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The 29 Best WordPress Plugins (Organized by Category)

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WordPress plugins make your life easier by allowing you to add features to your website without learning to code or hire a developer.

However, over 60,000 WordPress plugins are available, and more are released every day. Plus, installing too many plugins can cause slow website loading speeds, so you want to avoid adding too many of these plugins.

To help you limit your installed plugins to only the most worthy, I’ve compiled this list of the 29 best WordPress plugins categorized by what they’re good for. 

This list comes from my more than 12 years of experience building WordPress websites and working closely with my WordPress developer.

Best WordPress plugins for website design

First up, we have some plugins to help you design and add specific functionalities to your WordPress website.

Elementor

Elementor drag-and-drop page builder example

Cost: Free ($59/year for premium)

Useful for:

  • Building a website theme with drag-and-drop editing 
  • Easily creating custom landing pages

Elementor is awesome for anyone who wants a custom-looking website without learning how to code or being limited to a pre-built theme. But it also has pre-built themes you can customize to streamline the process.

Be aware that using any kind of drag-and-drop editor like this will slow down your site.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce product display blocks

Cost: Free

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Useful for: Turning your WordPress website into an e-commerce store

WooCommerce is the best plugin to start an e-commerce business on your WordPress website. It allows you to easily create product pages and collections.

You can combine it with WooCommerce Payments to easily collect customer payment information.

Advanced Custom Fields Pro

Advanced Custom Fields Pro WordPress UI

Cost: $49/year for a single site

Useful for: Creating custom widgets to use anywhere on your site 

If you know how to code, Advanced Custom Fields Pro allows you to take full control over your WordPress edit screens and custom field data.

WPCode

WPCode user interface explanation

Cost: Free ($49–$399/year for premium)

Useful for: Inserting code into your headers and footers

Formerly called Insert Headers and Footers, WPCode is the easiest way for non-developers to add code snippets anywhere on their website. 

For example, you may have to add a code snippet to your website’s header to connect it with Google Analytics or to add the Facebook Remarketing Pixel.

WPForms

WPForms form editor UI

Cost: $49.50/year

Useful for:

  • Creating forms for contact pages, newsletter sign-ups, and more
  • Building surveys for your site visitors

WPForms is a drag-and-drop WordPress form editor. It’s super intuitive and easy to use.

TranslatePress

TranslatePress language translation plugin

Cost: €89/year (~USD 95)

Useful for: Translating your website into other languages

TranslatePress makes it easy to create translated versions of your website in other languages. It also automatically adds the hreflang tags for each language, so it’s also good for SEO. 

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Formilla

Formilla live chat WordPress plugin

Cost: Free (varying premium plans starting at $19.99/month)

Useful for: Adding a live chat feature to your site

Formilla is a live chat plugin for WordPress. You can offer live chat support or use it to answer visitors’ questions automatically using a bot—although that may annoy them.

Best WordPress plugins for website management & security

Next up, we’ve got a whole suite of plugins that help you make your website more secure and easier to manage. WordPress sites are often vulnerable to hacking, so these are important.

Wordfence

Wordfence dashboard

Cost: Free ($119/year for premium)

Useful for: Keeping your website safe from hackers and malware

Wordfence adds a robust firewall and malware scanner to protect your site from hackers and malicious software. You can also use it to add two-factor login authentication, have rate limiting, and run security diagnostics on your site—to name a few of the features. 

UpdraftPlus

Cost: Free ($119/year for premium)

Useful for: Backing up your WordPress website

It’s important to back up your website every so often to avoid losing your content in the event of a plugin clash, hack, or even accidental deletion. UpdraftPlus makes this easy for you.

Wordable

Cost: Free ($50/month for premium)

Useful for: Uploading content from Google Docs to WordPress at the click of a button

Wordable makes it easy to upload content from Google Docs to your WordPress website (including images, formatting, etc., without any extra hidden code). It’s saved me a lot of time and money not needing to do it myself or having my virtual assistant to do it.

PublishPress

PublishPress role capabilities dashboard

Cost: $129–$399/year (depending on tier)

Useful for: Managing a team of writers and editors on your website

PublishPress makes it easy to manage multiple writers and editors on your site, with the ability to manage their permissions of what they can do and see. It also includes an editorial calendar, new blocks for the Gutenberg editor, and more.

