WordPress is a long-time website designer and developer favorite. It is justifiably celebrated for its adaptability, its simplicity of use, and variety of tools to choose from. Many of the more popular tools are the plugins developers/designers use to improve the functionality or flexibility of a WordPress website.
If you are a WordPress newcomer and are not familiar with what these plugins can do, think of them as software apps you can use to add important functionality to your website, enhance its functionality, and increase its SEO potential. You can also use certain types of plugins to make your website pages more attractive, and therefore more engaging.
As quality can vary among these plugins or software apps it’s extremely important to choose plugins carefully. Look for plugins that are properly coded, upgraded frequently, and well supported, as is the case with the 7 great WordPress plugins for 2024 presented in this article.
Some Important Considerations when Selecting a WordPress Plugin.
1. Purpose and Prerequisites
Make sure to define the capability you are looking for up front and list the must-have features needed to satisfy that functionality.
2. Reviews and Ratings
Take time to look through the reviews and ratings on the WordPress directory. They can tell you a lot about product reliability and customer satisfaction.
3. Compatibility
Be very sure that the plugin works well with the version of WordPress you are using as well as any theme or other plugins you are using.
4. Update Frequency
A history of updates can be an indication that the plugin is (reasonably) bug free and is compatible with the latest version of WordPress.
5. Documentation and Support
Look for robust customer support as well as documentation that can help you answer questions on your own.
6. Security
Investigate any known security susceptibilities and how rapidly they have been addressed and resolved.
7. Impact on Performance
Test to ensure that the plugin doesn’t slow down your site. A poorly coded plugin is more likely to do so.
8. Price
If you can get the value you need at no cost, fine. Otherwise, see what a premium version has to offer.
7 great WordPress plugins for your website projects
1 Amelia - No. 1 WordPress Appointment Booking Plugin
TL;DR: Amelia is the #1 WordPress plugin for services-based businesses and agencies in need of an automated booking system.
Click the video to see this plugin in action.
By adding Amelia to your company website you can manage your schedules, automate your bookings, and streamline customer interactions at several locations from one single platform. Amelia’s top feature is, in effect, the wide range of functions it supports.
Amelia is not only business friendly; it is client friendly as well. The compact yet attractive Martial Arts School example enables clients to sign up for a class or book and appointment.
Customer Insight: “The amelia plugin is awesome! I have been using it on many of my client's websites and the experience could not be better. It's very easy for any costumer to book an appointment, pay, and have the details of the meeting right on their google calendar. Also, Amelia offers a ton of integrations such as with google meets, zoom and WhatsApp. The plugin is incredible and the team behind it is very friendly and always ready to help you out. Thank you!”
Rating: 4.8 on Capterra
Immediate Support: Documentation, YouTube videos
2.wpDataTables: The Best WordPress Table & Chart Plugin
TL;DR: The power-packed wpDataTables WordPress plugin vastly simplifies complex data management and visualization tasks.
Click the video to see this plugin in action.
While wpDataTables is loaded with data management and display simplifying capabilities, one that has really caught user attention is its Multiple Database Connections (MDC) feature. MDC enables users to connect to many databases simultaneously, whether they are from the same server or different servers. MDC enhances wpDataTables already unprecedented data management capability.
The attractive, concise, and complete wpDataTables Pharmaceutical Table example is but one example of the boundless variety of responsive and editable tales and charts that can be produced.
Despite a multitude of data management and table and chart producing tools and future, wpDataTables is remarkably easy to use.
Customer Insight: “The team was amazing and gave me more than I needed in the way of assistance immediately, I had my complex table up and running in no time…thank you guys!”
Rating: 4.83/5
Immediate Support: Documentation, YouTube videos
3.Classic Editor – WordPress plugin
TL;DR: With Classic Editor, administrators can manage a site’s default editors on a post-by-post basis.
Click the video to see this plugin in action.
The Classic Editor WordPress plugin has been replaced by the latest Gutenberg block editor for WordPress version 5.0 and beyond, but due to its great popularity it is still being supported.
This Open-Source software application restores the original (“classic”) editor and its “Edit Post” screen and makes it possible to use plugins that extend that screen, add old-style meta boxes, or in other ways depend on the original editor.
Classic Editor will be fully supported and maintained by WordPress until 2024, or as long as necessary.
Customer Insight: “The classic editor provides a familiar and easy to use WYSIWYG experience, I can’t recommend it enough as the best way to create content for WordPress with the least hassle.”
Rating: 4.9/5
4.Slider Revolution - WordPress Slider Plugin
TL;DR: Slider Revolution is ideal for designers, developers, and anyone intent on creating breathtaking animated sliders.
