Best WordPress Plugins for Business
Wordpress is a flexible platform for creating websites even without any basic knowledge of coding for developing the site. This platform is widely used by bloggers as well as for small and medium-sized businesses to show their online appearance.
Small business owners are explicitly using this platform because usually, they don’t have an extra budget for creating a website. No doubt, the standard WordPress themes come with a lack of various features, but a wide variety of WordPress plugins are available to facilitate users.
Usually, business websites require some typical functions like live chats, email automation, contact forms, sharing options, and few more. Plugins are also essential to modify the design as well to get the desired layout that suits your business.
Furthermore, plugins are the best way to enhance the security of the website, whether it is for viruses or for payment systems. Many plugins are free to use while some require a subscription to use the advanced feature. However, almost every WordPress plugin offers its free version as a sample of functionality but with limited control. If you like the features in the free version, you can convert it by paying nominal charges.
In this article, we select the most popular WordPress plugins for websites to create specific functions. Let’s take a comprehensive look at them one by one.
1. Divi Visual Builder
Divi Visual Builder by ElegantThemes is the drag and drops visual page builder for WordPress based websites. It allows the users to create the most attractive design of pages with easy to use a builder that is not offered before by any plugin.
Key Features:
1. Pre-Designed Templates and Blocks: It allows the users to choose from the built-in design templates and blocks to get the desired design. Easily Import and export layouts, download layouts from the web and share it easily.
2. Ultra-fast: This plugin works smoothly and provides the same performance for both desktop and mobile users.
3. Super friendly organization It allows the users to undo or redo while building the page just like the Microsoft office. Global reusable items across multiple pages.
The free version provides sufficient support to build attractive web pages, but if you want to use some advanced features like theme builder, WooCommerce builder, popup builder, and many more. Then you may go for a premium version that starts at $89 per year, or the best option is lifetime purchase – $259.
Pros:
- Drag and drop blocks. Highly customizable
- Premade layouts
- Great performance
- Excellent customer service
Cons:
- Compatibility problems with some WordPress plugins.
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
Powerful. You can install the Divi Plugin and use the builder to create stunning designs within any your third party template structure. No matter how you run your WordPress website, you can still enjoy Divi’s amazing visual builder technology.
User Comments:
Parscale Rock st ar support for a great product! Love Divi, and more importantly, love their support. They are constantly improving their product and always ready to assist. Rock stars!
Joe “Elegant Themes worth every penny & OUTSTANDING Customer Service! Not only are their products worth every penny, their customer service is OUTSTANDING!”
2. Contact Form 7
Contact Form 7 make it easy to create a business relationship that is very important for rapid growth, whether it is with customers, suppliers, or even with competitors. Therefore, the presence of Contact Us forms is the best way of communicating with anyone.
Many form creation plugins are available over the internet, but Contact Form 7 is the most popular and widely used by websites from around the world.
It not only helps to make communication better but also facilitates the users with different security features to avoid spam messages by applying a CAPTCHA feature before submitting the form.
Key features:
1. Easy To Customize: This plugin provides a built-in format for contact form, but users can modify it by adding or deleting specific fields as per needs.
2. Compatible: It is compatible with most of the WordPress themes and various other plugins for different purposes and works very well without creating any problem.
3. Spam Filtering: It comes with a built-in spam filtering feature that is capable of detecting the spam messages and directing them in the spam folder directly.
Pricing
This is an open-source plugin, and anyone can use it without paying any amount. But you can donate any amount as an appreciation for developers and to improve the features.
Pros:
- Ajax-powered submitting
- Easy to display widget
- User-friendly
Cons:
- Lack of live preview feature
Why Should We Use ThisPlugin?
User experience is one of the most essential features to work within any area. This plugin allows the users to add various fields in the form that many other plugins are not providing in the free version. For example, it will enable file attachment /uploading and quizzing features with full support.
User Comments:
Shantanusingh: “I used this plugin for creating form and found it the best one for doing this job. It does a fantastic job even in free without slowing down my site; that was the issue with the previous plugin.
