by caching static content, such as images and HTML, and serving it from the cache rather than dynamically generating it on every page load. This reduces the load on the server and speeds up page loading times. The plugin also integrates with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), which can serve content to visitors from locations closer to them, improving the website’s performance.
The W3 Total Cache plugin should not slow down your website. The plugin is designed to improve the website’s performance by caching static content and reducing the load on the server. However, suppose you have many images or other media on your website. In that case, it is possible that the cache could take some time to build and temporarily slow down the website.
Best Free WordPress Plugins #5: Elementor
As you customize your WordPress theme, you may face some design limitations.
This is where Elementor comes in.
Elementor is a page builder plugin in WordPress that helps you create pages using a drag-and-drop feature.
This can make it significantly easier to customize your pages without having a technical background.
Elementor Features
The Elementor page builder plugin enables you to create custom, professional-looking websites without writing any code. The primary features of the Elementor plugin include the following:
- Drag-and-drop builder: includes a drag-and-drop builder that enables you to easily create custom page layouts by dragging and dropping elements into place.
- Pre-designed templates and blocks: includes a library of pre-designed templates and blocks that you can customize and use to create your website.
- Responsive design: enables you to create websites that look great on any device, including desktop computers, tablets, and your mobile device.
- Customization options: you can customize the appearance of your website using the plugin’s design options, such as font, color, and layout.
- Widgets and integrations: includes a range of widgets, such as sliders, forms, and social media feeds, that you can add to your website. It also integrates with other popular WordPress plugins, such as WooCommerce and Gravity Forms.
- Publish and preview: offers a publish and preview feature that lets you see how their website will look before it goes live.
- Support and documentation: extensive documentation and support resources are available to help you get started and troubleshoot any issues you may encounter.
Elementor Pro
Elementor Pro costs $59 per year and offers additional features, including:
- Pro widgets
- Website kits
- WooCommerce store builder
- Landing page builder
- Premium support
Elementor FAQs
Frequently asked questions and answers about the free Elementor plugin include:
Yes, the Elementor plugin is free to download and use. A paid version of the plugin is also available, including additional features and support.
To install the Elementor plugin, go to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, search for “Elementor” and click “Install Now.” After the plugin has been installed, click “Activate.”
To use the Elementor plugin to create a website, you can either start with a pre-designed template or create custom pages from scratch. You can add text, images, and buttons to your page by dragging and dropping them into place.
Yes, the Elementor plugin allows you to create websites that look great on any device, including desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Best Free WordPress Plugins #6: Site Kit by Google
Google is everywhere now, not just the search engine we know it to be.
It offers many services and tools used by both individuals and businesses.
You should have the Site Kit by Google plugin if you’re a website owner.
Note, the Site Kit by Google plugin is more than a Google Analytics dashboard plugin.
It’s software that allows you to integrate various Google services and critical tools like Analytics and AdSense into your website.
Site Kit by Google Features
Site Kit by Google is a plugin for WordPress that allows website owners to easily connect their website to various Google tools and services, such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console. The primary features of Site Kit by Google include the following:
- Connect to multiple Google tools: easily connect your website to various tools, such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Google AdSense, from within the WordPress dashboard.
- Display Google Analytics data: view Google Analytics data, such as page views, site visitors, and user behavior, directly from the WordPress dashboard.
- Monitor website performance: includes tools for monitoring the website’s performance, such as by showing the number of clicks and impressions from Google Search and the number of page views and clicks from Google AdSense.
- Improve website SEO: provides suggestions for improving the SEO of the website, such as by highlighting pages that have low traffic or that may have technical issues.
- Customize settings: customize the plugin’s settings to control which Google tools are connected and how data is displayed.
- GDPR compliance: the plugin complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a set of EU regulations designed to protect the privacy of internet users.
Site Kit by Google FAQs
Frequently asked questions and answers about the Site Kit by Google plugin include:
Yes, the Site Kit by Google plugin is free to download and use.
