Required Plugins
November 9th, 2017
Delete any pre-installed plugins except Akismet and maybe Jet-Pack. It’s recommended to get an api-key to activate the Akismet plugin
In addition to the standard pre-installed plugin Akismet, the following plugins are a MUST for any serious WordPress site today:
- WordPress SEO by Yoast or the older but still immensely popular All In One SEO
- Click here for Yoast SEO plugin setup help.
- Click here for All In One SEO plugin help.
- If you choose to go with All In One, you MUST also install Google XML Sitemaps
- Yeah, it’s not really “all-in-one” anymore… LOL
- Click here for Google XML Sitemaps plugin setup instructions
- Pretty Link (Lite Version)
- Contact Form 7
- StatCounter
It is important to keep in mind that each added plugin comes with a penalty in terms of:
- system resource overhead
- increased load times for your pages and posts
- additional complexity and setup parameters
Therefore,
- Use plugins to create only the functionality and user experience you are aiming for.
- Be sure you actually need a plugin before you make it a permanent part of your website (HINT: some themes have embedded functions that replace plugins.)
- Be aware also that some plugins don’t play nice with others.
These are the “bare-bones”, required plugins. In the next module we will learn about others that can enhance and customize your site.