Zenakos: “I would like to present a big thanks to developers because it did a great job. I use it on many websites for my clients, and they like the way it builds and displays the form.
3. LiveChat
LiveChat plugin is the best way to chat with customers on a real-time basis. Talking with customers on a real-time basis contributes a lot to improve online appearance.
Customers from around the world like to ask various questions simultaneously that is not possible by merely integrating the contact form. Therefore, the LiveChat plugin has its own importance to facilitate the customers.
This plugin comes with many advanced and automated features like automatically appear the chat window as the visitor opens the website. It is also capable of sending a custom message to the visitor and invite him/her to start to chat with a company representative for discussing the products.
Key Features:
1. Simplify the Sale Process: Live chat with expected customers contributes to increasing the sales by clearing certain confusions and providing precise information about the product.
2. Enhance Customer Support: This plugin is beneficial to provide an impression of quick and real-time customer support for customers or end-users.
3. Compatible: It is compatible to use with various other plugins and WordPress themes and works very well without creating interruption.
A free version of this plugin is sufficient if you are a small business owner and can’t afford the paid version. But if you want to integrate some advance features like a ticketing system, chat history, data security, and many more, then you have to pay for that. The premium version starts at $15 per month.
Pros:
- Easy to integrate
- User-friendly
- Improve order percentage
Cons:
- Expensive premium plans
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
Easy customization is the success key for any plugin irrespective of purpose and category. It is easy to integrate with third-party services and apps.
For example, users can easily integrate it with help desk and customer relationship apps like Freshdesk, Zendesk, HubSpot CRM, and many more. It also supports integration with various email marketing and social media platforms.
User Comments:
Doubledperformance: “This plugin works flawlessly on my website and provides a real return against premium is charged for advanced features. It helps a lot to capture many customers and put us some steps ahead of our competitors.
Cthixton: “We install this plugin on the website of a non-profit radio station and use it for hosts of live shows. It really works very well for questioning and providing feedback in the live shows.
4. Envira Photo Gallery
Envira Photo Gallery is beneficial to organize the media and photos of products and business effectively. Most of the business themes do not support the well managed built-in gallery. Therefore, third-party plugins are essential to maintain the photo library. Photo Gallery layout and presentation play a vital role in attracting customers.
This plugin is beneficial for creating certain functionalities like watermarking, slide shows, deep linking, as well as optimizing the photos for SEO.
Key Features:
1. Drag and Drop Gallery Builder: It is easy to create the desired design of the gallery with drag and drop features. Also, users can display the images in various places without using any widget.
2. Easy To Customize: This plugin helps not only to customize the built-in layout of WordPress gallery, but it also helps to extend the functions by using hooks and filters.
3. Pagination: It is easy to split the extensive galleries into multiple pages that are beneficial to improve the site speed and user experience as well. This feature also enhances the page views as well.
With limitations in the free version, four different premium plans are designed by the developer that starts at $29 per year with advance features like custom CSS, multiple galleries, standalone galleries, and many more.
Pros:
- Built-in gallery templates
- Mobile friendly
- Watermarking feature
Cons:
- Low support for self-hosted videos
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
Effective and efficient SEO is vital for any website, especially for business websites. This plugin is capable of optimizing the photos for search engine optimization as well as provide all the services with mobile-friendly nature that helps to boost up the rankings in search engines.
User Comments:
Virginia Arnold: “I don’t know much about developing the website and try many plugins but all in vain. However, this plugin helps a lot to provide a professional look to my website.
jwkelly_49: “An old saying is, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” and this plugin sums it up in the best way. We use this plugin for adding pictures for our club forum, and it improved the interest level of members. Thanks for great work
5. UpdraftPlus
UpdraftPlus is the most popular WordPress plugin used for backups and restoration when needed. There could be a lot of reasons to take the backup of websites like data corruption, software failure, or any human-caused action like virus attack or accidental deletion of data.
