WordPress Plugins
WordPress plugins are nifty little chunks of software that can be installed into your WordPress site to extend and add functionally to your website and maybe even the theme you’re using. Like themes, there are free and premium (paid) plugins. As of this writing, there are 3046 PAGES of plugins on the WordPress.org popular plugins page! WOW! That’s a lot of plugins! The point is this; you can probably find more than one plugin to do the task you want. I would look at a couple of things before downloading a plugin. Check the number of active installs to start. If a plugin hasn’t been used in a lot of installs I would be hesitant to use it. Also, make sure it is compatible with the version of WordPress you’re using. Some plugins don’t get updated often and may not work with a newer version of WordPress. In the same thought, if a plugin hasn’t been updated in months be careful. Keeping WordPress core files and your plugins up to date is the first line of defense as part of your security plan. Installing new plugins is straightforward and similar to finding and installing a new theme. You can install plugins directly from the admin area. Download the plugin to your computer, then log in to your WP admin area and go to Plugins > Add New. Browse to where you saved the plugin archive and select it. Then click Install Now and the plugin will be installed shortly. Not all plugins are easy to install, so always refer to their documentation and installation instructions first. Here’s a good tutorial from Site Ground on how to install plugins.
There are a few plugins I use on most or all of the websites I work on. You’ll find your group of plugins you like that you use too. Here’s a list of plugins (and a brief description) I use most often:
- Akismet Anti-Spam is quite possibly the best way in the world to protect your blog from spam. Your site is fully configured and protected, even while you sleep.
- reCAPTCHA from Google reCAPTCHA is a free service that protects your site from spam and abuse. It uses advanced risk analysis techniques to tell humans and bots apart.
- WordFence Security WordFence Security – Anti-virus, Firewall, and Malware Scan.
- Google Analytics Use Google Analytics on your WordPress site without touching any code, and view visitor reports right in your WordPress admin dashboard!
- Ninja Forms Form building simplified. Beautiful, user-friendly WordPress forms that will make you feel like a professional web developer.
Of course, each website is different and each theme has different options. So, you may not need a particular plugin for each install. For example, if you host with Site Ground you won’t need a plugin to backup WordPress, they do it for you. How cool is that?
On the other hand, I use SOME plugins on all my websites. These are Akismet Anti-Spam and WordFence Security. All of these are excellent at doing what they are supposed to do. They each offer a free version (that works great!) or a paid premium version. This is great because you get a chance to use the plugin in a real-world situation and if you like it and need the expanded features then you’ll be comfortable in paying for it.
Akismet Anti-Spam does an excellent job of keeping spam out of your comments and forms. It was developed by Automattic, a web development corporation that is best known for developing WordPress.
WordFence Security is the most downloaded security plugin for WordPress websites. The WordFence Security plugin provides the best protection available for your website. Powered by the constantly updated Threat Defense Feed, WordFence Firewall stops you from getting hacked. WordFence Scan leverages the same proprietary feed, alerting you quickly in the event your site is compromised. Our Live Traffic view gives you real-time visibility into traffic and hack attempts on your website. A deep set of additional tools round out the most comprehensive WordPress security solution available.