To install the Site Kit by Google plugin, go to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, search for “Site Kit by Google” and click “Install Now.” After the plugin has been installed, click “Activate.”
First, sign in to your Google account and grant the plugin permission to access the Google tools you want to use. If you haven’t already, you will need to create a Google Analytics account. You can create and connect your website to the Google tools by following the plugin’s setup wizard prompts.
Yes, the Site Kit by Google plugin allows you to view Google Analytics data directly from the WordPress dashboard, such as page views and user behavior.
Best Free WordPress Plugins #7: wpDiscuz
Blog posts are a great way to get engagement, especially with WordPress’ native comment system.
But you can improve user experience and enhance discussions with the wpDiscuz plugin.
This plugin transforms your comment section with clean layouts, faster loading times, and other cool features.
wpDiscuz Features
The wpDiscuz plugin for WordPress allows you to add a comments section to your website and manage comments from within the WordPress dashboard. The primary features include the following:
- Customizable comment form: customize the comment form to match the look and feel of your website, including the option to add custom fields.
- Comment voting: features a voting system that allows users to upvote or downvote comments, which can help moderate and prioritize comments.
- Comment sorting: sort comments by various criteria, such as by most popular or most recent.
- Spam protection: includes tools for preventing spam comments, including CAPTCHA.
wpDiscuz FAQs
Frequently asked questions and answers about the wpDiscuz plugin include:
The wpDiscuz plugin is free and doesn’t have any paid versions. However, there are paid add-ons you can include, such as voice commenting, GIF integrations, and media embedding.
To install the WPDiscuz plugin, go to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, search for “WPDiscuz” and click “Install Now.” After the plugin has been installed, click “Activate.”
To customize the comment form with the WPDiscuz plugin, go to the plugin’s Settings section and click on the “Comment Form Settings” tab. From there, you can customize the appearance and behavior of the comment form, including the option to add custom fields.
Best Free WordPress Plugins #8: Redirection
Links can be pesky, especially if you’ve recently updated content or completed a website overhaul.
Thankfully, redirect tools like the Redirection plugin can make things easier.
This plugin helps you manage 301 redirections, find and fix dead links, and monitor 404 errors — however small or big your website is.
Failing to set up redirects significantly impacts user experience as well as SEO.
The best part about the redirection plugin is that it is so simple to use.
Redirection Features
Redirection is a plugin for WordPress that helps website owners manage and track redirects on their websites. The primary features of Redirection include the following:
- Custom redirects: create custom redirects, specifying the source URL and the destination URL for the redirect.
- Monitor 404 errors: monitor 404 errors on their website and create redirects to resolve the errors.
- Import and export redirects: import and export redirects in CSV format, making it easy to manage large numbers of redirects.
Redirection FAQs
Frequently asked questions and answers about the Redirection plugin include:
The Redirection plugin is free to download and use. There is no paid version of the plugin.
To install the Redirection plugin, go to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, search for “Redirection” and click “Install Now.” After the plugin has been installed, click “Activate.”
To create a redirect with the Redirection plugin, go to the Redirection section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, enter the redirect’s source and destination URL and click “Add Redirect.”
Best Free WordPress Plugins #9: ConvertKit
Email marketing is not just for creators and bloggers.
Every business that wants to interact regularly with customers can take advantage of this practice, including coaches, podcasters, and musicians.
Email lists also enable you to build trust and connections with your readers, making selling even easier.
ConvertKit is the top free WordPress plugin for content creators and businesses to grow their audience and monetize their content.
ConvertKit Features
The ConvertKit plugin is a free WordPress plugin that easily integrates the email marketing platform with your WordPress website. The primary features of the ConvertKit plugin include the following:
- Embed opt-in forms: embed opt-in forms on your website that are created using the ConvertKit service. The forms can be customized to match the look and feel of the website.
- Customization options: customize the plugin’s settings to control how the ConvertKit service is integrated with their WordPress website.