This plugin allows the users to take the backup directly on cloud base platforms like Dropbox, Amazon S3, Google Drive, and many more. It is easy to restore the data with a single click only.
Key features:
1. Scheduled Backups: It allows the users to set the schedules for taking backups after a particular period automatically.
2. Incremental Backups (Premium): This feature helps to take the backup of new files only, which is convenient because it takes less time as compared to take the full backup.
3. Pre-update backups (Premium): It is capable of taking the backup automatically before any major update of WordPress version, theme, or plugins.
However, the free version is sufficient to take the simple backups, but if you want to use the advance features mentioned above, a subscription is required. The basic plan is available at $42 per year for single site support. But if you want to use it in multiple sites, you can go for advanced plans.
Pros:
- Reliable
- Secure
- Fast and Flexible
Cons:
- Poor customer support
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
It is easy to integrate and use this plugin and allow the users to complete the backup as well as the restoration process quickly with the help of few clicks. Irrespective of the platform used for backup, it works efficiently and effectively.
User Comments:
Trustpointins: “It was easy for me to install and use this plugin even that I am not a professional developer and don’t know much about websites. I am much confident about the security of my website data after using this reliable plugin.
jrgray99: “I am using this plugin for my site for a couple of months, and it saved my site twice. Once when plugin upgrade crashes my site and the second time, I accidentally delete the PHP script of my website during working on it.
6. WP Fastest Cache
WP Fastest Cache is beneficial to improve the speed of the website by creating and saving a static HTML file for all visitors rather than every visitor uses hosting memory and RAM for loading the page. Website speed is one of the most crucial factors for improving the rankings in search engine results.
The core purpose of business websites is to gain more visitors that are only possible by getting high rankings. This cache plugin deletes all the cache files after publishing the page or post.
Key features:
1. Combine CSS: This plugin is perfect to combine multiple CSS resources at one place that is beneficial to minimize the number of HTTP round trips.
2. Minify JavaScript (Premium): Minifying JavaScript files helps to lessen the script parse time and payload size as well.
3. Image Compression: It helps to convert large image formats like JPEG or PNG into WebP, JPEG 2000, or JPEG XR that is useful for increasing download speed and consumes fewer data.
Pricing
Along with free version, three premium plans are available and the basic plan starts at $49.99 per year.
Pros:
- Mobile Cache
- Enable Gzip Compression
- Minify Html
Cons
- Tricky to use
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
WP Fastest Cache offers support to integrate with cloud flare to ensure the security of the website and also to enable the content delivery network (CDN) that is the most important and popular way of increasing the speed of the website.
User Comments
Vladson: “Highly user-friendly and handy plugin. I suggest this as a must-have plugin for every website. Developers are continuously providing excellent support, which is fantastic. It provides the real return of money.
Martyngosling: “I am using this plugin on my five sites, and it provides real support in the premium version. I got fantastic feedback every time I contact the customer support team.
7. Ultimate Member
Ultimate Member is the best WordPress plugin used to create membership function for the visitors or customers. User membership is the best way to promote business and increase sales as well because by using this technique, you can create a compelling and useful list of expected and current users and send different promotional activities at any time by email.
It is easy to create user profiles by using this lightweight and highly customizable plugin in the desired and attractive design that suits your business.
Key features:
1. Multiple Approval System: Users can allow the plugin to either automatically approve the membership or by activating through sending activation link as well as they can set it for manual approval.
2. Member Role: It is easy to allocate the role to new registers that is beneficial to restrict access for different actions or functions of the website.
3. Multiple registration forms: This plugin allow the users to create various registration forms for different types of users and assign the role of every kind.
However, it is free to use but with some limitations. If you want to access various advance features, many extensions are available like User Bookmarks, User tags, private messages, real-time notifications, social media log in, and many more.
Users have to pay for every extension separately. The pricing plan for a group of 20 extensions is available at $249 per year.