Click the video to see this plugin in action.
“Breathtaking” is the operative word , at least with respect to what the Slider Revolution plugin can accomplish with its repertoire of visual effects without the need for coding.
Are you a dog lover? TheDog Shelter Showcase slider is guaranteed to capture your attention. This is true of most if not all of Slider Revolution’s 250+ templates. In addition, Slider Revolution’s 25+ add-ons give you complete freedom to show powerful ideas in an engaging way, with zero technical knowledge needed.
Customer Insight: “Slider Revolution is so flexible and beautiful. I like it so much and I recommend it to everyone. In addition, the support team was very helpful when I encountered some issues that I couldn't solve by myself. Thanks to Mr. Sarwat it got fixed in no time!”
Rating: 4.2/5 on Trustpilot
Immediate Support: YouTube videos and support manual
5.LayerSlider: #1 WordPress Slider Plugin
TL;DR: LayerSlider is the best choice for creating popups, animated sliders, and page blocks complete with mesmerizing parallax and scrolling effects.
Click the video to see this plugin in action.
The LayerSlider WordPress plugin will serve you well for making everything from creative slideshows and sliders to popups and page sections with rich animated content. LayerSlider seamlessly enables you to integrate spectacular effects, graphics, and animations and that will build a strong connection between the client and your website content.
The LayerSlider Project Editor’s highly customizable interface and advanced features make both beginners and experts feel right at home. LayerSlider’s connected online services, made available through the Project Editor interface, offers its users a complete suite of visual content creation.
TheFashion Lab templatewould be perfect for anyone looking to infuse their online presence with style. Pick any template, fill it with your content, and publish it to your website. It’s that easy.
Testimonial: “Been using it for a few months now and it's amazing. The slides are smooth and the design options are endless. highly recommend it!”
Immediate Support: User manual, built-in help in LayerSlider’s Project Editor, ticket system, email.
6.Essential Grid Gallery WordPress Plugin
TL;DR: Essential Grid is the ultimate WordPress Gallery Plugin for anyone who wants to use breathtaking galleries to capture users’ attention.
Click the video to see this plugin in action.
With Essential Grid you may design beautiful boxed, full-screen, or full-width grid layouts with masonry, even, and cobble grid elements.
Essential Grids’ 60+ unique grid templates are its top feature. These grid templates provide you with the means you need to build an amazing gallery and save you a lot of time in doing so. This Essential Gridportfolio templatefeatures a layout you probably haven’t seen before, but one you might be able to put to excellent use.
You can also create stunning grid layout options that range from boxed layouts to full-width or full-screen layouts with even, masonry and cobble grid items.
Customer Insight:” Fast support and problem solved. Just like the previous times I had to contact their support by the way.”
Rating: 4.8/5 on Trustpilot
Immediate Support: YouTube videos, Support manual
7.Brizy: The Best No-Code Website Builder
TL;DR: Brizy is the best WordPress Builder choice for non-techies; and it’s a great choice for techies too.
Click the video to see this builder in action.
Best things in Brizy? It’s easy to use, powerful, fast, and free.
If you are in a rush to build a one-page website and have your content at your fingertips, choose form 200+ pre-made, highly-converting templates, including this Business Workshop templateas an example, and you are off and running.
You can also begin with a black page and let your creativity run wild. You may still quickly create a website with Brizy's drag & drop page builder, visual no-code editing, and more than thirty-six design elements.
Customer Insight: “Love Brizy. It makes website building so easy and a pleasure. The pro version, which is reasonably priced and comparable to others on the market is packed with features which reduce the need and cost for other plugins. There is a free version too so you can try it out, and that alone has quite a lot of free features. It's great for newbies because it is so simple to use and is also good for pros because it just saves a lot of time.”
Rating: 4.4/5 on Trustpilot
Support: Academy with Video Courses, Written Documentation, Ticket Help-desk, YouTube videos, Facebook Community
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Before choosing a plugin for WordPress that improves your website’s functionality, appearance, or performance, it’s important that you have a good understanding of your unique requirements beforehand. You will also need to check a candidate plugin’s compatibility with the latest WordPress version and the theme/plugins you may already be using and check out what its clients have to say.
Rest assured that the 7 great WordPress plugins presented within this article have been thoroughly reviewed and are tops within their specialized fields.
If you have a need for -
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Amelia’s complete booking system or wpDataTables’ impressive data management and visualization capabilities,
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the dynamic content presentation tools Slider Revolution and Layer Slider offer,
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the capabilities offered by Essential Grid and the Classic Editor,
You’ll find yourself in a good place to easily and significantly upgrade your site’s efficiency as well as its users’ experience.
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