MemberPress

Membership site built using MemberPress WordPress plugin

Cost: $179.50–$399.50/year (depending on tier)

Useful for: Creating a membership website

MemberPress makes it easy to turn your WordPress website into a paid membership site, allowing you to build and sell courses and forums and put them behind a paywall.

Uncanny Automator

Cost: $149–$399/year (depending on tier)

Useful for: Automating tasks on your website

Uncanny Automator is like Zapier but for WordPress. It can automate tasks like sharing a post to social media or in a newsletter when it’s published, track data in a spreadsheet whenever a product is purchased, and a million other things. Its only limit is your own creativity.

WP Simple Pay

WordPress payment forms using WP Simple Pay

Cost: $49.50–$299.50/year (depending on tier)

Useful for: Adding a simple Stripe payment processor to your site

WP Simple Pay makes it easy to accept Stripe payments on your website. This is great if you only sell a few products or services and want to avoid the trouble of setting up the WooCommerce plugin and connecting it with a payment processor and your bank.

WP Mail SMTP

Cost: $49–$399/year (depending on tier)

Useful for: Improving email deliverability

WP Mail SMTP allows you to set up SMTP and PHP mail servers to improve your email deliverability whenever you send customers or visitors an email from your site.

Best WordPress plugins for site speed optimization

A quick-loading site is vital for audience retention, conversions, and SEO. To help you speed up your WordPress site, you can consider using these plugins.

NitroPack

Cost: $17.50–$146.67/month (depending on tier)

Useful for: An all-in-one tool to speed up your website

NitroPack is my favorite all-in-one speed enhancer, with smart caching, image optimization, a built-in CDN, and more—all without needing developer experience. However, it’s not cheap. If you need a more affordable option, look at the next two plugins.

WP Rocket

Cost: $59–$299/year (depending on tier)

Useful for: Adding website caching

WP Rocket adds caching to your WordPress website, allowing you to improve your loading speeds and Core Web Vitals score. However, it doesn’t have image optimization or a CDN, so it’s missing features compared to NitroPack. That’s where the next plugin comes in.

Autoptimize

Cost: Free

Useful for: Adding website speed optimization features like image compression

Autoptimize fills in the gaps left by WP Rocket. It can aggregate, minify and cache scripts and styles, inject CSS in the page head by default, optimize and lazy-load images, and much more. However, it does require some learning and tweaking, so it’s not very beginner-friendly.

Best WordPress plugins for marketing

Traffic is what makes your website valuable. Here are some of the best WordPress plugins to help you promote your site.

PushEngage

Cost: Free ($9–$49/month for premium)

Useful for: Adding push notifications to your website

PushEngage is the best push notification plugin I’ve found. It lets you easily advertise push notification services to your visitors and sends the notifications in a way that is well designed and easy to use. 

Keep in mind that push notifications can be extremely annoying to visitors if you’re not cautious about them.

RafflePress

Cost: $39.50–$499.50/year (depending on tier)

Useful for: Running viral raffles and giveaways

RafflePress makes running raffles and giveaways on your site easy by giving visitors single-click options to earn entries. They can follow, subscribe, like, and comment just by clicking each button on your giveaway and get extra entries for each task they complete.

OptinMonster

OptinMonster form editor

Cost: $9–$49/month (depending on tier)

Useful for: Creating beautiful opt-in forms and gamified wheels

OptinMonster is a form-builder plugin that helps you optimize conversions to grow your email list. It also has gamified wheels, which I’ve never used. But it seems like a fun thing to test for e-commerce websites.

Thrive Quiz Builder

Cost: $99/year (or $299/year for the entire Thrive Suite)

Useful for: Creating quizzes on your site that are easily shareable

Thrive Quiz Builder makes it easy to, well, build quizzes. You can use it to make one of those viral Facebook quizzes moms love to take and share their results. 

Smash Balloon

Cost: $49–$299/year (depending on which feeds you want)

Useful for: Adding social media feeds to your website

Smash Balloon makes displaying feeds from your social media profiles on your WordPress website easy. This is helpful if you want to showcase your photography or video services or rely heavily on social media for sponsorships. 

Best WordPress plugins for SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of growing your website. In my experience, the following plugins are the best WordPress SEO plugins.

Yoast SEO/Rank Math/SEOPress

Rank Math blog post SEO settings

Cost: Free (various paid options)

Useful for:

  • Basic on-page SEO
  • Creating a robots.txt file and sitemap
  • Easily editing metadata 

These types of plugins are essential for a WordPress website. They allow you to edit important SEO options on your pages and make implementing SEO on your site much easier and more streamlined.

