Starting your business is tough enough, even without having to research all the different WordPress plugins that are available to use on your website. Which ones are worth adding? What features will help you grow? If you’re a business owner looking to make your WordPress site slicker, here are eight great plugins to consider, specifically helpful for startups:
1. Yoast SEO: Want to draw more traffic from search engines, but lack the budget to invest a great deal in SEO efforts? Yoast makes it easy and user-friendly to optimize your website for search engines. The free version provides an entry-level introduction into optimization.
The paid version takes it one step further with extra features such as multiple keywords per post, internal link suggestions, a redirect manager, a clear overview of your site’s keywords and SEO scores, and more.
2. WooCommerce: Do you sell your products online? WooCommerce is the plugin that helps turn your site into a robust e-commerce shop. It’s fully customizable, with both free and premium extensions available to improve functionality. With it, you can quickly and accessibly create a slick online store.
3. Jetpack: The Jetpack plugin is an all-in-one solution that gives you the functionalities of many plugins in one convenient package. Features include site statistics, a contact form, email subscriptions and the ability to embed videos, for example. Think of it as a code-free way to customize your site, schedule social media posts, enhance site security and more. Jetpack even has the ability to build website backups with its paid plans.
4. WP Rocket: A premium plugin, WP Rocket promises to make your website faster with just a few clicks. Because site speed is vital not only for visitors, but also for search engines, it’s another update worth considering.
5. OptinMonster: The foundation of every good business is lead generation—and that’s where a plugin like OptinMonster comes into play. When you’re looking to grow your email subscribers, increase pageviews, retarget visitors and increase sales, this tool makes it easy. It creates beautiful forms, makes it easy to perform A/B testing to see what features work best, and comes with a long list of little extras to help your business.
6. Sumo: Available in both free and premium versions, the Sumo plugin is another great tool for building a following and increasing traffic—all while tracking results every step of the way. Features include support to build email lists, customizable share buttons to encourage content spread, and built-in heat maps that show you where your visitors click on your site.
7. Wordfence: When you’re a new business, it’s hard to afford an on-staff IT professional to protect your data. Available in free and premium versions, the Wordfence plugin offers the next best thing: security from threats to keep your website safe.
8. Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights: As every business knows, you need data to understand what is and isn’t working. And, given that Google Analytics is the go-to statistics-tracker today, a plugin such as this one from MonsterInsights is a must. Use it to connect your site with analytics that show how visitors find your site, what posts and pages get the most traffic, how often people return and more.
Whether you’re a local service company, a growing retailer or some other new business, when you’re looking to make the most of your online presence, plugins are key. Make your WordPress website more powerful and useful by adding the eight listed tools to your site—and enjoy the added convenience and better business results they provide!
Author bio:
Shanna Mallon is a contributing writer for Straight North, a top professional SEO agency that specializes in B2B SEO, PPC, email marketing and web design. Shanna has been writing professionally online since 2007.