There are more than 55,000 third-party plugins in WordPress plugin repo!
So, how do you choose which ones are the best for a blogger like you?
In this article, I’ll share a complete list of WordPress plugins you should install. The list includes plugins for speed, security, social, SEO, and more.
A lot has changed in 2020, so I’ve updated this list with new plugins accordingly.
Must-Have WordPress Plugins For Bloggers
1. Yoast SEO
This plugin is so far the best, and I use this over it’s contemporary “All in One SEO Pack” because it has got some extra edge features and is more user-friendly.
It will help you manage both on-page as well as on-site (off-page) SEO of your blog. You’ll be easily able to add meta descriptions, titles, optimize your titles, and individual posts for a target keyword. This one is the first plugin you should install on your blog.
2. Sucuri
In case you don’t know, WordPress powers 29 of the internet currently, and this is one of the main reasons for being WordPress, the most targeted platform by Hackers.
To prevent some from hacking your WordPress blog and to keep an eye on each and every Activity on your Blog, I recommend you use the Sucuri Security plugin.
This plugin will manage all your security needs from setting up a firewall, tracking Every Activity through E-mail from Activating a plugin to updating a post. And if it fails, they will manually clean your site.
Download Sucuri Security plugin
3. W3 Total Cache
Nobody wants to visit a blog that loads slowly. Google also ranks slow websites lower.
You want your blog to load super fast. And to make that happen, you’ll need to install a cache plugin.
You will need a cache plugin to save your cached data both in the server and the user’s browser. This plugin is the best and highest rated plugin to enable cache for your blog. It allows you to leverage browser cache and optimize your blog for faster loading speed.
4. AMP for WP
AMP is ana abbreviated form for accelerated mobile pages. What AMP for WP plugin does is it makes your whole WordPress site AMP compatible in less than 5 minutes.
AMP pages are lighter and load pretty quickly on mobile devices even when the users’ internet connection is slow.
So if you want to make your WordPress blog or website mobile-friendly, because of Google’s mobile-first index algorithm update, install and activate this plugin.
5. Subscribers Push Notification
If you are not using Subscribers Push Notification, You will be losing readers every day. Subscribers turns your regular readers into loyal readers. It enables “push notifications” in browsers like Chrome, Safari and Mozilla Firefox for your website.
Subscribers has a WordPress plugin that allows you to show “subscribe to browser notifications” pop-up and you can notify the subscribers every time you publish a new post.
6. Akismet
Spam Comments can affect your blog’s legitimacy. Akismet helps you to Automatically filter or Delete Spam Comments. I use it over others because if it’s Accuracy. It has given me an Accuracy Rate of 99.4%. Signup first for Akismet to get your API key, without which you won’t be able to activate it.
Download Akismet Plugin | Signup For Akismet
7. JetPack By Automattic
Jetpack is a complete feature-packed plugin. The Company behind Jetpack plugin is Automattic.
This plugin lets you Add Email Subscription Box, Share Buttons, Related Posts, Automated Back Ups, Spam Protection, Website Stats, Insights and Much More. Jetpack is your “Everything you need under one roof” plugin.
8. Social Snap
Social Snap is a rather new social media plugin that allows you to add share buttons, click to tweet boxes, and social network follow buttons on your blog. It is faster than most of the social plugins and has two versions, one free and another premium.
The free version will allow you to add Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest share buttons. To add share buttons like Buffer and Pocket etc., you’ll have to buy the premium version.
You can also read the Social Snap review here.
9. Broken links checker
Neither Your Readers Nor Google would like to see a broken link in your article(s). Broken links checker is the best plugin that helps you to look out for Broken links all over your website. You can also fix them and remove sources directly From the plugin dashboard.
10. WPSmush.It
WPSmush. It Reduces the image size on your blog. This is done without degrading the quality of the images. This plugin also makes it easier with options like One-click smush and Automated on upload smush. Reduced image size helps to load the page faster and enhance user experience.
11. OptinMonster
OptinMonster is the best lead generation plugin for WordPress.
OptinMonster makes it easier to get your visitors on your mailing list. They have the best in class 65+ templates, Mobile friendly, and Beautifully crafted Designs to choose from. They have significantly increased the conversion in the last 2 months.
12. WP Advanced Ads
Advanced Ads is one of those few plugins I have been using from day one on BforBloggers. It is an ads optimization and management plugin and is useful if you want to display Ads on your blog. It helps you serve Image ads, along with 4 other formats that include rich content as well.
These plugins will help you get started from day one.
All of these plugins are far most the best and will serve you for long enough. Also, each plugin is unique, while some may share some features. You Need to install Each and Every plugin to ensure you got the best toolkit to start.
This is a small list, and you don’t need any more plugins as a beginner. As soon as you start to grow, you will find more plugins that are more advanced-coded. You should also keep an eye for the numbers of plugins you install. Unnecessary plugins will gradually slow down your blog.
What are the other essential plugins you use on your WordPress blog?
you forgot TOC+ plugin brother
TOC+ is optional if you don’t need a table of content, that serves no purpose.
Hey, Packed full of list of best plugins. Even I’m trying some of them but right now I have to update my list…thanks for the post and I’m using Yoast for SEO.
Clear and helpful. Most of these plugins are well-known. Could you please recommend a plugin that helps in GG index?
Hi Aayush,
This is an awesome cheat-sheet for setting up new WordPress blogs. Thanks.
PS: Update your PushEngage’s link. There’s an error in the URL that makes it hard to redirect to their site.
Hi James,
Updated the post with a new resource and its better than PushEngage.
Hello and thank you for the must have plugin guide.
I am using almost all the mentioned plugins.
Do you think Rankmath is better than Yaost?
I would love to know about your experience!
I use and recommend Yoast.
Hi, I have started blogging. I was searching for the best WordPress plugins for the blog and found your article. You explained it very nicely. As a newbie, your article helped me a lot to understand about WordPress plugins. Thanks.