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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:
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.
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.
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.
There are two different ways to install a plugin in WordPress:
We’ll cover each.
The steps to install a plugin using the WordPress plugin search capability:
The steps to install a plugin using the WordPress plugin upload:
The best WordPress plugins for beginner bloggers in 2023 include:
Related: 10 Best Blogging Tools for Beginners (to Skyrocket Your Growth in 2023).
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 is a popular WordPress plugin that helps website owners improve their search engine rankings. The primary features of Yoast SEO include the following:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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 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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
Elementor Pro costs $59 per year and offers additional features, including:
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.
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 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:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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 is a plugin for WordPress that helps website owners manage and track redirects on their websites. The primary features of Redirection include the following:
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.”
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.
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:
The following form was embedded using the ConvertKit plugin:
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.
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 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:
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.
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.
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.
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