Of these three, my personal favorite is Rank Math. I have used Yoast SEO and SEOPress, but I like the team behind Rank Math the most and find the plugin to be easy to use with a solid UI. They’re all great, however, and do pretty much the same things. Just pick one.

Ahrefs’ WordPress SEO Plugin

Ahrefs' WordPress SEO plugin dashboard

Cost: Free

Useful for: Suggesting ways to better optimize your content to rank higher in search results

Our SEO plugin makes it easy to automate content audits, monitor backlinks, and grow organic traffic to your WordPress website. It’s free, so try it out.

MonsterInsights

MonsterInsights analytics overview dashboard

Cost: $99.50–$399.50/year (depending on tier)

Useful for: Gathering helpful insights into your site traffic 

MonsterInsights is a WordPress analytics plugin that shows you insights into how much traffic you’re getting, which pages people are visiting, and what they’re doing. It also provides e-commerce insights like goal conversions and also integrates with Google Analytics. 

Best WordPress plugins for affiliate marketing

Last but not least, the following plugins are excellent to help you make more money from affiliate marketing.

Lasso

Cost: $39–$299/month (depending on how many sites you want it for)

Useful for: 

  • Tracking, managing, and automating your affiliate links
  • Creating product display boxes and comparison tables
  • Getting suggestions for new affiliate programs

Lasso gets my favorite plugin of the year award. It makes tracking, managing, and automating your affiliate links easy. Plus, you can create conversion-optimized product display boxes and tables, get suggestions for affiliate programs for products you’re mentioning but not affiliated with, and more.

AffiliateWP

AffiliateWP dashboard

Cost: $39–$299/month (depending on how many sites you want it for)

Useful for: Adding an affiliate program to your website

AffiliateWP allows you to create and manage your own affiliate program so you can have affiliates promote your products for you.

AdSanity

Cost: $59–$179/year ($499 for lifetime access)

Useful for: Managing ads on your WordPress website

AdSanity makes it easy to manage ads on your site and add them using widgets, shortcodes, or template tags. It also gives you publishing options to create start and end dates, analytics reporting to see your ads’ effectiveness, and more. 

Final thoughts

There are a lot of WordPress plugins out there. Many are unnecessary, and having too many can add code bloat and drastically slow down your website.

Hopefully, you’ve found the right plugins in this list to install only the ones you really need and avoid others you don’t. 

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Americans Know About ChatGPT But Few Use It, Survey Finds

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Americans Know About ChatGPT But Few Use It, Survey Finds

As artificial intelligence permeates our lives, public awareness becomes increasingly significant.

In this article, we delve into a recent survey by the Pew Research Center that explores American adults’ familiarity and experiences with ChatGPT, an open-access online chatbot known for its versatile and human-like responses.

Here’s a glimpse of the study’s key insights:

  • The extent of American adults’ familiarity with ChatGPT.
  • The percentage of Americans who have used ChatGPT.
  • How Americans have used ChatGPT.
  • American users’ opinions on the utility of ChatGPT.

Join us as we navigate the public perception of AI, guided by the findings of Pew’s study.

ChatGPT: Familiar Yet Unexplored

The Pew Research Center study reveals that most American adults have heard of the AI chatbot ChatGPT, though a small portion has tried it.

Approximately 58% of the U.S. adult population knows ChatGPT, but only 14% have interacted with it.

Most people who have engaged with the chatbot find it at least somewhat helpful.

Demographic Differences in Awareness

Familiarity with ChatGPT is not uniform across the American population.

The study finds notable demographic differences. Among adults with a postgraduate degree, around 80% have heard about ChatGPT, compared to 71% of those with a bachelor’s degree and 59% of those with some college education.

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Only 41% of those with a high school education or less are familiar with the AI.

Household income plays a role in awareness levels, with individuals from more affluent households being more aware of ChatGPT.

Racial and ethnic disparities are observed, with Asian adults being more likely to have heard of ChatGPT.

The study finds 78% of Asian adults reported some familiarity with the ChatGPT. This figure starkly contrasts the approximately 60% of White adults and roughly half of Hispanic or Black adults who said the same.

Gender and age correlate with awareness. Men and adults under 30 are more likely to have heard about ChatGPT than women and those 30 and older.

How Americans Use ChatGPT

Of the Americans who have heard of ChatGPT, 19% have used it for entertainment, 14% for learning, and a smaller number have used it at work.

