Plugins for WordPress are allowing WordPress website owners to customise their websites and improve its functionality and performance. With nearly 60 000 plugins to choose from, finding the right plugin can seem daunting.

Luckily, the internet is bursting with guides to help you pick the best. Along with the list of WordPress plugins we shared recently, we think the following are worth a visit:

1. WPForms – Create custom forms quickly and easily
Forms are a great tool to include on your website, as it is an easy way to obtain contact information, gain email subscribers, run surveys and polls etc. With WPForms you can drag and drop pre-built forms or customise your own.

2. MemberPress – Create & restrict access
Websites that offer online courses, are community-based, or offer exclusive memberships can benefit from MemberPress. This plugin is an “all in one” membership plugin that allows you to create and restrict access to your website without getting a developer involved.

3. UpdraftPlus – Backup like a boss
In the digital age with all its security challenges, backups are essential. UpdraftPlus helps you backup your website automatically and it will also safely store, and restore, your website.

4. Askismet – Reduce spam automatically
Any way you look at it, manually deleting spam messages is a complete waste of time. Let Askimet scan your messages against its global spamming database and filter all messages that fit the bill into a separate unpublished folder. You can check these whenever and delete them all at once forever.

5. Smash Balloon – Display your social media feeds
You work hard on your social media strategy, so why not let these streams feed through to your website? Smash Balloon is one of the top plugins for WordPress and is a great way to make sure your website appears up to date with the latest information, promotions and deals.

6. MonsterInsights – Analyse and optimise insights
MonsterInsights is a Google Analytics plugin that allows you to effortlessly see how people are coming across your website and examine what they are doing on your site once they are there. It is an excellent tool for you to optimise your website based on the insights you receive.

7. LiveChat – Offer instant customer support
People rarely like to call if they have an inquiry. They’ll look for the answer on your website and if they can’t find it there they will either complete a form or leave. Unfortunately, once the form is completed a distance between your business and the customer is created that grows wider and wider with every minute you take to get back to them.

LiveChat closes the gap and allows your support teams to communicate with customers in real-time. It also integrates well into other support software.

Plugins are a lot of fun, until they need to be updated. Outdated plugins create a security risk for your website and may also negatively impact your performance and SEO. Ensure your plugins are always updated.

WordPress Hosting by Domains.co.za not only offers you the fastest, most secure and reliable WordPress Hosting in South Africa but we also run all your updates automatically. Service right?! That’s the only way we roll.