I have some go-to recommended WordPress plugins I always install on new projects. They’re essentials, in my opinion, for making a WordPress website that much better. However, if you’re a WordPress developer, chances are you have some of these in your list already. Hey ho, here we go…
Advanced Custom Fields
https://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-custom-fields/
Of all my recommended WordPress plugins, this tops the list. If you’re not familiar, it’s a plugin to cover all your custom content entry needs. Create any type of custom field to add your WordPress content. A must for any bespoke CMS work. It serves up plenty to use in the free version, but I’d seriously recommend getting the pro version for all the extra features and workflow boosts it has. It’s well worth it and is reasonable priced (buy once, use it as much as you like). You can download the pro version at: advancedcustomfields.com.
Contact Form 7
https://wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7/
I prefer this form builder plugin over any other, purely because of it’s simplicity. It stays out of your way, and allows you to write your form markup exactly how you want. One caveat is perhaps it’s more suited to a developer than your average user. It doesn’t have a drag and drop form builder that you might find in other form plugins (like ninja forms). There are so many other plugins out there too, that compliment CF7 with extra functionality, so it’s well worth adding to your list.
Yoast SEO
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/
The obvious leader in Search Engine Optimisation for your WordPress website, and probably one of the most recommended of WordPress plugins. It can also handle your sitemap, and works well with your permalinks. It also integrates formatting your content for SEO nicely. Previews of your search result listing, on the editor page is also a nice touch.
WP Fastest Cache
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-fastest-cache/
In my opinion, this is the best caching plugin for WordPress. It’s quick and easy to set up, compared to other caching plugins I’ve used. The problem with WordPress is that it can, on some occasions, put some pressure on your server. Having a caching plugin like this mitigates the impact it might have the running of the site. It also has the obvious benefit of loading your website a lot quicker. There is a pro, paid version too, for extra features, though you need to buy a license for each site you want to use it on.
Autoptimize
https://wordpress.org/plugins/autoptimize/
I’ve started to use this in tandem with wp fastest cache. It handles merging and minifying of all your scripts and so on, which in turn improves load times further. WP fastest cache does offer this, but only for owners of the premium version of the plugin. This is a cheeky workaround if you’re conscious of budget.
Regenerate Thumbnails
https://wordpress.org/plugins/regenerate-thumbnails/
Sometimes during development, you might need to add a new thumbnail size. Normally you’d have to make sure all your source images have a thumbnail available at that new size. This is where a plugin like this comes in handy. Just run this when you set a new thumbnail size, and it’ll re-create all the new thumbnails for you.
Crop Thumbnails
https://wordpress.org/plugins/crop-thumbnails/
I’m surprised that this feature isn’t built into WordPress core.
Have you ever uploaded an image, then realised the composition of a particular generated thumbnail is a bit naff? For example, poor Bob the MD has his head chopped off (and he’s not too happy about it)? Normally you’d have to download the thumbnail, edit the image, then re-upload it.
With this plugin, you have the option to move the crop area for all your generated cropped sizes for an image. It’ll allow you to edit this within the media menu, on any image, and save it on the fly. Very powerful if you have specific requirements for the composition of an image, on different screensizes.
Fly Dynamic Image Resizer
https://wordpress.org/plugins/fly-dynamic-image-resizer/
This is a new plugin I’ve just started to use, and it overs quite a powerful alternative to the thumbnail plugins I’ve mentioned above.
If you’ve used WordPress for a while, you’ll know that it creates a lot of media files. Different thumbnail sizes for each upload, and more for those other custom sizes you’ve set up in your theme. Problem is, you might not need all the different sizes in every instance. And you’ve used a lot of space on your server. What if there was a way to dynamically create just the thumbnails you need, prior to loading the web page? This plugin is the answer.
Custom Post Type Permalinks
https://wordpress.org/plugins/custom-post-type-permalinks/
If there’s one thing that fills me with dread within WordPress development, it’s messing around with the permalink structures of posts. This works as a kind of extension of your basic permalink settings, and makes the process a bit easier to work with.
FakerPress
https://wordpress.org/plugins/fakerpress/
Bread and butter for my dev work. If you want to quickly add a bunch of dummy posts, categories, or whatever you want content-wise, this is the plugin to do it. It’s very useful for testing blog archive pages for listings of posts and so on. There’s also a ‘let it go’ setting which will remove all the dummy content you’ve created in one go.
Post Types Order
https://wordpress.org/plugins/post-types-order/
I guarantee that sometimes, when working on a client project, they will sometimes ask for a specific order of content on a page that doesn’t quite make sense. For example, in an ‘about us’ grid, the client has requests Joe Bloggs the Company Overlord needs to be placed between John Smith the CEO (who must be first). And John Doe has to be in the third column. And Mary Jane needs to be on the third row, but on the left… you get the idea.
When it gets too much of a pain, and the client needs something very specific, this plugin gives them an easy admin menu system to re-order their posts however they see fit. It uses a drag and drop interface to make the process very easy. Let’s them run free with whatever order they want, and you no longer have to deal with it.
There’s also an equivalent plugin for category and taxonomy ordering.
WP Migrate DB
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-migrate-db/
I usually install this plugin just before migrating a WordPress site from my local environment to a server. It makes the process of moving the database simpler, without worrying about messing up your database. It’ll string replace database content for you, and allow you to download the modified SQL file. There’s also a paid version which bypasses that manual step, hooking up your local install directly with what you’ve got on your server to allow syncing of content directly (though it’s a bit pricey).
Do you have any recommended WordPress plugins?
Please comment below, if you have any developer plugins you use a lot. Looking for more useful tools? I also have a related post: Tools & Resources I Can’t Live Without During Web Development.