There’s a strong correlation between age and usage. Young adults (under 30) aware of ChatGPT are likelier than those aged 65 and older to have used the chatbot for entertainment.

As for the utility of ChatGPT, American views are varied.

Approximately a third of those who have used it find it extremely (15%) or very useful (20%), while 39% deem it somewhat valuable.

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Around a quarter of those who have tried it find it not very (21%) or not at all useful. Interestingly, younger adults tend to find ChatGPT more useful than older adults.

Despite its utility, ChatGPT has faced criticism for sometimes producing inaccurate answers, fabricating information, and citing nonexistent sources, making it seem that these falsities are real even to the people it engages with.

These findings highlight the importance of using AI responsibly and ensuring its reliability and adherence to ethical standards.

The Future of AI Usage

Despite the relative lack of uptake among Americans, the swift rise of ChatGPT has brought to the fore many questions about the future of AI in our daily lives.

The ongoing conversation about ChatGPT’s use and potential misuse reflects broader societal debates. Some see AI as a helpful tool for educational and work purposes, while others believe it should be used primarily for entertainment.

Conclusion

As AI evolves, public opinion and usage patterns will change.

The Pew Research Center’s survey provides a snapshot of current perceptions and uses of ChatGPT, and these findings will undoubtedly shape the ongoing conversation about the role of AI in society.

Future studies are needed to track changing attitudes and behaviors as Americans get more familiar with using AI in everyday life.

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Source: Pew Research Center

Featured image generated by the author using Midjourney.



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What You Need To Know In 2023

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What You Need To Know In 2023

In a recent interview, Rene Ritchie, YouTube’s creator liaison, sat down with Todd Beaupre, YouTube’s growth and discovery lead, to discuss the algorithm’s future and its implications for creators in 2023.

Beaupre shares many insights that can help content creators understand and navigate YouTube.

This candid Q&A uncovers vital details, such as:

  • The importance of focusing on audience satisfaction over algorithmic manipulation.
  • The role of audience feedback and survey responses in refining YouTube’s recommendation system.
  • Strategies for creators to build long-term relationships with their audiences for sustained success.
  • YouTube’s dedicated efforts to support new or smaller creators.
  • Advice on managing multi-format, multi-language content and the advantages of channel experimentation.
  • The future of content discovery on YouTube, including the potential of emerging technologies and user interface enhancements.

This article overviews their enlightening conversation, with all the details on optimizing your YouTube content in 2023.

From Algorithm To Audience: A New Perspective

Q: What’s the main thing creators should focus on for the YouTube algorithm?

Beaupre emphasizes the importance of not thinking about algorithms but audiences. Creators are often asked about the best time or frequency to upload videos to optimize algorithm favorability.

Beaupre encourages a shift in perspective:

“Creators often ask about optimizing their upload time or frequency for the algorithm. But we want creators to shift their thinking. Rather than focusing on the algorithm, they should focus on the audience. Replace the word “algorithm” in their questions with the word “audience.” We design the algorithm to serve the audience, so understanding audience preferences will help the algorithm favor their content.”

The Satisfaction Metric: A Holistic View Of Engagement

Q: Can you explain the significance of the satisfaction metric in the YouTube algorithm?

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Beaupre addresses an essential aspect of YouTube’s algorithm: audience satisfaction.

While watch time is a commonly known factor the algorithm considers, Beaupre says that not all watch time is equal:

“Everyone knows that watch time is one of the factors we look at. But we’ve realized that not all watch time is equal. We also need to understand the value an audience derives from a video. To do this, we run surveys about recommendations and specific videos, feeding those responses into the recommendation system. This helps the algorithm identify patterns of satisfying content, looking at various signals like likes, dislikes, watch time, and survey responses.”

A Long-term Strategy: The Key To Creator Success

Q: What kind of strategy should creators adopt for success on YouTube?

Beaupre says creators who prioritize long-term audience value over immediate views stand to benefit more long-term.

He explains that a video’s potential to leave a lasting impression and foster a long-term relationship with the audience would correlate well with satisfaction.

“I would advise creators to think about the long-term value for their audience. Rather than focusing on getting a lot of views in a week, think about creating a lasting impression with your audience. This could mean they’ll want to return to your channel in the future.”

Supporting Smaller Channels

Q: How does YouTube support new or smaller creators who don’t have a large audience?

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For creators with smaller audiences, Beaupre reveals that YouTube has a team focused on helping them identify their audience, using various approaches like assessing video titles and descriptions.