Pros:
- User-friendly
- Drag and drop form builder
- Front-end user login
- Custom form fields
Cons:
- Expensive to use multiple extensions
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
This plugin offers a wide range of extensions that are paid while there are few extensions that users can add to enhance the functionality. Free extensions are not available by default, but users can add it without paying for it. For example, Google reCAPTCHA, Terms & Conditions, ForumWP, and Online Users extensions are free to use.
User Comments:
Edsonrodsilva: “I use this plugin for my website and find it best and perfect to get the desired functionality. Thanks for adding many useful features even in the free version. I really appreciate the work of developers. Congratulations!
Wpletter: “It is a great solution to fulfill the needs of members. Just read the instructions carefully to get efficient and effective results. It provides the same results, as they mentioned in the description.
8. ThirstyAffiliates
ThirstyAffiliates is a WordPress plugin that is mostly used by bloggers to manage their affiliate business. Affiliate marketing is one of the fastest-growing companies, and it requires proper management to increase sales and profit as well.
It is easy to integrate this plugin on the website and manage the links as per the categories mentioned in the software of the eCommerce website that offers affiliate links.
Key features:
1. Add Images: It allows the users to add images for affiliate links. Just click the “TA” affiliate button and select the image to insert the image.
2. Click Statistics and Reports: This plugin facilitates the users with built-in reports for clicks that are beneficial to understand the performance of your links and can change the strategy to improve the performance.
3. Avoid Link Clashes: This plugin is capable of avoiding link clashes with different types of custom posts and useful to prevent over bloat of the database.
Various features are not included in the free version like Amazon API importing, CVS import/export, auto keyword linking, and many more. Therefore, it is worthwhile to get the premium version that starts at $49 per year.
Pros:
- Compatible with all categories
- Easy to use
- Hierarchical link categorization
Cons:
- Poor customer support
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
This plugin is capable of linking event notification emails that are beneficial to monitor and improve the performance by getting information that, in which period, your affiliate links will get more clicks and views.
User Comments:
Releasejim: “Thanks to developers for creating this useful plugin. What I like is the addition of more useful features in the free version that is perfect for people who don’t afford to pay for the premium. Fantastic work, keep it up.
Darrell: “Thirsty Affiliates plugin provides the same results just similar to its claims. If you are an affiliate marketer, I recommend this plugin as a must-have plugin.
9. All In One WP Security and Firewall
All In One WP Security & Firewall is the most popular and widely used plugin to ensure the security of WordPress based website. However, WordPress itself is a secured platform, but the addition of various security features contributes to ensuring safety from the latest malefactions and hackers attack.
This plugin is developed by a group of professional developers, and they design it by keeping in mind the user-friendly feature. It helps the website owners for reducing the risk by performing a check for vulnerabilities and implements various recommended security practices.
Key features:
1. Detect Identical Logins: It is capable of detecting the multiple users’ accounts with identical login and display names because it is a bad security practice to have multiple users accounts with the same login.
2. Login Lockdown: It is capable of providing protection against “Brute Force Login Attack” by using the login lockdown feature. This feature helps to block a specific IP address or a range of IP addresses.
3. Force Logout: This feature is beneficial to keep the users away from any type of access during the configuration of the website.
Pricing
It is the only WordPress plugin that facilitates users with a vast number of advance features without any cost. Even there is no additional extension for getting the functionality mentioned in this plugin.
Pros:
- Wide range of security features
- Easy to use
- Support multiple languages
Cons:
- Customer support needs improvement
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
However, this plugin facilitates users with a vast range of security features like firewall protection, user login protection, front end, and back end protection, database security, and many more.
But the inclusion of the file change detection scanner enhances the user satisfaction that is capable of sending an alert notification with the change of any files in the WordPress system.
User Comments:
Frozengrey: “This plugin offers a fantastic number of functions that are easy to use and repair, though. Compliments for the developers. Great work.
Huemanfoo: “I have never seen such a comprehensive, flawless, and advanced plugin like this. I highly recommend this plugin for everyone, irrespective of the website category. Well done, developers, and thanks for providing the fantastic plugin is free.
