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By Alex McMillin
There are many different content management systems out there, but WordPress is by far the most popular for small to midsized businesses.
One of the things that makes WordPress so popular is its long list of inexpensive but robust plugins, which can be added to WordPress to create or improve functionality.
There are so many plugins that it can be hard to pick the ones you need, so we’ve created a helpful list of the top five must-have WordPress plugins.
Yoast SEO
Free version with $89 premium version
SEO can seem complicated, especially when you’re first getting started. However, Yoast can make SEO — and particularly on-page optimization — easier. It can help you configure optimal SEO settings for your site, and you can also use it to easily optimize on-page elements such as headings, body copy and metadata on each specific page.
Free version with premium versions for $5 and $50 per month
Akismet is integrated with Contact Form 7, but you can also download it separately. This plugin can automatically scan for spammy comments on your blog posts. You can block selected users and remove any links that you don’t want on your site.
WooCommerce
Free version with $12.95/month premium version
WooCommerce is one of the best shopping carts out there. This plugin makes it easy to sell everything from physical products to digital products and even affiliate products. WooCommerce is every bit as full-featured as Shopify and other popular alternatives, without the added expense.
WordFence Security
Free version with $99 premium version
Cyberattacks are on the rise, and many attacks in the past have targeted WordPress sites. WordFence is one of the most popular and effective security plugins for WordPress sites. It can detect malware, block brute force attacks, analyze web traffic in real time and much more.
Contact Form 7
Free
This free plugin makes it easy for you to create contact forms for your WordPress-driven web site. Contact Form 7 even supports CAPTCHA, so you can ensure that your contact forms don’t get spammed by bots.
Need help selecting, configuring or maintaining WordPress plugins or your WordPress site? Contact us or schedule a 15-minute consultation to discuss how we can help.
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Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock Images | Aleksei
