Recommended Plugins

Some of the best free WordPress plugins from the official open source wordpress.org plugin library.

These are my personal recommendations from experience, all installed, tried & tested. I keep an eye on them and remove any plugins if they are not updated for over two years, as they lack sufficient support, as software needs to be kept up to date. Full plugin details are pulled in automatically from the official library, including: Last updated, Compatibility (latest version), Tested up to (WP version), Download count and Rating.

See “Jason’s comments” after plugin details, for tips & suggestions related to the plugin.

I’ve listed about 50 recommended plugins here, for various solutions. I usually install about a dozen WordPress plugins by default.

Read more about WordPress website security, protection, prevention, where I list a few good plugins to assist.

I’ve expanded my recommendations to the Premium WordPress market which has exploded over the last few years to provide some quality standalone products and worthwhile upgrades.

Read more about WordPress installation service

Please contact me for further assistance.

Apr 252013
 

I’m now using MailChimp for WordPress. WARNING: Nmedia MailChimp Widget version 4.0 does not connect to the previous version options settings – please check the changelog. A popular solution for use with a free mailchimp.com account.   An alternative to Mailchimp is a fully WordPress integrated solution is MailPoet Newsletters plugin.

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Apr 012013
 

TablePress makes managing a big listing of data (in rows, columns and pagination option) much easier, for visitors to view, for you to continue to update in WordPress, and it’s even sort and searchable for visitors (optional).

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Mar 062013
 

I recommend this plugin when you want to separate your custom style sheet (CSS) rules in to different files. If you just want one file to manage all your custom CSS rules, then I recommend My Custom CSS plugin. If you want to place CSS (style sheet) or JS (Javascript) rules on specific pages, I recommend Specific CSS/JS for Posts and Pages. If you wish to modify any of the theme template files (.php), then it’s best to create a child theme.

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Feb 262013
 

MailPoet Newsletters – Wysija Newsletters integrates collecting and sending to email subscriptions (mail-list) with your website / blog – no need for any external mail-list service. You can see an example of this plugin at the Eco-Parenting Blog. The popular alternative is to use a mailchimp.com account with a mailchimp subscription plugin.

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Jan 162013
 

Expandable content boxes are great for FAQ pages and managing reusable content, providing further onsite content and links. Expandable sections work well when repeating content using Global Content Blocks.

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Jan 132013
 

After years of inserting the Facebook social plugin code by hand, I thought to make it easy on myself. Too simple. Support Note (2019-07-08): Firefox strict tracker blocker blocks output of Simple Facebook plugin. If you are looking for a more full featured Facebook custom feed, try the Custom Facebook Feed plugin.

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Nov 092012
 

I recommend the Donate Extra plugin as a simple solution to receiving donations via PayPal on your website. Donate Extra is a forked plugin to replace Donate Plus which had an PayPal IPN issue and was not updated since 2011. Donate Extra plugin was published at the WP Library on 19th October, 2012 and has resolved the IPN and also other issues since.

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Nov 072012
 

I recommend this plugin if you just want one file to manage all your custom CSS (style sheet) rules. If you don’t know how to edit CSS (style rules) and need a visual point and click selector with the ability to instantly adjustment all the style options, I recommend SiteOrigin CSS. If you want to separate your custom style sheet (CSS) rules in to different files, I recommend Global CSS by Joddit. If you want to place CSS (style sheet) or JS (Javascript) rules on specific pages, I recommend Specific CSS/JS for Posts and Pages. If you wish to modify any of the theme template files (.php) then it’s best to create a child theme.

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Nov 022012
 

I install and setup these plugins with my WordPress installation service, Website packages, Website Maintenance Service and Website Page Speed Optimization service. Follow the plugin links below to learn more about these plugins and make sure to read Jason’s comments for more information as to why I choose these plugins and discover my recommended complementary plugins. Wordfence Security WordPress Health Check Read more about WordPress Website Security. BackWPup Broken Link Checker WP Maintenance Mode Read more Website Maintenance All in One SEO Pack Google XML Sitemaps Read more about SEO WP-Optimize database WP Fastest Cache EWWW Image Optimizer Read more about Website Page Speed Optimization Contact Form 7 Really Simple CAPTCHA Flamingo Address Book Option: Mailchimp newsletter Social Media Feather Facebook Like Box Option: Other social follow links Divi Theme & Page Builder (premium) Meta Slider Page Builder by Site Origin Site Origin Widget Bundle Site Origin CSS Easy FancyBox

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Nov 022012
 

This plugin is by the author of Contact Form 7 and Really Simple CAPTCHA, which I recommend. Besides collecting users in to a more friendly exportable address book, this plugin can replace Contact Form 7 to Database Extension, to save CF7 submits to database.

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Aug 202012
 

This plugin “Spam Free WordPress” adds a required password click before permitting a user to make comment. Use this as a more user friendly alternative to answering a quiz or decoding a captcha image. For login security I recommended combining “SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam” to add a captcha image for added security on the login page together with “Wordfence Security” to limit login attempts. For custom form security I recommend “Contact Form 7” with a Quiz field and a Captcha image using “Really Simple CAPTCHA“.

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Jul 242012
 

Do backups and more for your WordPress Blog.

– Database Backup
– WordPress XML Export
– Optimize Database
– Check\Repair Database
– File Backup
– Backups in zip, tar, tar.gz, tar.bz2 format
– Store backup to Folder
– Store backup to FTP Server
– Store backup to Amazon S3
– Store backup to Google Storage
– Store backup to Microsoft Azure (Blob)
– Store backup to RackSpaceCloud
– Store backup to Dropbox
– Store backup to SugarSync
– Send Log/Backup by Email
– Multisite Support only as Network Admin

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