10. Popup Builder
Popup Builder is a great plugin to capture the full range of visitors and customers by providing different notifications and offers in the pop-up window as the visitor opens the website. Promotional activities create a lot of attraction for customers, and this plugin helps to perform it very well.
Key features:
1. Subscription Popup: It is the easiest and effective way to collect the massive number of subscribers that are beneficial to create a strong relationship with customers.
2. Recent Sales Proof (Premium): This feature helps to indicate the number of sales in the popup window for customers that increase the worth of products.
3. Autoresponder (Premium): It helps to send targeted emails to visitors with different coupons and download links beneficial to increase sales.
The free version does not support many advanced features liken mentioned above and many more. However, the premium plan of this plugin starts at $47.96 per year with support for a single website but includes all the extensions.
Pros:
- Disable popup closing
- Disable popup on mobiles
- Schedule popup
- Show popup once per visitor
Cons:
- Challenging to reverse the popup in draft status
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
However, popups create attraction, but showing the popups immediately after opening the website may generate irritation for the visitor. Therefore, this plugin is capable of showing the popup window as the visitor moving the mouse for closing the window by detecting the action of visitors and keep the user on the website for some more time.
User Comments
silvia74: “Recently, I faced the problem with responsive mode; the support team asks about some settings on my website and, after a short time, send me a solution with the screenshot of settings. As I apply those settings, my problem solved. Thank you
Amielalcala: “It is a highly customizable and great plugin for engagingmore customers. More engagement of visitors means more customers and more sales as well.
11. Social Media Share Buttons
Social Media Share Buttons are developed by UltimatelySocial and widely used on websites to share the links on social media platforms. Social media platforms play an essential role in promoting business activities because trillions of people come here from around the world.
This plugin is perfect for adding icons of a vast number of social media platforms on the website like Facebook, Twitter, RSS, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and many more. It covers more than 200 platforms.
Key features:
1. Animated Icons: This plugin supports various effects for social media icons like automatic shuffling and hovers effects; these effects are beneficial to get the attraction of visitors and enhance the chances of getting sharing and followers as well.
2. Pop up Icons: It is capable of showing a pop-up icons on every page or post of website and asking the visitors to share or follow you.
3. Optimized for mobile: This plugin offers complete support for mobile visitors, and also you can define custom settings for mobile users.
The free version does not include many advanced features like Themed design styles, Social media counters optimization, and many more. Therefore, users have to buy the premium version that starts at $29.98 per year for non-commercial websites.
Pros:
- Variety of stylish designs
- Social media sharing count
- User-friendly
Cons:
- Tricky to use email portion
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
This plugin offers a bunch of designs to select from, depending on the category or layout of the website. For example, if you have a website about dogs, you can choose the icon similar to the shape of dogs. This feature is beneficial to enhance the attraction of
users.
User Comments:
Ahmedfaaid: “This plugin helps me to show the social sharing options on the website as I want to use. Thanks for providing excellent support.
madelein1glutprostore: “I use this plugin for my website and get amazing results by using multiple options for displaying the icons. Amazing work
12. MetaSlider
MetaSlider is the best option to create slides of different types on websites to enhance the attraction and user engagement as well. Slides are essential for any website irrespective of the category to display the latest news, products, promotions, or many other things.
This plugin offers four different types of slide show layouts to use on the website by using codes or templates.
Key features:
1. Built-In Slide Themes: This plugin offers eleven stylish themes or layouts for displaying the slides depending on the design of the website.
2. Unrestricted full-width support: It facilitates the users with support for images slides as well as for links, captions, title texts, alt text, etc.
3. Highly Customizable: This plugin provides a lot of options to customize the slides for speed, transition effect, and many more for every individual slide.
Different features like YouTube & Vimeo Slides, Post Feed Slides, Theme Editor, Thumbnail Navigation, and many more are not available in the free version. The pro version of this plugin starts at $39 per annum and allows the users to integrate it into two sites.
