If you have ever thought about starting a blog or a website, you must understand that it is not all fun and games. If you want to make something out of it and possibly turn your blog/website into something bigger, you will need all the help you can get. And, that is why we have plugins.
Plugins are software that you can add to a website, and their features help your website function better and more efficiently.
Some plugins are specifically designed to be used only on certain types of websites. For example, if you have an online store, there are plugins specifically designed to help you in related aspects.
But, in this article, we are going to talk about plugins that help your website in general. These plugins are not designed for a specific type of website; they are there to enhance the website’s performance, increase SEO, and provide a better user experience.
Best WordPress Plugins for Starting a Blog
1. WP Reset
WP Reset is a wonderful plugin that any website needs. This plugin contains tools that will de-clutter your website, make it faster, and if needed, recover and completely reset it.
Its snapshots feature allows you to restore your site to a previously working state in case it crashed or got corrupted by a failed update, malicious piece of software, or encountered any other error. They can be created automatically if you so desire.
Next up, we have the collections feature, which allows you to create a collection of plugins and themes, that can be installed in just one click. You will not have to install every plugin and theme separately anymore, and we know, for a fact, that will save you a lot of time.
After that, WP Reset’s Emergency Recovery Script, a tool that can fix issues like the white screen of death, lost admin access, the crash site, and corrupted core files; basically any issue you can think of.
WP Reset’s various reset tools are there to de-clutter your website from all the junk it accumulated.
The Nuclear Reset feature does exactly what you think it does. It erases everything on your website, from files to database entries. Essentially, you start from scratch upon using the feature.
The next feature that we need to mention is the Whitelabel feature, which allows you to remove any trace of branding and licensing info within the plugin.
WP Reset also has its own cloud, so if you do not want to use Dropbox or Google Drive, you can store snapshots and collections here and access them when you need them.
All in all, WP Reset is a truly fantastic addition to any website that will help you when something goes wrong.
2. Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode
Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode is a great plugin that will allow you to make coming soon pages, which are very important when you want to get the word out before your website is done.
This plugin will allow you to choose from over two million free images and over 170 themes that can be adjusted based on what your website will be about.
Next, the Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode plugin will allow you to fully rebrand it with no coding whatsoever. You can change the name, colors, logo, text, or whatever you want, directly from the plugin’s dashboard.
The SEO setup included in this plugin comes in handy because it allows you to push your website to the top of the search results, even before it is done, using various tests and checks.
Also, if you are making a website for someone else, you can provide a secret access link to that person so they can access the website behind the coming soon page.
3. WP 301 Redirects
WP 301 Redirects is a plugin that will solve one of the most common problems every website has: users clicking on links that do not work anymore. WP 301 Redirects will make those broken links useable again because it will redirect the user to a working site/page instead of causing frustration.
The features of this plugin are very interesting. For example, the plugin will allow you to transfer real users to your websites and block the bad bots. Next, WP 301 Redirects allows you to manage broken links, even if you have changed the URL structure. It will also automatically monitor and create a redirect rule the moment a URL has been changed.
WP 301 Redirects also has a built-in chart that will allow you to track every single piece of information regarding the redirects that the users stumbled upon. And if you ever run into some problems with the plugin itself, its customer support will help you as fast as possible.
This plugin is necessary for any website because you will get more users and boost your SEO by fixing broken links.
4. WP Sticky
WP Sticky is a great plugin that will improve the appearance of your website. By adding sticky elements to your website, that will stick in place as someone scrolls down the website, you will be able to provide a better experience. They will not have to go back to the top of the website to go to a different part of the website.
The neat thing is that, with this plugin, you can make anything sticky, and you can set at which point an element starts or stops being sticky.
The plugin has a very user-friendly interface that anyone can master in a matter of minutes. There is no coding required whatsoever, and it works with all themes, page builders, and plugins.
WP Sticky has over 100,000 satisfied users, and its customer support is available to you at any time.
5. Simple Author Box
Simple Author Box is a plugin that will allow you to share information (using a responsive author box) about the author of a post, information such as their name, bio, social links, and more.
The inserted author box is completely customizable; you get to configure the author box’s size and appearance. You can also configure which posts the author box needs to show up.
If there are more people you need to give credit to, you can do that easily. The plugin supports both co-authors and guest authors.
You can control links in the author box and make them open in a new tab or apply the nofollow attribute.
Simple Author Box will show that you care about your website and the people that put content on said website.
Conclusion
These five plugins should be the foundation of any website. They will solve most of the issues that websites have initially. Plus, by combining them, your website will look more professional and sleek to the visitors.