“We have a team that focuses on this exact challenge. They use different approaches, like assessing video titles and descriptions, to help these creators identify their audience. We track the success of new creators on the platform, and we’re committed to helping them succeed.”

Multi-format, Multi-language Content:

Q: How should creators manage their channels with the rise of multi-format, multi-language content?

Beaupre touches on the evolving content landscape, including long-form videos, Live, Shorts, and podcasts.

His advice to creators navigating this space is:

“My advice to creators is simple: “Same audience, same channel, different audience, different channel.” We’re looking for ways to make it easier for creators to manage their channels in this multi-format, multi-language world. We encourage creators to experiment with different formats on the same channel and see how their audience reacts.”

The Future Of Discovery On YouTube

Q: What’s the future of discovery on YouTube?

Speaking about the challenges and opportunities ahead, Beaupre highlights several focus areas.

These include leveraging emerging technology, such as large language models, and making the discovery experience more enjoyable.

“We have several areas of focus. We’re excited about emerging technology like large language models, which could improve recommendation quality. We’re also working on enabling seamless user journeys across various formats. Another challenge is to make the discovery experience more enjoyable for users. We’re exploring opportunities to make the interface more entertaining and less overwhelming.”

Final Words

Beaupre signs off with the message that YouTube’s algorithm prioritizes the audience’s satisfaction.

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By creating long-term value for your audience, understanding their needs, and experimenting with different formats, you can better align with the platform’s goals and succeed.


Source: YouTube

Featured image generated by the author using Midjourney. 



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TikTok Dominates Short-Form Content, Instagram Reels Not Far Behind

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TikTok Dominates Short-Form Content, Instagram Reels Not Far Behind

Three platforms dominate short-form video content: TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

A recent study conducted by Social Insider dives into the performance stats of these platforms, analyzing key metrics to determine which comes out on top.

In this article, we’ll examine these key insights:

  • TikTok holds the crown for the most engagement.
  • Comments pour in twice as much on TikTok as on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
  • Brands post twice as much content on TikTok as on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
  • Instagram Reels leads the highest watch rate, while YouTube Shorts lags.
  • Each platform’s algorithm plays a role in how content performs.
  • Each platform caters to specific audiences and marketing objectives.

Keep reading as we unpack these findings and explore what they mean for users and marketers alike.

TikTok Reigns Supreme In Engagement

TikTok, widely recognized as the forerunner of the short-form video trend, claims the engagement rate crown.

The study finds TikTok outperforms Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts in interaction, scoring double the comments of its competitors.

“From an engagement rate perspective, in this TikTok vs. Reels vs. Shorts performance comparison, TikTok sets itself apart as the undisputable winner,” the study notes.

The study compares engagement rates, revealing that YouTube Shorts averages around 3.80%, Reels hits an average of 4.36%, and TikTok boasts a significantly higher rate of 5.53%.

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The Power Of TikTok’s Virality

TikTok’s success is partly due to users’ ability to harness viral trends, enabling explosive follower growth.

The study mentions that a social media strategy focusing on authenticity and humanized approaches can lead to rapid success.

Brands post twice as much content on TikTok as they do on Reels and Shorts, further emphasizing TikTok’s dominance in this space.

Reels & Shorts: Not To Be Overlooked

While TikTok may lead in engagement and content volume, Instagram’s Reels and YouTube’s Shorts have their strengths.

Reels, for instance, records the highest watch rate among the three platforms.

This could be credited to Instagram’s follower-based model, with Reels serving as a potent content type for brands with a large audience.

On the other hand, YouTube Shorts functions more as a discovery tool.

Most Shorts’ views originate from the homepage. From there, YouTube starts recommending long-form content.

This recommendation system can increase a channel’s subscribers, views, and traction on long-form videos.

A Multifaceted Approach for Marketers

Given each platform’s different strengths and audiences, the study suggests a diversified approach for brands.

“Using TikTok, Reels, and Shorts complementarily and creating unique content for each, aligned with the individual’s platform audience and design, is the best approach marketers and brands alike could have,” the study concludes.

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Ultimately, TikTok leads in engagement and content volume, Instagram’s Reels has the highest watch rate, and YouTube’s Shorts is the most effective discovery tool.

Each platform has a unique role in the short-form video landscape. The key for brands and marketers is understanding these roles and crafting strategies around them.


Featured image generated by the author using Midjourney. 



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