Pros:
- Preview options
- Multi-site compatible
- Developer Friendly
Cons:
- Problem to display on index pages
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
This plugin is designed to keep in mind the user-friendly feature and also offers drag and drop slide reordering that makes it easy to use even without any expertise. It also provides many other easy to use options like image cropping and image crop positioning.
User Comments:
Brunacastilhorios: “Excellent plugin with highly customization options that perfectly fulfill my needs. The support team adds significant value by providing quick and useful information to solve the problem.
Timjfowler: “I use the MetaSlider plugin on many sites and find it a great plugin. It works very well even with a custom sub-theme but with little problems that support team solves in no time. Thanks to developers.
13. SiteOrigin CSS
SiteOrigin CSS is a powerful but simple CSS editor that helps the website owners to edit coding to get the desired look of the website. CSS is an essential part used to develop the website to provide a specific shape or design the different sections. It requires a lot of coding knowledge if you want to edit the design without using a plugin.
This plugin makes it easy to edit the CSS and provides a real-time preview. Therefore, don’t have the need to learn the coding for designing, and even newbies can do it quickly.
Key features:
1. Inspector: Finding the correct selector is the most critical and challenging part of editing the CSS. This plugin is featured with a powerful inspector to identify the best selector to target the specific element.
2. Visual Editor: This feature helps to find the best set of controls and colors along with styles and measurements.
3. Powerful Code Editor: These plugins are capable of analyzing the theme’s style sheet and helps to find the selector and attribute auto-completion.
Pricing
This plugin offers lifetime updates and support for free. Therefore, anyone can use it without paying anything. All the documentation and licensing authorities are provided with it.
Pros:
- Developed by professionals
- User-friendly
- SiteOrigin CSS
Cons:
- Lack of styling options
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
It is compatible to use with any theme irrespective of category and location from where you get it. Furthermore, it is featured with site origin CSS speaks CSS, it is the language of design used on the web.
User Comments:
Kori Ashton “I have done a complete review of this plugin and published it on my youtube channel. It is an excellent option for those who don’t have the knowledge of coding but want to edit it for specific changes.
Yuricgy: “It is an excellent plugin for everyone, especially for beginners, and doesn’t know much about coding. Perfect for modifying the design or layout. Hats off to developers.
14. WP Google Maps
WP Google Maps is the easiest way to integrate the location of the business store or any site using Google Maps. Location integration on business websites increases the worth of business and also builds the trust of customers by showing that you are present in the real world.
It is easy to use this plugin with any website irrespective of category and type of website with any theme.
Key features:
1. Multiple Map Types: This plugin offers different types of Maps to integrate into the website like terrain, road map, hybrid, and satellite.
2. Different Marker Icons (Premium): It allows the users to add multiple marker icons on the map that make your location prominent on the map.
3. Marker Content Editor (Premium): It is capable of adding different images and videos in the marker info window to increase the charm for customers.
However, the free version offers support for limited features. Therefore, if you want to enjoy some advance features like Import KML/KMZ files, Mashup multiple maps, Export/Import markers, and many more, then you have to go for the pro version that starts at $39.99 per year that allow integration in three sites.
Pros:
- Custom size maps
- Support multiple languages
- Polygons addition feature
Cons:
- Somewhat complicated
Why Should We Use This Plugin?
This plugin allows the visitors to leave ratings on markers with the help of the marker rating feature that added in the plugin recently. These ratings are highly customizable and allow the users to extend the system by using more widget styles to four built-in map types.
User Comments:
Drew: “Great support, I stuck with some problems during the integration of the map, but the customer support helps to solve it. Support was speedy and solved the problem entirely and quickly.
r8yrne: “I use this plugin on my website, and I am delighted with the results, and the support team provides an excellent service with ongoing communication.
Conclusion
Business websites need some more attraction and functions that you can only get by using different plugins. In the above article, we create a list of all the essential plugins that are most important for any business website.
Hopefully, from the above discussion, you get a lot of help for creating and managing the website for your business efficiently.
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