- Support and documentation: extensive documentation and support resources help you get started and troubleshoot any issues you may encounter.
The following form was embedded using the ConvertKit plugin:
ConvertKit FAQs
Frequently asked questions and answers about the ConvertKit plugin include:
The ConvertKit plugin is free to download and use.
To install the ConvertKit plugin, go to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, search for “ConvertKit” and click “Install Now.” After the plugin has been installed, click “Activate.”
First, install and activate the ConvertKit plugin on your WordPress website. Then, log in to your ConvertKit account and go to the Account section. Click on the “API” tab and copy your API key. Next, go to the Settings section of the ConvertKit plugin in your WordPress dashboard and click on the “ConvertKit” tab. Paste your API key into the “API Key” field and click “Save Changes.” You should now see a message indicating that the plugin is connected to your ConvertKit account.
To create an opt-in form with the ConvertKit plugin, you must log in to your ConvertKit account and create a form using the ConvertKit form builder. Once you have created the form, you can embed it on your WordPress website using the ConvertKit plugin.
Best Free WordPress Plugins #10: WooCommerce
The WooCommerce plugin covers almost all aspects of eCommerce on your WordPress website.
This free, open-source software effectively turns your site into an online store.
WooCommerce Features
WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress that makes it simple to create an online store on your website. The primary features of WooCommerce include the following:
- Product management: add and manage products, including options for setting prices, variations, and inventory levels.
- Payment gateways: the plugin supports a variety of payment gateways, including PayPal and Strip.
- Shipping options: set up shipping options, including the opportunity to calculate shipping rates based on the location of the customer and the weight or dimensions of the products.
- Tax options: set up tax options, including the opportunity to calculate taxes based on the customer’s location.
- Order management: the plugin includes tools for managing orders, including the option to view and update order status and generate invoices and packing slips.
- Support and documentation: extensive documentation and support resources are available to get started and troubleshoot any issues you may encounter.
WooCommerce Paid Option
One great thing about the WooCommerce plugin is that it’s completely free. However, you will need to pay for some extensions to enjoy other functionalities.
WooCommerce FAQs
Frequently asked questions and answers about the WooCommerce plugin include:
WooCommerce is free to download and use. However, some features and extensions may require a paid subscription or a one-time purchase.
To install WooCommerce, go to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, search for “WooCommerce” and click “Install Now.” After the plugin has been installed, click “Activate.”
To add products to your online store with WooCommerce, go to the Products section of your WordPress dashboard and click “Add New.” Then, enter the details of the product, such as the name, price, and description, and upload any product images.
To set up payment gateways with WooCommerce, go to the plugin’s Settings section and click on the “Payments” tab. You can choose which payment gateways you want to use and enter the necessary credentials.
Yes, you can customize the design of your online store with WooCommerce. The plugin includes various customization options, including options for the layout, color scheme, and font options. You can also use WordPress themes and plugins to customize the design of your store further.
To integrate WooCommerce with Elementor, you will need to install both plugins and then use the Elementor widgets and templates to customize the appearance of your WooCommerce store.
For example, you can use the Elementor Product Grid widget to display a grid of your products on a page or use the Product Single widget to design a custom layout for individual product pages. You can also use Elementor to customize the appearance of your WooCommerce checkout and cart pages.
Best Free WordPress Plugins Conclusion
This blog post covered the 10 best free plugins for WordPress beginner bloggers in 2023.
Remember: free plugins and the most popular WordPress plugins aren’t always the best. It’s essential to keep in mind your specific website needs and goals.
However, these plugins will help you optimize your blog for search engines, protect your website from spam and security threats, and improve the user experience for your visitors.
Some of the plugins on our list include Yoast SEO, Akismet, and EWWW Image Optimizer.
These plugins are easy to use and will help you get the most out of your blog.
Whether you are just starting as a blogger or have been blogging for a while, these plugins will surely be valuable additions to your website.
