If you’re looking for ways to make your WordPress website more functional, dynamic, and user-friendly, you’re in the right place. WordPress is a powerful and versatile platform you can customize in countless ways. One of the best ways to enhance your website’s features and capabilities is by using WordPress plugins.
Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned pro, WordPress offers something for everyone. From e-commerce stores to membership sites, plugins can help you up your website game and stand out from the competition.
Our team at Marketing Automation Canada (or you can call us MAC for short!) is excited to share some of our favorite plugins with you today. But first, let’s take a closer look at what WordPress is and why it’s so awesome:
What is WordPress?
WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS). It’s the most popular CMS on the web, powering 34% of all websites. It offers users various features such as custom themes, plugins, widgets, and more.
Content marketers love WordPress because it offers a lot of functionality without the hassle of extensive coding. The platform is an inbound marketer’s dream.
Is WordPress Good for Beginners?
WordPress is like the Swiss Army knife of website builders. It comes complete with a user-friendly interface that makes it a breeze for anyone to create and manage their own website. In fact, WordPress has become one of the most popular platforms for beginners precisely because it’s so easy to use.
And it gets even better—WordPress has an active community of developers who are constantly improving the platform and providing support for new users. All these features make WordPress an ideal choice for beginners looking to create a website.
What Are WordPress Plugins?
WordPress plugins are tools that allow users to customize their WordPress website. They’re like little apps you can install on your website to add new features and functions.
Want to create a contact form? There’s a plugin for that.
Want to rank #1 on Google? An SEO plugin will help you make it happen.
Want to add social sharing buttons to your blog posts? You guessed it—there’s a plugin for that, too.
With the right plugins, you can easily add features to your website without writing any code. (And did we mention that many of them are free?)
What Plugins Do I Need for My WordPress Site?
We’re going to answer this with a question for you:
What’s the purpose of your website?
An e-commerce store will need plugins that help with inventory management, payment gateways, and shipping options.
On the other hand, if you’re a blogger who wants to focus on growing your audience, you’ll want to get plugins that focus on social media sharing, email marketing, and search engine optimization.
There are thousands of plugins available for you to choose from, but you don’t need all of them. Narrow down your search by choosing plugins that align with your website’s objectives.
Our Top 5 WordPress Plugins
Our team at MAC has scoured the depths of the internet and tested countless plugins to bring you our top five picks. These plugins are universally beneficial, so you should consider testing them on your site!
Without further ado, here’s our plugin shortlist:
1. GTranslate
Free version: Uses statistical machine translations.
Paid version: Uses highly accurate Google neural translations.
Say goodbye to language barriers with GTranslate, a WordPress plugin that makes website translation a piece of cake.
This plugin can translate your website into over 100 different languages with just a few clicks of the mouse. With its automatic language detection feature, your visitors will be directed to the appropriate language version of your site without lifting a finger.
GTranslate makes your website accessible to a global audience in no time!
2. Booking Calendar
Free version: Includes all basic features.
Paid version: Includes advanced features, such as conditional dates selection, search availability, and a multi-user system where each user can set their own availability.
Think of the WordPress Booking Calendar as your own virtual assistant. This little gem is a total game-changer, providing a seamless system for displaying your calendar availability, receiving bookings from your website visitors, and managing appointments like a pro.
This calendar works for both virtual and in-person bookings. Your customers will love how simple it is to make full-day or time bookings, and you’ll love how stress-free your life becomes.
3. MC4WP – Mailchimp for WordPress
Free version: Includes all core plugin features, including signup forms and integrations.
Paid version: Includes premium features, such as e-commerce integrations, additional form styling options, and a two-way user sync between WordPress and Mailchimp.
Are you ready to take your email list game to the next level? Look no further than MC4WP (aka Mailchimp for WordPress). This plugin is a total lifesaver when it comes to growing your list, offering sleek and accessible sign-up forms that will make your visitors eager to join.
MC4WP lets you add various sign-up methods to your WordPress site, making it super simple for visitors to subscribe to your content. MC4WP is a must-have for keeping your subscribers up to date and growing your email list like a boss.
4. Yoast SEO
Free version: Includes basic functionality. Optimize content for one focus keyword per page.
Paid version: Includes more advanced functionality, including automation features. Optimize content for multiple focus keywords per page.
Yoast SEO is a plugin that helps you curate your website’s content for search engines. This means that it helps you create content that’s more likely to rank higher in Google search results.
Even if you’re not a marketing expert, you can still use Yoast SEO to make significant improvements to your website’s search engine optimization. It provides you with straightforward guidelines on how to optimize your content and ensure that it’s easily discoverable by search engines.
One of the best things about Yoast SEO is that it analyzes your content as you’re creating it. It gives you real-time feedback on things like your keyword density, meta descriptions, and readability. This means that you can make changes as you go, rather than having to go back and edit your content later.
5. MonsterInsights
Free version: Connect Google Analytics with MonsterInsights and automatically set up advanced tracking without editing code.
Paid version: Access advanced features, such as viewing reports on your top landing pages, affiliate links, videos, and more. The paid version also includes more robust e-commerce integrations.
MonsterInsights makes it easy to use Google Analytics in your WordPress dashboard, giving you all the juicy deets on how visitors are finding your site and interacting with it.
With detailed tracking code added to your website, you can uncover all sorts of information about user behavior—think pages visited, time spent on each page, and more.
Armed with this intel, you’ll be able to make informed decisions about how to optimize your website for better performance and conversions.
Need Help Turning Your Website Dreams Into a Reality?
Look no further, our team of experienced design and development consultants are here to help you with your WordPress CMS platform. View our full suite of services here.
We also have a proven track record of helping companies execute their multichannel marketing strategies. We’ll ensure all your marketing technology works together seamlessly to maximize conversions and revenue. Get in touch today to schedule a free strategy session.
